Si tu veux que la France vive tu combattras dans la Waffen SS
Poster
ca. 1942-1943 (printed)
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 | |
| Title | Si 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 |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'SI TU VEUX QUE LA FRANCE VIVE / TU COMBATTRAS DANS LA WAFFEN SS / CONTRE LE BOLSHIVISME' Note 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 created | February 10, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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