Divide and Conquer – Published by the Office of Facts and Figures, Washington, D.C. – an official U.S. government publication exposing the Nazi enemy’s methods of brainwashing and intimidation as groundwork for invasion, aimed at warning American citizens about Adolf Hitler’s plans for their country: “The United States is still whole, but Hitler hopes to destroy that unity—physically and mentally. All his tricks are now aimed at us. Our job today is individual awareness, to avoid falling into Hitler’s trap.” Official U.S. Government Printing Office edition – Washington, 1942.
A rare publication in which the U.S. War Department exposes the psychological takeover methods employed by Adolf Hitler prior to invading a country he intends to conquer, aiming to warn American citizens of what may lie ahead: “Hitler knows that in order to conquer the world, he must first enslave the human mind, and to that end he carries out a program of propaganda, blackmail, and death… Hitler invades only when he feels his groundwork of betrayal has been well laid… We are armed with the truth, and we will crush the tyrant.” The booklet provides a detailed explanation of his method of operation: before Hitler attacks any country, his agents sow seeds of hatred and division and create an “enemy from within.” For example, in Austria prior to the occupation, young Austrians took to the streets to mock the police in an attempt to ridicule them in front of passersby. In France, professional mourners wandered the streets dressed in mourning clothes, wailing loudly about the country’s imminent fall. Mothers received mysterious postcards informing them that their sons had been killed at the front. Rumors spread like wildfire about secret weapons—Hitler had deadly germs he could release across an entire country, he possessed vast amounts of nerve gas, and so on. These rumors, and thousands like them, gradually achieved their goal. They were circulated day after day into the minds of the French, Norwegians, Danes, Belgians, Austrians, Dutch, Czechs, and Poles, creating feelings of fear and despair, revulsion toward the war, and a sense of inevitable defeat. Once he had weakened the resistance of his enemies, Hitler wasted no time in finding someone to blame—the Jews.
Over the Maginot Line, leaflets shaped like coffins were distributed bearing the inscription: “Prepare your coffin in advance.” Every night during the winter of 1939, German loudspeakers warned the French to seek shelter. Just minutes after a French infantry unit arrived at the front, the Germans called out the names of every member of the unit, their hometowns, and the names of their officers. The psychological blow was so severe that the unit had to be withdrawn immediately. During the Battle of France, German bombs and aircraft were equipped with shrieking sirens and whistles, turning the battlefield into an inferno of sound. In Belgium, a dubious Nazi newspaper reported heavy German troop concentrations along the borders, a report that triggered panic across the country.
In Poland, Germans disguised themselves as waiters, taxi drivers, bar performers, and others—they were the ones who guided the Nazi invaders to strategic locations upon arrival. Nazi agents sabotaged the Warsaw radio station by capturing its frequency and broadcasting from the German border city of Breslau, imitating the familiar voice of the Warsaw announcer.
In light of all this, the booklet warns that Hitler is employing the very same method to prepare the ground for the conquest of the United States. His intention is: “To destroy our national unity, to stir up unrest among all population groups, and to divert us from our main objective—the defeat of the Axis. Hitler is trying to pit capital against labor, white against Black, Catholic against Protestant, Christian against Jew. He knows that prejudice, in any form, plays into his hands. By controlling the sources of news in every occupied country—and often in neutral countries—he publishes only the news he wants us to read. He will try to play on our fears, mislead us, and confuse us… We are armed with the truth, and we will crush the tyrant.”
On the title page, there is a large illustration of Adolf Hitler holding a noose, scheming to ensnare the American citizen. The other pages of the booklet feature cartoons illustrating the diabolical nature of the Nazi regime.
Rare. Only three records in the WorldCat global library catalog—two in Australian libraries and one in a library in Houston, Texas, USA.
15 pp. Good condition.
