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Gangstermoral

Poster
1940 (made)
Artist/Maker
Reich Propaganda Office of the NSDAP (issued by)
Franz Eher & Sons (publishers)
Kremner, Hannes (editor)
Place of origin
Germany (made)

This text-heavy propaganda poster seeks to rally all Germans to the cause of winning the war by focusing on a series of cruel acts committed in particular by British enemy forces, but also by Soviet Cossacks. It references the Boer War (1899-1902), as well as violent and inflammatory incidents from recent days' and weeks' press cuttings. The frequent use of exclamation marks is meant to convey outrage. The text repeatedly seeks to stress that the British enemy rewards inhumanity and disregards the value of German life. Such a poster was meant to disturb the German public and cause them to turn further against enemy nations.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Propaganda
Posters
Object type
Poster
TitleGangstermoral
Materials and techniques
lithograph
Paper
Ink
Printing Ink
Printing
Brief description
German World War II propaganda poster by Franz Eher & Sons. Munich, 1940.
Physical description
Poster
Dimensions
  • Height: 84.1cm
  • Width: 120.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • (translated from the German)
    Translation
    Gangster morals!/ A few weeks ago, heavily armed Cossack pirates murdered eight defenceless German sailors working for trade on Norwegian sovereign territory. For this, Churchill awarded them medals./ A few days ago, Wedgwood, in the "Daily Express," a representative of the House of Commons, suggested putting German prisoners as hostages on British ships. He also demanded letting German pilots drown that were shot down over the North Sea, rather than capturing them./ 3 days later, another British member of Parliament - Sir Moore - wrote in the "Daily Sketch": "I would like to know if it is still considered useful to bring German navy men to safety, who have sunk their own boats. I think the time has come to send the crews of such ships down the depths of the sea, alongside their vessels."/ How inconceivable such maliciousness might seem to the civilised world - we aren't surprised, as: We remember, that under Chamberlain Sr.'s reign, mercenaries of the London plutocratic clique used defenceless Boer women and Boer children as bullet screens in the Boer War!! -/ We remember, that in the World War, a British auxiliary cruiser called Baralong attacked a German submarine under an American flag, and that the ship's crew was murdered on command of the Baralong captain Godfrey, who was then awarded a medal by Churchill!!/ We remember, that during this time the captain of the British fishinf steamboat King Stephan left the crew of the crashed airplane L19 to drown in the North Sea and for this, was blessed by an English bishop in London!/ When settling the score with these plutocratic gangsters from the Thames, we will remember all of this!
  • Responsible for the content: Hannes Kremner, Munich/ Published by Franz Eher & Sons, Munich 1940
  • (image captions, translated from the German)
    Translation
    [right] King Stephan refuses board to the shipwrecked crew of L19 [below] French drawing of the Boer War. It caricatures the fact that the British were then even using Boer women as bullet screens on their armed trains!
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
War
Propaganda
National Socialism
Agitprop
Ideology
Racism
Discrimination
Violence
Antisemitism
World War II
Place depicted
Germany
Summary
This text-heavy propaganda poster seeks to rally all Germans to the cause of winning the war by focusing on a series of cruel acts committed in particular by British enemy forces, but also by Soviet Cossacks. It references the Boer War (1899-1902), as well as violent and inflammatory incidents from recent days' and weeks' press cuttings. The frequent use of exclamation marks is meant to convey outrage. The text repeatedly seeks to stress that the British enemy rewards inhumanity and disregards the value of German life. Such a poster was meant to disturb the German public and cause them to turn further against enemy nations.
Other number
LS.562 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1314-2004

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Record createdMarch 14, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O110205/gangstermoral-poster-kremner-hannes/
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