"This Picture Shows What Our United Enemies Are Planning for Us" – A Rare Poster Calling for Home Front Support in ...

"This Picture Shows What Our United Enemies Are Planning for Us" – A Rare Poster Calling for Home Front Support in Germany's War Effort During World War I

Zukunft des deutschen Landwirts - A Rare Poster Calling on the Public to Donate in Support of the German Army Amid Defeats Against the French and British Forces in World War I – "This Picture Shows What Our United Enemies Are Planning for Us." Munich, 1917. German.

At the top of the poster, an illustration depicts German farmers struggling to plow their fields under harsh conditions, accompanied by horses and carts, while enemy forces approach from behind to strike them down. The headline reads: "Dieses Bild zeigt, was unsere vereinigten Feinde mit uns vorhaben." "This picture shows what our united enemies are planning for us." The grim description warns the German people of their dire fate should Germany’s enemies win the war: "Horses and cattle driven away, homes and farms destroyed, and the entire German people condemned to forced labor. Poor, tormented, and humiliated, mocked by the scum of humanity—the most corrupt creatures among colored nations—the German people will be forced to plow the fields of their enemies for their harvest. The German people will be broken, dissolved, and torn apart. The immortal glory of their heroism will sink to the ground like rose petals in the morning autumn dew. You don’t believe it? You smile? Just as the masterful pen of the artist has portrayed it, this is what our enemies plan to do to us… You can see enough images of your future like this in the shameless jokes and mockery of our enemies, especially the English. You know the Englishman has no emotion; now you will also believe that he will bring to life what his sister has drawn in mockery!". The poster warns against underestimating the threat posed by Germany’s enemies, urging Germans to wake up to the looming disaster: "It cannot be said loudly or often enough—Germans, in their fairness and naive faith in humanity, do not realize whose hands we are falling into, or the merciless way in which we will be trampled and crushed. If our army could not hold strong, could not win and strike back as needed, we would be lost." It further references reports from August 31, 1917, describing alleged atrocities committed by French forces against the Bulgarian population in occupied Greek territories: "Reports from Sofia indicate that the Bulgarian population in areas occupied by the French expeditionary forces is suffering extreme injustice. With the most outrageous inhumanity, young Bulgarian peasant women in Kastoria are being abducted and sent to French colonial labor camps… Europe, listen to what the 'Great Nation' of humanity, liberty, and fraternity—France—is doing!" 

In light of this grim reality, the poster urges the German public to contribute to the Seventh War Loan, described as "a natural necessity for the army’s needs."It is our most sacred duty; it is the greatest asset to our army, the very breath of life for those fighting. But it is also our wall of fire, and if we fail in this duty, we fail ourselves… Who would dare hesitate for even a second? Who would have the strange courage to refuse to help their homeland?"

Size: 30x24 cm. Light stains. Good condition.