Mehr als 1000 Bomber auf einmal eingesetzt / Englands Angebot – Englands Forderung – Allied German-Language RAF Propaganda Leaflet, G.31, 1942 – Provenance: Robert Hastings; The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes.

Original German-language Allied propaganda leaflet, issued in 1942 and identified by the printed code G.31. The leaflet announces the opening of a new phase in the RAF bombing campaign against Germany, following the first “thousand-bomber” raid on Cologne on the night of 30 May 1942.

The front is headed in striking black and red typography:

“Mehr als 1000 Bomber auf einmal eingesetzt”
“More than 1000 bombers used at once”

The text declares that the heaviest Luftwaffe attacks had now been far surpassed by the Royal Air Force. It reports the raid on Cologne, notes Churchill’s message to the Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command, and warns German readers that the new form of RAF offensive had begun. Two nights later, the leaflet states, the RAF attacked the Ruhr with more than 1000 aircraft.

The reverse, headed “Englands Angebot” and “Englands Forderung”, sets out Britain’s political message to the German people: justice for all, including Germans; punishment of war criminals; economic equality, work and security; and the demand that the German people must act to free themselves from Hitler’s “Gangsterherrschaft”. Quotations are attributed to Lord Cranborne, Anthony Eden, Sir Stafford Cripps, and the Roosevelt-Churchill declaration.

This is a particularly effective example of Allied psychological warfare. It combines hard military fact — the dramatic escalation of RAF bombing — with a political offer: Germany’s destruction need not mean the destruction of the German people, provided they reject Hitler and the Nazi regime.

The leaflet is institutionally and bibliographically recorded. Agitka records the full text of G.31, including the same headings and reverse text, while wartime leaflet sales/reference catalogues record G.31/1942 “Mehr als 1000 Bomber auf einmal” in this format.

This copy is further distinguished by its provenance. It was formerly in the collection of Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector, before entering The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine. The Forbes provenance is especially relevant here: Churchill’s message and the Roosevelt-Churchill declaration are both central to the leaflet’s propaganda argument, placing it firmly within the wider Churchill wartime collecting field.

Condition: Near fine. Light age toning and fold creases, with minor handling wear. Complete, clean and clearly legible, with strong black and red printing.

Date: 1942
Code: G.31
Language: German
Format: Two-sided propaganda leaflet
Size: 21.1 x 13.1 cm
Subject: RAF bombing campaign, Cologne raid, Churchill, Roosevelt-Churchill declaration, Allied propaganda, Germany, Second World War
Provenance: Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector; subsequently The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine.

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