Background: This page includes parts of a 1940 special edition of the Illustrierter Beobachter, the Nazi Party’s weekly illustrated magazine, published just after France’s defeat. It blames France for the war. The cover folds out to reveal a large map of France on the reverse. Click for a larger image.
France’s Guilt
This is the cover. The 48-page issue traces France’s history, finding that it was always hostile to Germany.
This is the interior cover. It shows the cover of a French magazine. The French president Reynaud is looking at a map of Germany, showing it greatly reduced in size. According to the caption: “The map shows Reynaud’s postwar vision of Europe, which involves the rape of Germany, Italy, Russia, and Poland.”
p. 27: “The Guilty Parties. Warmongers who wanted to surround Germany yet again, and then completely destroy it.”
p. 46: The picture is captioned: “Black French soldiers learn how to fire on Whites with cannons. French officers train colonial soldiers in the use of field artillery. They will not be able to use their knowledge in Europe, since Germany will see to it that such a cultural disgrace does not happen again.”
p. 47: The picture is captioned: “The front-line fighters for French culture.” Below the picture: “They were unable to save France from defeat. Besides their normal weapons, French colonial soldiers were armed with machetes to allow them to practice their bestial instincts on the wounded.”
p. 48: “Stolen!”: The page claims that France stole some of Germany’s best art.
