Est-ce la “Libération” promise? – German Anti-Allied Propaganda Booklet – Occupied France, c.1944. – Robert Hastings / Steve Forbes Provenance

Original French-language German propaganda booklet issued in occupied France, attacking the Allied bombing campaign and questioning whether Anglo-American “liberation” would bring freedom or destruction.

The cover is printed in black and red over a photograph of a bomb-damaged French building, with the provocative title:

Est-ce la “Libération” promise?
“Is this the promised ‘Liberation’?”

Inside, the booklet uses photomontage, casualty figures and emotive images of civilians, ruins, refugees and funerals to present the Allied bombing of French towns as a betrayal rather than liberation. The final page includes a standing image of Winston Churchill beside a cemetery, using Churchill’s image as the visual embodiment of British responsibility for the destruction.

The text names bombed towns including Béthune, Billancourt, Lorient, Morlaix, Brest, Rouen, Rennes, Amiens, Paris, Le Creusot, Saint-Nazaire and Abbeville, and gives figures of 11,250 dead, 21,800 wounded and 200,000 homeless. Its argument is clear: Germany’s propagandists sought to turn French suffering under Allied bombing into resentment against Britain and America.

This is a strong example of German psychological warfare in occupied France during the approach to liberation. It is more substantial than a single-sheet leaflet and visually much more effective, combining photographs, captions, large red typography and Churchill imagery in a compact folded booklet format.

The title is institutionally recorded. Paris Musées / Musée de la Libération de Paris – musée du Général Leclerc – musée Jean Moulin holds an example described as an anti-British propaganda tract denouncing French civilian losses caused by Allied bombing, illustrated with photomontages and printed in black and red. FranceArchives also records the title as a wartime anti-Allied tract concerning bombardments.

This copy has notable provenance, having formed part of the collection of Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector, before entering The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine.

Condition: Very good. Minor edge wear, light creasing and handling marks. Complete and visually strong, with bold red-and-black printing.

Date: c.1944
Language: French
Format: Folded illustrated propaganda booklet
Size: 23.7 x 17.8 cm
Subject: Winston Churchill, Allied bombing of France, German propaganda, occupied France, liberation, civilian casualties
Provenance: Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector; subsequently The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes.

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