Catalogue Number
NMLH.1994.168.170
Object Name
Poster
Title
Stop these Nazi crimes
People
Adolf Hitler Joseph Stalin
Events
Second World War
Date
around 1942
Description
Content warning: execution
A white and red poster featuring an illustration of seven men and women hanging. Red text at the top reads "STOP THESE NAZI CRIMES" with blue underneath reading "PUNISH THE GUILTY". A red banner at the bottom of the poster has white text reading: "INVADE EUROPE NOW".
The illustration featured is based on a photograph issued by the Soviet Government in 1942. It depicts the executions that the Nazis carried out in Kharkov upon invading the Soviet Union at the start of the Second World War. They targeted mainly Jewish people and Soviet partisans, hanging them on the balcony of the administrative building. This poster refers to the fact that Hitler broke the non-agression pact signed with the Soviet Union and comitted war crimes by unjustly executing members of the Soviet Union. It urges the UK to push for a second front involving the Allies, sending its forces into German-occupied areas in order to help the Soviet Union fight back against the Nazis.
The reverse side of the poster features a series of newspaper cuttings that have been stuck on to the back. There are five cuttings taken from The Daily Worker, the official paper of the Communist Party of Great Britain, including a cartoon that depicts the Second Front as being a 'private, invite-only' event. The other cuttings are all exerpts of The Daily Worker's war coverage, including accounts of them being denied information from the War Office, calls for a Second Front, praise for the Red Army, encouraging army recruitment, and plans to build back after the war. Also included is a photo collage of the founding members of the Communist Party in Britain, including Harry Pollitt, William Gallagher, and Jessie Eden. Three photo strips featuring portraits of Communist Party members are also included in the collage.
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