Bidspirit auction | leaflet from Vichy France calling

leaflet from Vichy France calling on workers to take part in the “relève” program and to cooperate with Nazi Germany. France, [1942] - Les Prisonniers attendent... – The prisoners are waiting. “French workers – will they allow themselves to be accused of cowardice?” A rare leaflet calling on French workers to participate in the Vichy regime’s “relève” program, volunteering for labor in Germany in exchange for the release of French prisoners of war held in German captivity. A propaganda document of the Vichy regime, designed to serve the interests of Nazi Germany under the guise of “French solidarity” for the return of the prisoners. Vichy France - Paris, early 1940s. The leaflet opens with an attack on those who remained in France during the war (“the special posts”), while others fought and froze in the trenches during the winter of 1939–1940. It calls on them to join the war effort through participation in the “relève” program – volunteering for labor in Germany in order to “liberate” French prisoners of war held in German captivity. “Will French workers allow themselves to be accused of cowardice? After they ‘hid’ during the war, do they not now have the courage to emigrate, when the future of France demands it and the prisoners are asking for it?...”. The leaflet condemns those who do not rally to the cause: “It is sickening to see that some bosses are doing everything in their power to sabotage the relève. These gentlemen have decided that the prisoners can remain behind barbed wire for a few more months, even a few more years. What do they care! They have a driver’s license and their car is in good condition! They have money...”. It adds that if the workers do not respond, the French government will be powerless and peace will be lost forever: “The army failed to win the war. The workforce can win the peace, provided that everyone understands this...”. It promises that those who go to work will earn a respectable wage that will allow them to live in comfort.  The La Relève (“The Exchange”) initiative, introduced by Pierre Laval, Prime Minister of the Vichy regime (the French government that collaborated with the Nazis), in June 1942, was conceived in light of the fact that the Germans – then allies of the French – were in need of laborers for their munitions factories. Laval attempted to persuade the French public to volunteer for work in Germany in exchange for the promise that for every three French workers sent, one French prisoner of war would be released. The leaflet employs guilt manipulation (calling on workers not to be “cowards”) and national sentiment (rescue of the prisoners) in order to encourage cooperation with the German war machine. It was one of the darkest periods in French history, when the government urged its citizens to go work for the enemy that had occupied them. 8 pages. Very good condition.