Background: The Nazi Party’s Central Propaganda Office (the Reichspropagandaleitung) produced a weekly poster with a quotation that could be displayed in party offices, public buildings, etc. They were published in large editions, and were part of the visual face of the Third Reich. Leading artists such as Hoyer frequently did the design. They first appeared in 1937. This listing grew long enough to require splitting it. The index page provides a guide.
These issues from 1937-mid-1940 are identified as “Herausgegeben von der Gaupropagandaleitung der NSDAP./Zentralverlag der NSDAP. Franz Eher Nachf., München.” During the same period many Gaue were issuing their own.
The source: I have copies of many, and have supplemented my collection by checking the holdings at the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek in Leipzig (which begin with June 1940 and runs into April 1944) and the Bundesarchiv holdings in Berlin. Others have been provided by friends of the site. Images of many of the posters are linked to the texts.
Page 1: Issued by Reichspropagandaleitung (1937-1941)
“Great men are the realization of the wishes of their people. Hans Schemm.” (28 October - 3 November 1937).
“One dies not for business, but rather only for ideals. Adolf Hitler.” (25 November - 1 December 1937)
“Moral is what furthers the maintenance of the German people; immoral is that which works against it.” Walter Darré.” (2 - 8 December 1937)
“One is not born a socialist, one must be raised to be one. Adolf Hitler.” (9 - 15 December 1937)
“The fatherland is a religion. Ernst Juenger.” (16 - 22 December 1937)
“Holy ground is everywhere that is defended by Germans. Alfred Rosenberg.” (23 - 31 December 1937)
“Loyalty in feeling means absolute obedience. Rudolf Hess.” (31 January - 6 February 1938)
“Only the size of the sacrifice will reveal the greatness of the victory. What is easily achieved will be easily forgotten. Adolf Hitler.” (21 - 27 March 1938)
“The nature of the German spirit is that it builds from within. Richard Wagner.” (11 - 17 April 1938)
“What we are we have done ourselves. Adolf Hitler.” (1 - 7 January 1939)
“He who has faith in his heart has the greatest strength in the world. Adolf Hitler.” (15 - 21 January 1939). There is also a version dated 8 - 14 January 1939.
“No one can expect the coming generation to make up for the failures of the present one. Dr. Goebbels.” (15 - 21 January 1939)
“Great men are the realization of the wishes of their people. Hans Schemm.” (22 - 28 January 1939)
“Only the nation that upholds its honor is capable of enduring as time passes. Germany will endure — Thanks to the Führer. Rudolf Heß.” (29 January - 4 February 1939)
“Loyalty is a matter of the heart, never of the intellect. Heinrich Himmler.” (5 - 11 February 1939)
“Achievement alone differentiates one person from
another. Robert Ley.” (12 - 18 February 1939)
“Let no bell toll more deeply around us all than the word ‘people’
(Volk)! Walter Flex.” (19
- 25 February 1939) [Two versions:
one horizontal, the other vertical]
“God is always with the strongest battalions. Frederick the Great.” (19 - 25 February 1939)
“Together we are everything, as individuals nothing. Adolf Hitler.” (26 February - 4 March 1939)
“As long as an enemy stands on Germany’s soil, hate is my duty and my virtue vengeance! Henrich von Kleist.” (5 - 11 March 1939) [Two versions: one horizontal, the other vertical]
“Heroes’ Commemoration Day 1939—Forward over the graves!” (12 - 18 March 1939)
“God created the peoples—and what God united, men should never separate. Adolf Hitler.” (19 - 25 March 1939) [Two versions: one horizontal, the other vertical]
“To gain heaven, one must be a true fighter! Emanuel Geibel.” (26 March - 1 April 1939)
“One must demand the impossible to accomplish the possible. Helmuth von Moltke.” (2 - 8 April 1939)
“Whatever does not destroy me makes me stronger. Friedrich Nietzsche.” (9 - 15 April 1939) [Two versions: one horizontal, the other vertical]
A picture of Adolf Hitler on the occasion of his birthday. (16 - 22 April 1939)
“Cowardly statesmanship has always led to disaster. Otto von Bismarck.” (23 - 29 April 1939)
“No coward defends freedom. Adolf Hitler on 16 September 1936.” (30 April - 6 May 1939)
“The great man precedes his time; the wise man adjusts to it in all its ways: the clever man takes full advantage of it; the dullard opposes it. Ernst Moritz Arndt.” (7 - 13 May 1939) [Two versions: one with a blue background, the other light yellow]
“There are years in the lives of nations that bring decisions over life and death for the coming centuries. Adolf Hitler on 7 February 1934.” (14 - 20 May 1939)
“Work dignifies woman as well as man. The child, however, ennobles the mother. Adolf Hitler.” (21 - 27 May 1939)
“He who remains uninvolved and dispassionate at times of great patriotic battles does not deserve to experience them. Heinreich von Treitschke.” (28 May - 3 June 1939)
“A nation’s fate rests only in its own strength. Moltke.” (4 - 10 June 1939)
“Gautag 1939. Westmark: Bulwark of heart and mind.” (4 - 10 June 1939)
“With a handful of fanatics, one can make heroes of a whole people at the decisive hour. Gauleiter Uiberreither.” (4 - 10 June 1939)
“Industry and labor alone do not create life unless they are joined with the strength and will of a people. Adolf Hitler.” (11 - 17 June 1939)
“Let that which must die sink and rot. What has strength and light will rise and blaze. Gerhard Schumann.” (18 - 24 June 1939)
“All the blows of fate can be borne if there is a healthy peasantry. Adolf Hitler on 5 April 1933.” (25 June - 1 July 1939)
“Believing in Germany, we will master fate. Adolf Hitler.” (2 - 8 July 1939)
“Ours was the faith — Ours is the will. Adolf Hitler.” (9 - 15 July 1939)
“Only when I create am I completely myself. Richard Wagner.” (16 - 22 July 1939). On the occasion of the opening of the Bayreuth Festival, 1939.
“To obey the laws of life is to understand a great destiny. Alfred Rosenberg.” (23 - 29 July 1939)
“The nation is something greater than a profession, ancestry, class, and occupation. Adolf Hitler.” (30 July - 5 August 1939)
“The fate of peoples can be changed only by a storm of passion. Adolf Hitler.” (6 - 12 August 1939)
“The freedom of our people stands above the freedom of the individual. Adolf Hitler” (13 - 19 August 1939)
“Germany is where the strong hearts are. Ulrich von Hutten.” (20 - 26 August 1939)
“There is no socialism that does not apply to one’s own people. Adolf Hitler.” (27 August - 2 September 1939)
“I fight with my people for undoing an injustice, and the others are fighting to maintain it. Adolf Hitler, 27 August 1939.” (3 - 9 September 1939)
“I do not believe in any right that is not protected by strength. Adolf Hitler in Kempten on 30 July 1932.” (10 - 16 September 1939)
“God gives us nuts, but he does not crack them for us. Goethe.” (17 - 23 September 1939)
“We are mortal, but Germany must live! Adolf Hitler.” (24 - 30 September 1939)“The sacrifice demanded of us is no greater than that made by many previous generations. Adolf Hitler.” (1 - 7 October 1939)
“If the soldier fights at the front, no one should make money from war. If the soldier falls at the front, no one back home should shirk his duty. Adolf Hitler.” (8 - 14 October 1939)
“I also expect the German woman to exemplify the most extreme discipline in this great fighting community! Adolf Hitler before the German Reichstag on 1 September 1939.” (15 - 21 October 1939)
“Behind the front stands the homeland, ready to give all that it is able to give in order to make easier the fearsome work of the soldiers before the enemy, before death. Herman Göring.” (22 - 28 October 1939)
“He who defends his rights will in the end receive his rights. Adolf Hitler.” (29 October - 4 November 1939)
“All the nations that fought in the World War honor an unknown soldier. In Paris, he rests under the Arc of Triumph. In London, he rests under the black marble of Westminster Abbey. But in Berlin, he dwells in the Reich Chancellery! Germany is the only nation in which the unknown soldier is not dead, but rather lives! Fredrik Böök, Swedish university Professor.” (5 - 11 November 1939)
“If I demand sacrifice from the German people, even to the utmost, I have the right to do so, for I am just as ready today as I was in the past to make any personal sacrifice! Adolf Hitler.” (12 - 18 November 1939)
“If our will is so strong that no force can overcome it, then our will and our German state will overcome any obstacle and be victorious. Adolf Hitler to the German Reichstag on 1 September 1939.” (19 - 25 November 1939)
“I will wage this battle, no matter how long it takes, until the Reich and its rights are secure. The Führer on 1 September 1939).” (26 November - 2 December 1939)
“United in faith, united in battle, united in duty! 1939.” (3 - 9 December 1939)
“Today’s Germany is determined to defend its borders and to guarantee its living space. Adolf Hitler at the Bürgerbräukeller on 8 November 1939.” (10 - 16 December 1939)
“The prerequisite to any deed is courage and the will to truth. Adolf Hitler at the Bürgerbräukeller on 8 November 1939.” (10 - 16 December 1939) [Second version for the date]
“We are fighting for the security of our people and for our living space. Adolf Hitler on 8 November 1939 at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich.” (17 - 23 December 1939)
“He who fails is defeated! He who believes wins! We believe! Walter Respondek” (24 - 30 December 1939)
“This time, no power on earth will defeat Germany. Adolf Hitler.” (31 December 1939 - 6 January 1940).
“Nothing is impossible for the German people. Hermann Göring on 24.3.37.” (7 - 13 January 1940)
“We want to raise a hard generation that is strong, reliable, loyal, obedient, and decent. Adolf Hitler on 16.9.35.” (14 - 20 January 1940)
“The German people will not fragment in this struggle, but become ever stronger. Adolf Hitler.” (21 - 27 January 1940)
“We are fighting for a right to live, without which we cannot exist in the long run. Adolf Hitler on 30 January 1939.” (28 January - 3 February 1940)
“Each people has the right to protect its life on this earth. Adolf Hitler on 30 January 1939.” (4 - 10 February 1939).
“Strong nerves and iron determination are the best guarantee of success in the world. Adolf Hitler on 5 September 1934.” (11 - 17 February 1940).
“It is not enough merely to say I believe. Rather one must swear: I will fight. Adolf Hitler.” (18 - 24 February 1940).
“I believe and affirm that there is no higher goal for a people than to defend its dignity and freedom. Karl von Clausewitz.” (25 February - 2 March 1940).
“Only one can win, and that will be us. Adolf Hitler on 8 November 1939. (3 - 9 March 1940)
“Nothing is so integral to our existence as freedom. Frederick the Great.” (10 - 16 March 1940)
“Only that people is free that is strong enough to defend its freedom. Helmut von Moltke.” (17 - 23 March 1940)“Loyalty, sacrifice, and silence are virtues a great people needs. Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf.” (24 - 30 March 1940)
“As we are born without chains, so we wish to live freely. Frederick the Great.” (31 March - 6 April 1940).
“The eternal pessimists and complainers have never rescued a people, but they have ruined numerous peoples, states, and kingdoms. Adolf Hitler on 21 March 1934.” (7 - 13 April 1940)
“What we possess today is entirely unimportant. What matters is only that Germany wins. Adolf Hitler.” (14 - 20 April 1940)
“I have but one desire — namely to win and hold the love and appreciation of my own people’s comrades. Adolf Hitler.” (21 - 27 April 1940)
“The war forced on the Greater German Reich by the capitalist powers of France and England must lead to the most glorious victory in German history. Adolf Hitler” (28 April - 4 May 1940)
“I wish to be honorable to the past and to the future, and in this honor, stand with the German people. Adolf Hitler.” (5 - 11 May 1940)
“We join in the prayer of a great German: ‘And though the world were filled with devils, we must still succeed.’ Adolf Hitler.” (12 - 18 May 1940)
“The German people hears but one command. What happened in November 1918 will never, never be repeated. Dr. Goebbels.” (19 - 25 May 1940)
“Germany wants to live and therefore Germany will win. Adolf Hitler.” (26 May - 1 June 1940)
“The more willingly and firmly we accept every sacrifice, the more certain will be the peace for which our people strives. Adolf Hitler.” (2 - 8 June 1940)
“The war exists because England wanted it. Adolf Hitler.” (9 - 15 June 1940)
“The Führer has called us; now we will all come and bring our sacrifice. Dr. Goebbels in Berlin on 17 April 1940.” (16 - 22 June 1940)
“Stand watch, comrade, do your duty, remain loyal, comrade, and do not doubt. Be brave, comrade, and fight for the victory, comrade, that is ours. Paul Eigendorf, War Year 1940.” (23 - 29 June 1940)
“Neither the German people nor I have sworn to accept the Treaty of Versailles. I am sworn only to the welfare of my people, whose representative I am. Adolf Hitler.” (30 June - 6 July 1940)
“Germany’s unity today has been forged in the fire of powerful events. Hermann Göring.” (7 - 13 July 1940)
“Come what may, clench one’s teeth, keep a clear head, and march forward. Adolf Hitler. (14 - 20 July 1940)
“Only the most transforming deed shows the world what is important and subordinates ordinary interests. Richard Wagner.” (16 - 31 July 1940). [This one is unusual. It covers a two-week period and was issued on the occasion of the 1940 Bayreuth Wagner Festival. Regular issues were published in the normal sequence.
[From this date issues are numbered.]
“One frees peoples not through inaction, but rather through sacrifice! Adolf Hitler.” (#31, 28 July - 3 August 1940)
“There can be no other way: we must win and we will win! Adolf Hitler.” (#32, 4 - 10 August 1940)
“Each state that loves its honor and its freedom must realize that its peace and security depend on its own sword. Bismarck.” (#33, 11 - 17 August 1940)
“We do not break forth in jubilation when our armies are victorious. We do not fly the colorful flags in a mood of exaltation. We stay silent. In quiet pride we remember the deeds, and our whole concern rests only with our soldiers. Alexander Heberlein.” (#34, 18 - 24 August 1940)
“The result of our general sacrifice will be the freedom and greatness of our fatherland. Dr. Goebbels.” (#35, 25 - 31 August 1940)
“The highest religion is to leave to one’s descendents an honorable name, a free land, and a sense of pride. Enrst Moritz Arndt.” (#36, 1 - 7 September 1940)
“The age is yours, and what it will become, it will become through you. Clausewitz.” (#37, 8 - 14 September 1940)
“The highest religion is to win or die for justice and truth. Ernst Moritz Arndt.” (#38, 15 - 21 September 1940)
“Fortune favors the brave. Clausewitz.” (#39, 22 - 28 September 1940)
“Heroism is necessary not only on the battlefield, but also on the soil of the homeland. Adolf Hitler.” (#40, 29 September - 5 October 1940)
“The peasantry is the life source of the people. Walter Darré.” #41, (6 - 12 October 1940)
“He who complains and mutters wears the face of defeat. He who risks life rises to the light of the sun. Georg Stammler.” (#42, 13 - 19 October 1940)
“Better to sacrifice life than loyalty.” (#43, 20 - 26 October 1940)
“He who is not willing to share the need and death of his people is also unworthy to live with it. Jean Paul.” (#44, 27 October - 2 November 1940)
“He who wins will be the one with the stronger faith!” (#45, 3 - 9 November 1940)
“We may be proud of our great men only as long as they do not need to be ashamed of us. v. Clausewitz.” (#46, 10 - 16 November 1940)
“A man is only he who defends himself as a man. Adolf Hitler.” (#47, 17 - 23 November 1940)
“The word of the Führer is for us Germans a command.” (#48, 24 - 30 November 1940)
“The best way to honor those who died for the fatherland is for us to live for the fatherland. Peter Rosegger.” (#49, 1 - 7 December 1940)
“Everything great in the world has been accomplished through loyalty! von Schirach.” (#50, 8 - 14 December 1940)
“To believe in the Führer is to believe in victory.” (#51, 15 - 21 December 1940)
“The Führer commands: Believe, obey, and fight!” (#52, 22 - 28 December 1940)
“The Führer acts when the time is ripe!” (#53, 29 December 1940 - 4 January 1941)
“There are times when it is the greatest wisdom to take the greatest risks. Clausewitz.” (#2, 5 - 11 January 1941)
“Adolf Hitler says: We are born to fight because we come from the fight!” (#3, 12 - 18 January 1941)
“The Führer says: Above all of us stands the great command: You must do your duty in the service of your people!” (#4, 19 - 25 January 1941)
“National Socialism is the guarantee of victory.” (#5, 26 January - 1 February 1941)
“Without blood, no life; without sacrifice, no liberty!” (#6, 2 - 8 February 1941)
“However desirable a quick determination of the war may be, we must not sacrifice the fate of the war to this purpose nor even endanger it. Gneisenau.” (#7, 9 - 15 February 1941). There is a Gau Sachsen version with the same date and text.
“The Führer is always right.” (#8, 16 - 22 February 1941)
“Light - Life - Struggle - Victory. What can happen to a people whose youth is willing to give up everything to serve its great ideals.” (#9, 23 February - 1 March 1941)
“Only a strong government can insure peace. Peaceful assurances of our neighbors are certainly very valuable, but security is only found through ourselves. Moltke.” (#10, 2 - 8 March 1941)
“No task is so big that it could not be accomplished by a German! Göring.” (#11, 9 - 15 March 1941)
“Sacrifice created the Greater German Empire. Through sacrifice it will be made eternal.” (#12, 16 - 22 March 1941)
“The world must realize that Germany will never be defeated, neither militarily, nor over time, nor economically. Adolf Hitler.” (#13, 23 - 29 March 1941)
“Not by treaties or binding agreements, but exclusively by force, has England put together her enormous empire. Adolf Hitler.” (#14, 30 March - 5 April 1941)
“Germany is where valiant hearts are. Ulrich von Hutten.” (#15, 6 - 12 April 1941)
“When this war has been over, a great work will begin in Germany, a great ‘Awake’ will be heard throughout the German lands. Adolf Hitler.” (#16, 13 - 19 April 1941)
The Führer’s birthday. The strength of nations rests on the great men who are born to them at the right hour. Frederick the Great.” (#17, 20 - 26 April 1941)
“To help to defend and finish the Führer’s enormous work is the happiest task and highest duty of all Germans. Hermann Göring.” (#18, 27 April - 3 May 1941)
“No one can get past the German soldier. Adolf Hitler.” (#19, 4 - 10 May 1941)
“In this war it is not luck, but rather justice that will finally prevail. Adolf Hitler.” (#20, 11 - 17 May 1941)
“The woman, too, has her battlefield: With each child that she brings into the world for the nation, she fights her battle for the nation. Adolf Hitler.” (#21, 18 - 24 May 1941)
“Be what you want, but whatever you are, have the courage to be it completely. Albert Leo Schlageter.” (#22, 25 - 31 May 1941)
“Heroes have created your empire. Preserve it in such a way that the glory of your fathers does not become your shame. Frederick the Great.” (#23, 1 - 7 June 1941)
“True socialism, however, is the doctrine of the strictest performance of duty.” (#24, 8 - 14 June 1941)
“You should act as if the responsibility for the fate of everything German was dependent on you and your actions. Johann Gottlieb Fichte.” (#25, 15 - 21 June 1941)
“This highest duty of the German people with respect to the fighting front is to do everything necessary to give them the weapons they need. Adolf Hitler.” (#26, 22 - 28 June 1941)
“It will be a difficult year, but one must stay alert, and each who honors and loves the fatherland must give his all. Frederick the Great.” (#27, 29 June - 5 July 1941)
“We want to plant our feet firmly in our soil and never be defeated by any attack. You will stand by me, should that hour ever come. You will stand by my side, and behind me, and hold our flags high! Our old foe may seek to attack us, to rise once more. He may bear the Soviet star — but we will once again triumph behind our symbol. The Führer.” (#28, 6 - 12 July 1941)
“If our old enemy and foe should once again attempt to attack us, our banners will fly high and they will learn what we are made of. Adolf Hitler.” (#29, 13 - 19 July 1941)
“In Bolshevism, we see Jewry’s attempt in the twentieth century to gain world domination. Adolf Hitler.” (#30, 20 - 26 July 1941)
“You bear the banners and standards, and are the guarantee that Europe will be liberated from Bolshevism.” (#31, 27 July - 2 August 1941)
“It is clear that Bolshevism was and is not a battle for a social ideal, but rather a political battle on the part of Jewry against the national intelligence of all peoples. Rosenberg.” (#32, 3 - 9 August 1941)
“Bolshevism is not a party, nor is it a worldview. It is organized criminality.” (#33, 10 - 16 August 1941)
“Victory! Germany is winning on every front.” (#34, 17 - 23 August 1941) [This is an interesting one. The British had been using “V for Victory” as a slogan in BBC broadcasts to occupied Europe. Goebbels decided to pre-empt the slogan by using it in German propaganda, successfully so.]
“Now we must wage war such that the enemy will lose any desire to break the peace again. Frederick the Great in 1756 at the beginning of the Seven Year War.” (#35, 24 - 30 August 1941)
“A. H. Nothing is impossible for the German Soldier.” (#36, 31 August - 6 September 1941)
“If International Finance Jewry should succeed once more in plunging the peoples into a world war, the result will not be the victory of Jewry, but rather the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe.” (#37, 7 - 13 September 1941)
“One achieves great things only through courage. With this assurance, and with the firm determination to strike everyone who stands in the way, one can defy hell and the Devil. Frederick the Great.” (#38, 14 - 20 September 1941)
“The German army is the strongest weapon in the service of Europe’s freedom. Words of our Führer.” (#39, 21 - 27 September 1941)
“It was the Jews who discovered Marxism, and the Jews who have attempted for decades to revolutionize the world with it. Dr. Goebbels.” (#40, 28 September - 4 October 1941)
“Farmers and soldiers stand hand in hand to give the people its daily bread and to protect the freedom of the Reich. Dr. Goebbels.” (#41, 5 - 11 October 1941)
“Struggle is everywhere. Without struggle, there is no life, and if we want to live, we must also be ready to fight. Bismarck.” (#42, 12 - 18 October 1941)
“We must find the courage to follow the path that no people before us has trod. Konstantin Hierl.” (#43, 19 - 25 October 1941)
“Our soldiers are defending everything that we possess, including that which we call the German spirit: German art and German science, the freedom of research and the dignity of the nation. Dr. Goebbels.” (#44, 26 October - 1 November 1941)
“Strong nerves and iron determination are the best guarantees for success in this world. Words of our Führer.” (#45, 2 - 8 November 1941)
“Posterity forgets men who only serve their own interests, but remembers the heroes who sacrificed their own happiness. Words of the Führer.” (#46, 9 - 15 November 1941)
“We have learned from history that, in the long run, only those people survive who are willing to maintain their lives and their honor in the world. Adolf Hitler.” (#48, 23 - 29 November 1941)
“To be successful, one may not be discouraged by defeats. You may not save your own neck, for he who saves himself wastes himself. Josef Ponten.” (#49, 30 November - 6 December 1941)
“The sacrifices of the front cannot be repaid. Adolf Hitler.” (#50, 7 - 13 December 1941)
“Whoever serves people will be blessed, and that is true fame. Frederick the Great.” (#51, 14 - 20 December 1941)
“Lord, you see that we have changed. The German people is no longer a people of dishonor and shame, of self - destructiveness and cowardice. No, Lord, the German people is once more strong in spirit, strong in determination, strong in the willingness to bear every sacrifice. Lord, now bless our battle and our freedom, and therefore our German people and fatherland. Adolf Hitler.” (#52, 21 - 27 December 1941)
[Page copyright © 2012 by Randall Bytwerk. No unauthorized reproduction. My e-mail address is available on the FAQ page.]
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