Schluss mit den Greuelmärchen! / Schwarze Listen für die Schwarze Schmach – Allied Anti-Nazi Propaganda Leaflet, G.17, c.1943 – Provenance: Robert Hastings; The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes.

Original German-language Allied propaganda leaflet issued during the Second World War, attacking Nazi claims that the Allies intended revenge, enslavement or racial destruction against the German people.

The leaflet opens with the bold red headline “Schluss mit den Greuelmärchen!” — “Enough of the atrocity tales!” — and directly challenges Hitler’s claims that the United Nations planned the destruction of Germany, the removal of German children, and the sterilisation of German youth. The text argues that such stories were deliberate Nazi inventions intended to prolong the war by frightening the German population into continued resistance.

The reverse is headed “Nach Hitlers Sturz” and contrasts two ideas: justice for Nazi criminals and no revenge against the German people. It reproduces statements attributed to Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Josef Stalin, Lord Simon, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Allied governments, making clear the distinction between punishment of those responsible for crimes and collective vengeance against ordinary Germans.

This is a powerful example of Allied psychological warfare. Its purpose was to undermine Nazi propaganda, separate Hitler and the Nazi leadership from the German population, and persuade German readers that surrender or defeat would not mean national annihilation. The repeated contrast between “guilty criminals” and “the German people” places the leaflet within the wider Allied campaign to weaken civilian and military morale inside Germany.

The leaflet is especially notable for its direct Churchill content. Churchill is named prominently on the reverse, where his statement is used as evidence that the Allies sought the destruction of Nazi power, not indiscriminate revenge against Germany as a people.

This copy is further distinguished by its provenance. It formed part of the collection of Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector, before entering The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine. Forbes assembled one of the most important private Churchill collections of modern times, and the provenance is particularly relevant here because the leaflet concerns Churchill’s wartime statements, Allied war aims, Nazi propaganda, and the psychological struggle for Germany.

Institutional and reference examples of the title/series have been traced, including archive and bibliographical records under Schwarze Listen für die Schwarze Schmach. Copies are uncommon in commerce.

Condition: Very good. Fold creases, light age toning and minor handling wear. Complete and clearly legible, with strong red and black printing.

Date: c.1943
Code: G.17
Language: German
Format: Two-sided propaganda leaflet
Size: 21.2 x 26.5 cm
Provenance: Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector; subsequently The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine.

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