Bidspirit auction | Second Front... Scorched Earth –

Second Front... Scorched Earth – French antisemitic propaganda booklet from the Vichy period, accusing the Jews of creating the “scorched earth” - ”DEUXIÈME FRONT... TERRE BRÛLÉE” – Second Front... Scorched Earth – French antisemitic propaganda booklet from the Vichy regime period, accusing the Jews of causing global destruction – with alleged quotes from Jewish sources about a so-called Jewish conspiracy. Published by Editions C.E.A, France, 1944. Extremely rare. In French. The title of the booklet, ”Deuxième Front” – “Second Front”, refers to the Soviet Union’s demand that the Allies (primarily Britain and the United States) open a Western front against Germany as early as 1942. In France, the term became politically explosive: supporters of de Gaulle hoped such a front would lead to the liberation of France, while Vichy propaganda and the Germans portrayed it as “destruction from within”, claiming that opening a second front would bring ruin and bloodshed upon France – Terre Brûlée, scorched earth. This booklet explicitly blames the Jews for engineering this ”scorched earth” policy. In the central pages of the booklet, under the headline: ”Terre brûlée : invention juive” – Scorched Earth: A Jewish Invention, the journalist André Chaumet (one of the leading propagandists aligned with the Vichy regime and ideologically cooperative with Nazi propaganda) argues that the policy of scorched earth—that is, the destruction of territories, cities, and crops during retreat—is not, as commonly believed, a Soviet military tactic, but rather an idea supposedly rooted in Judaism itself, born from the Jewish mind and its spirit of vengeance against the nations of the world. The headline itself fuses two classic antisemitic myths: the idea that Jews are “destroyers of worlds” and that they are the “inventors” of doctrines of global destruction. Chaumet weaves into the text fabricated or distorted quotes, supposedly from the Talmud, intended to create the impression of religious “evidence” that Jews seek to destroy the Gentiles. For example, he writes: “Tu es le meilleur des goyim, tu peux le détruire, son bien si une loi le permet” – “You are the best of the Gentiles, destroy him, and his property if the law allows it.” This is a well-known antisemitic forgery, dating back to 19th-century libels, but here it is presented as though it were a legitimate Talmudic citation. Later in the booklet appears the statement: “Après la guerre de 1914, nous les Juifs, avons eu la guerre de 1939. Nous avons voulu la guerre, nous les Juifs.” - “After the war of 1914, we the Jews wanted the war of 1939. We the Jews wanted the war.” This is a variation of a fabricated quote falsely attributed to ”Jewish leaders, ” intended to convince the reader that the world wars themselves were initiated by the Jews - a core idea at the heart of both Nazi and Vichy propaganda. The article as a whole is steeped in hatred, depicting Jews as responsible for every form of physical and moral destruction in Europe. Chaumet claims that the Jew is the “architect of global destruction”, who invented the concept of “scorched earth” as a symbol of his vengeance against Christians and Europeans. He writes explicitly: “C’est la vengeance d’Israël.” - “This is the vengeance of Israel.” In other words, it is not a Russian military tactic, but rather the realization of the Jews’ eternal revenge. Chaumet even mentions prominent French Jews by name, such as Victor Basch, intellectual and president of the Human Rights League, portraying him as a central figure in the creation of the “ideology of destruction.” Thus, the article becomes another political tool in the Vichy far-right's campaign against liberal and intellectual Jews associated with the French Republic. The writer employs dramatic, biblical language, filled with themes of “sin and vengeance, ” and accompanies the article with photographs of destroyed cities, collapsed bridges, and burning fuel depots - all meant to tie the imagery of war to the so-called “Jewish invention” and to evoke fear, disgust, and hatred in the reader. The article’s goal is to persuade the French public that the true enemy is not occupying Germany, but rather the Jews and Bolsheviks behind the Allied forces. In doing so, it aligns with the broader Vichy and Nazi propaganda strategy of 1943–1944, which portrayed the war as a clash between “Aryan Europe” and “Jewish-Bolshevik barbarism.” On another page, titled: ”Le deuxième front réclamé par les trusts juifs” – “The Second Front Demanded by the Jewish Trusts” – it is claimed that Judaism is a capitalist force operating behind the scenes, directing global policy and the course of the war. The term “Jewish trusts” was frequently used by Nazi and Vichy propaganda to portray the war as a struggle of Jewish banks and “Jewish money” against Germany and “true Europe.” The author describes the Allies as acting in service of “global Jewish capital,