Souvenons nous toujours
Poster
ca. 1940 (made)
ca. 1940 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Mers-el-Kébir and Dakar were French colonial naval bases in North and West Africa, respectively. After the fall of France, Winston Churchill controversially ordered bombardment of Mers-el-Kébir (July 1940) to prevent the French navy from falling into German hands. Around 1,200 French sailors died, turning public opinion in France vehemently against Britain - something Hitler was quick to exploit. At Dakar (September 1940) Charles de Gaulle joined a similar operation hoping, but failing, to rally the port to the cause of the Free French. The text-only format has a stark impact. The two place names need no elaboration to arouse feelings of horror and outrage. The design causes the viewer to think immediately of bloodshed.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph |
| Brief description | Souvenons nous toujours [Let us always remember] French Second World War poster, ca. 1940 |
| Physical description | French cursive type printed in blue ["Souvenons nous/ toujours"] with red block lettering above ["DAKAR"] and below ["MERS-EL-KÉBIR"], suggesting blood. This text is framed in blue, white and red, the colours of the French tricolour flag. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Souvenons nous / toujours' (printed in blue)
|
| Credit line | Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Places depicted | |
| Summary | Mers-el-Kébir and Dakar were French colonial naval bases in North and West Africa, respectively. After the fall of France, Winston Churchill controversially ordered bombardment of Mers-el-Kébir (July 1940) to prevent the French navy from falling into German hands. Around 1,200 French sailors died, turning public opinion in France vehemently against Britain - something Hitler was quick to exploit. At Dakar (September 1940) Charles de Gaulle joined a similar operation hoping, but failing, to rally the port to the cause of the Free French. The text-only format has a stark impact. The two place names need no elaboration to arouse feelings of horror and outrage. The design causes the viewer to think immediately of bloodshed. |
| Other number | LS.1655 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1297-2004 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 15, 2004 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
