Châtiment sur les lieux du crime – “Punishment at the Scene of the Crime” – a rare, double-sided and bilingual broadside in which the Allies officially announce for the first time the punishment awaiting the Nazis and their collaborators, according to the resolutions of the Moscow Conference in October 1943. German and French. Rare.
Official announcement by the Allied powers following the Moscow Conference of October 1943 regarding the punishment awaiting Nazi war criminals – from high-ranking commanders and officials to the lowest-ranking Nazi soldiers. At the Moscow Conference, the three major powers – Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union – agreed for the first time on the continuation of the war until total victory, the establishment of international institutions to preserve peace, and most importantly: bringing German war criminals to justice, at the very places where their crimes were committed.
At the top section of the broadside appear the resolutions of the Moscow Conference: the United Nations will fight until final victory; the Allied powers will cooperate to prevent future wars; a European commission will be established in London to carry forward the work of the conference; full military coordination to defeat Germany and her allies is reported; Austria will be granted independence; Italy will choose its government only after the complete eradication of fascism; and – the fate of war criminals: they will be tried in the countries where their crimes were committed: “The three Allied powers named above, on behalf of the 32 United Nations, hereby issue the following solemn warning: Upon the granting of an armistice to the government representing Germany, every officer or soldier in the German army, every member of the Nazi party who has taken upon himself responsibility for these atrocities, massacres, or executions, or who has willingly participated in them, will be handed over to the governments of the countries in which the said acts were committed, in order to be judged and punished according to the laws of those liberated nations and governments established therein.”
Further on, a declaration appears concerning the crimes of Nazi Germany in Poland and the Soviet Union: “Every German involved in the slaughter of the Polish people, in the murders committed in territories of the Soviet Union now cleared of the enemy – all must know: he will be returned to the scene of his crimes and tried there by the peoples who were the victims of his deeds. To those who have not yet stained their hands with the blood of the innocent, we say: be on your guard! Do not bring upon yourselves the guilt of bloodshed! For one thing is absolutely certain: the three Allied powers will pursue every guilty person to the ends of the earth and bring him before his accusers, so that justice may be done.” And it was declared: “There is no nation that has not suffered under the cruelty of Nazi rule.”
Further on, an appeal to the public to contribute information and help prevent escape: the public is asked to assist in gathering the names and locations of the criminals, in cooperation with the liberated local authorities. A clear statement is also made: “Whoever has not yet shed blood but continues to collaborate – will be punished as part of the postwar criminal system.” It is emphasized that this announcement does not apply only to the heads of the regime, but to every war criminal, even those of the lowest rank. In the top right corner, written over a red background: “Passez ce tract à un Allemand” – “Pass this leaflet to a German”, intended to create psychological pressure on German soldiers and deter them: “You will be brought to justice – even by the local populations from whom you tried to escape.” This broadside also reflected the beginning of an international legal framework for the prosecution of war criminals, which would later culminate in the actual trials of Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg Trials (1945).
27×22 cm. Folds and minor tears (restored) with no damage to text. Good condition.
