[Second World War Propaganda / Churchill / Luftwaffe Leaflet Drop] – “WANTED / FOR INCITEMENT TO MURDER.”

“WANTED / FOR INCITEMENT TO MURDER.” German anti-Churchill propaganda leaflet, dropped over London by the Luftwaffe in 1940, together with a typed letter of provenance from Josef Beyer to Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector. From the Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine. The two items preserved and offered together.

A rare and highly charged example of German psychological warfare directed specifically at Winston Churchill during the opening year of his premiership. The leaflet presents Churchill as a criminal fugitive rather than as Britain’s wartime leader: the recto is headed “WANTED” and reproduces a photographic image of Churchill holding a firearm, beneath which appears the accusation “FOR INCITEMENT TO MURDER.” The verso develops the charge in stark propagandist language, calling Churchill a “gangster” and accusing him of urging “women, children and ordinary civilians” to take part in warfare. The text invokes the Hague Convention, asserting that such civilian participation was a criminal form of warfare and warning that it would be punished “according to military law”. It closes with the appeal: “Save at least your families from the horrors of war!”

The leaflet belongs to the fraught propaganda context of 1940: Churchill had become Prime Minister in May; France fell in June; invasion of Britain appeared plausible throughout the summer and autumn; and the Battle of Britain and Blitz transformed civilian morale into a central theatre of war. German leaflets of this kind were intended not merely to attack Churchill personally, but to fracture confidence between the British public and its government. Rather than portraying Churchill as simply bellicose, the leaflet attempts to criminalise resistance itself, implying that civilian participation in national defence would expose ordinary Britons to lawful military punishment under international law.

The image of Churchill armed and presented as a wanted criminal reflects a broader Nazi propaganda strategy which sought to portray him as reckless, violent, and personally responsible for prolonging the war. The format deliberately imitates the visual language of police notices and outlaw posters, compressing complex political messaging into an instantly recognisable image designed for rapid psychological effect when scattered from aircraft over civilian populations.

Survival of such material is uncommon. These leaflets were cheaply produced, distributed in quantity from the air, exposed to weather, discarded, or destroyed. Examples retaining strong legibility together with clear provenance are particularly desirable.

The accompanying typed letter substantially enhances the historical and collecting significance of the group. Dated Cologne, August 17, 1968, and written by the German collector and dealer Josef Beyer, the letter is addressed to Robert Hastings at the law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Beyer states that he is submitting two “special leaflets”, the first identified specifically as “WANTED FOR INCITEMENT TO MURDER”, described by him as “dropped by the German Luftwaffe on London in 1940.” He further characterises the leaflet as an “extremely rare German drop” and remarks that most collectors lacked such material. The letter bears a receipt stamp dated August 22, 1968, together with contemporary manuscript annotations including a pencilled “1940” notation and pricing references.

Robert Hastings was among the leading American Churchill scholars and collectors of the post-war era. A distinguished attorney, bibliophile and historian, Hastings assembled a major archive devoted to Churchill, wartime history, political propaganda and related ephemera. The survival of the leaflet alongside this direct correspondence places the item firmly within the documented history of twentieth-century Churchill collecting.

Adding further significance, the group also comes from the celebrated Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine and one of the foremost modern collectors of Churchill material. Forbes assembled an internationally recognised collection encompassing books, manuscripts, photographs, speeches, correspondence and political ephemera relating to Churchill’s life and legacy. The Forbes provenance further strengthens the historical importance and desirability of the present group, placing it within two major Churchill collections across successive generations of collecting.

Condition:

Leaflet size: 13.6cm x 19.7cm. Leaflet printed on thin wartime paper, folded, creased and worn, with small chips, short tears, edge wear and handling marks consistent with aerial distribution and survival. Portrait and text remain bold and fully legible. Letter folded for mailing with institutional receipt stamp, minor creasing and manuscript annotations. A rare and historically compelling survival of wartime anti-Churchill propaganda with distinguished scholarly and collecting provenance. In good condition overall.

Very scarce.

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