Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MM, Shelf 9

Si tu veux que la France vive tu combattras dans la Waffen SS

Poster
ca. 1942-1943 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Waffen SS was the Nazis' elite fighting force, and volunteers were eventually recruited in many occupied countries. The poster presents a glamorous image of the SS army to potential French recruits, and through it a message about German power. The cliché of the threat of Bolshevism is raised as an incentive to join the fight against Stalin: recruited troops were destined for the Eastern front with Russia. In one instance a copy of this poster was defaced with some of the letters obliterated so that it read 'If you want France to live you will fight against the Boche'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSi tu veux que la France vive tu combattras dans la Waffen SS (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
Second World War German poster issued in occupied France recruiting for the Waffen SS featuring a soldier on a tank, colour lithograph, France, ca. 1942-3
Physical description
French propaganda poster, colour lithograph, featuring a soldier on a tank. The tank, which is a buff colour, is seen from almost front-on, and it fills the lower half of the poster. At the bottom of the poster in yellow letters, is the text, 'SI TU VEUX QUE LA FRANCE VIVE TU COMBATTRAS DANS LA WAFFEN SS CONTRE LE BOLSHIVISME'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 120.2cm
  • Width: 79.9cm
Marks and inscriptions
'SI TU VEUX QUE LA FRANCE VIVE / TU COMBATTRAS DANS LA WAFFEN SS / CONTRE LE BOLSHIVISME' (At the bottom of the poster in yellow letters)
Translation
If you want France to live, you will fight in the Waffen SS against the Bolsheviks.
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
Summary
The Waffen SS was the Nazis' elite fighting force, and volunteers were eventually recruited in many occupied countries. The poster presents a glamorous image of the SS army to potential French recruits, and through it a message about German power. The cliché of the threat of Bolshevism is raised as an incentive to join the fight against Stalin: recruited troops were destined for the Eastern front with Russia. In one instance a copy of this poster was defaced with some of the letters obliterated so that it read 'If you want France to live you will fight against the Boche'.
Other number
LS.2496 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.1654-2004

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Record createdFebruary 10, 2006
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