“LE FACE A MAIN DE LA VICTOIRE” – “The Gaze Upon the Face of Victory” – special issue (Numéro spécial) of Le Face à Main, published in Brussels (Belgium) on May 12, 1945, dedicated to the Allied victory and the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. In French. Rare.
At the opening of the issue, a medallion tree displays portraits of the Belgian royal lineage. On the front page appears an impassioned editorial on the liberation of Antwerp. Further inside: liberation celebrations in Liège; a report on the terms of Nazi Germany’s surrender signed on May 8; updates from the Belgian Congo; the contribution of Belgian women to the victory in the war; a final tribute to the Belgian resistance fighters; nationwide mobilization for the rebuilding of the Belgian homeland; and reports on the liberation of Paris. At the center of the issue are numerous photographs documenting the scenes of the liberation celebrations and the end of the war. A special section titled “We Shall Never Forget” publishes for the first time harrowing images of the corpses of victims in Nazi death camps such as Bergen-Belsen and others: “The indescribable horrors of the concentration camps.” Also included is an article on the strategist of victory, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and more.
The front and back covers feature an especially striking design by Jaque Richez: the goddess of victory, Victoria, raises her sword over a Nazi swastika shattered into fragments, flanked by the flags of the Allied powers.
50 pages. 35 cm. Complete issue. Good condition.
