Comment vous pouvez aider à prolonger la guerre – Conseils donnés par la société protectrice de la peau d’Hitler – “How You Can Help Prolong the War – Advice Given by the Society for the Protection of Hitler’s Skin” – A satirical booklet written in ironic language, instructing Belgian citizens on how to ensure Hitler’s success. “If Hitler could ask his spokesman Goebbels to publish a booklet in Belgium, this is more or less the content he would demand…”. Published in Belgium in the early 1940s, this anti-Nazi satire ridicules Nazi propaganda and the occupation forces. The back cover features a swastika over the Belgian flag, emphasizing the bitter irony of the text. Published by Van den Bossche, Mechelen (Belgium), 1944. French. Rare.
The booklet presents excerpts and illustrations depicting what Hitler would “advise” the Belgian population to do in order to ensure his success in the war, ultimately leading to the conclusion: “These are exactly the things you must avoid.” Regarding electricity usage, Hitler would “recommend”: “Use electricity without limits! Do not conserve! Find new ways to consume it: turn on all your lights, flood your home with brightness, keep your radiators running day and night, and listen to the radio from morning till evening. You will help me by wasting coal and overusing electricity, making the population suffer even more during the harsh winter ahead.”
He would also encourage spreading rumors: “Spread all kinds of rumors—those that demoralize, those that create fear… Speak to every person you meet. Talk about topics you do not understand at all… If you can obtain any information about the Allies, pass it to me. Keep listening, keep believing, but above all, keep talking! Criticize everything, complain endlessly. Say there’s nothing to be done, that everything is useless. Remember, every time you create an atmosphere of defeat, you are helping me prolong the war.”
Further, Hitler would “advise”: “Do not collect empty fuel containers. The Allies need them. Many have been lost or stolen. The army needs the maximum number recovered. They would like you to leave the empty canisters along the roads or hand them over to your mayor so he can notify the authorities. Do not do this—unless, of course, you wish to help the Allies. Waste the fuel, and leave the empty containers in German hands.” Additionally, Hitler would “declare”: “Buy as much as you can, buy excessively on the black market. Be gluttonous. Do not eat just to nourish yourselves—gorge, and let your little dog gorge, too. Eat as much as possible and mock those who refrain from black market purchases and exercise restraint. The more you buy and the more you eat, the more people will go hungry. The black market fuels the war.”
On the final page, the main message appears in large red letters: “Now that we know what Hitler would want us to do, here’s what we can do to help the Allies and bring Victory Day closer for all of us: Save electricity. Conserve coal. Stop spreading rumors, do not repeat them. Let the soldiers do the rest. Collect empty fuel canisters, stack them along the roads, and notify the authorities. Destroy the black market.”
Extremely rare. Only one copy is recorded in the WorldCat library catalog, housed in a Brussels library.
[7] pages. Very good condition.
