Chansons de la BBC – a collection of humorous and satirical songs – with musical notation, accompanied by color caricatures mocking Adolf Hitler, the Nazi and Fascist regimes, as well as the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. The songs were composed for the BBC radio program Les Français parlent aux Français – “The French speak to the French.” These broadcasts were part of the “Free France” radio transmissions from Britain during World War II, delivered by exiled French citizens in London to the French people living under Nazi occupation. Published by R.A.F, France, 1944 – First edition.
The songs were written and composed by members of various resistance movements and were sung by them during the war to boost morale. Included are mocking songs about the Nazis and songs of encouragement for the Allies, such as: Hitler and Göring on London Bridge, Hitler’s New Order Must Collapse, Don’t Despair, Don’t Forget the Letter V (for Victory), The Nazis Are Fleeing Moscow, Germany Is Lost, The Germans in Panic Under Bombing from England and Also from America, Boom! Boom! Boom!, Hitler Is Crying, Two Million Nazis Have Already Been Killed in Russia!, Hitler as a Woman and Goebbels Chatting on the Phone About the German Army’s Defeat, Hitler Crashes, Göring Trembles, Bold Churchill with a Cigar in His Mouth, Marshal Rommel Has Lost Libya, Hitler Watches the Bombings of Germany from the Ground – Oh, When Germany Falls, and more. On the back cover of the booklet appears an illustration of Churchill in an airplane signaling a V, with the caption: “Songs you heard on the radio.”
“We sang while the bombs fell on London, when England stood alone against an undefeated Germany, and when one had to believe in General de Gaulle’s faith in order to believe that France had lost the battle, but France had not lost the war… the path to Allied victory.” (From the introduction).
Extremely rare. Not listed in the WorldCat global library catalog.
47 pages. Light stains. Good condition.
