Pour la prise de Paris Paix et Liberté 1940

This striking and satirical poster, published in 1940 by the French anti-totalitarian movement Paix et Liberté, is a powerful example of wartime propaganda aimed squarely at denouncing the Soviet-Nazi pact and its perceived betrayal of France. Titled “Pour la prise de Paris – 14 juin 1940”, the poster mocks the Communist Party’s brief alignment with Nazi Germany following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939.

In a sharp and ironic visual language, the artwork depicts caricatures of Joseph Stalin and a Communist Party figure, both wearing Nazi swastikas, issuing a faked tribute to the German Army’s occupation of Paris on June 14, 1940. The bold central text sarcastically reads: “Hommage d’une profonde admiration aux glorieuses armées nazies. – Staline” (“A heartfelt tribute to the glorious Nazi armies. – Stalin”), skewering both the Soviet leadership and the French Communist Party (PCF) for their temporary cooperation with Nazi Germany before 1941.

The background is dominated by red flags, Communist and Nazi symbols intertwined—a visual indictment of the perceived ideological hypocrisy. Hitler looms above, glaring from behind a podium adorned with the hammer and sickle alongside the swastika, reinforcing the poster’s thesis that both regimes were two sides of the same oppressive coin.

Published by Paix et Liberté, a liberal-democratic movement founded in 1939, the poster was part of a broader campaign to expose the dangers of totalitarianism—whether fascist or communist. The movement used satire and stark graphics to engage a French population navigating the anxieties and upheaval of occupation and war.

Today, this poster remains a provocative historical document—a window into the charged political climate of 1940s France. It is a rare and compelling artifact for collectors of WWII propaganda, French political history, or anti-totalitarian ephemera.

Guerre 39-45 - Politique - France

Homage to the glorious Nazi armies - Stalin - Hitler - PCF

Bon étatune petite déchirure