Auch die Geduld hat ein Ende (Even Patience Has an End), German-language leaflet for German soldiers
A small text-only sheet addressed 'Kameraden!' to German soldiers. It blames 'the rich', 'war profiteers' and the Hohenzollern for the war, redefines desertion to the French lines as what 'true friends of the fatherland' do, and promises better treatment to those who cross over, signed by unnamed 'democratic comrades in France'.
- Date
- 1918
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- Unnamed Allied-side sender; signed 'Eure demokratischen Kameraden in Frankreich' (Your democratic comrades in France)
- Region
- Transnational or online
- Country
- Transnational
- Medium
- Leaflet
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- No single regime or leader
- Leader
- No single regime or leader
- Audience
- Enemy forces
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Media and information
- Event
- World War I
- Techniques
- ScapegoatingSemantic hijacking
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- Europeana 1914-1918 (Hermann Otto Wolf collection, user contribution), retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- 1918 leaflet (published before 1931); scan shared by its contributor under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Europeana
Hermann Otto Wolf collection (contributed 2011), Europeana 1914-1918, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Text on the object
AUCH DIE GEDULD HAT EIN ENDE. Kameraden! Täglich mehrt sich die Zahl derer, deren Geduldsfaden zerrissen ist. Täglich melden sich mehr deutsche Soldaten bei den französischen Vorposten und kommen zu uns herüber. Kameraden! Das sind die wahren Vaterlandsfreunde, denn sie verkürzen den Krieg, der dem deutschen Volke nur noch Enttäuschung, Elend und Trauer bringen kann. Kommt zu uns! Eure Vorgesetzten kämpfen für die Reichen, für die Kriegsschmarotzer, für die Feinde des Volkes. Ihr aber, wollt ihr euer Leben lassen für den Grössenwahn des Hohenzollern und seiner Sippe? Denkt an die Euren zu Hause, an Frau und Kind, die in der Heimat darben und rettet euer Leben. Frisch gewagt! Verirrt euch auf dem Patrouillengang! Diejenigen, die freiwillig herüber kommen, werden noch besser behandelt als die anderen Gefangenen, und hier werden sie Gesinnungsgenossen vorfinden. Das gerettete und befreite deutsche Volk wird ihnen dankbar sein. Eure demokratischen Kameraden in Frankreich.
EVEN PATIENCE HAS AN END. Comrades! Daily the number grows of those whose thread of patience has snapped. Daily more German soldiers report to the French outposts and come over to us. Comrades! These are the true friends of the fatherland, for they shorten the war, which can bring the German people only disappointment, misery and mourning. Come to us! Your superiors fight for the rich, for the war profiteers, for the enemies of the people. But you, do you want to lay down your life for the megalomania of the Hohenzollern and his clan? Think of your own at home, of wife and child, who go hungry in the homeland, and save your life. Dare it! Lose your way on a patrol! Those who come over voluntarily will be treated even better than the other prisoners, and here they will find like-minded people. The rescued and liberated German people will be grateful to them. Your democratic comrades in France.
Words hyphenated across line ends in the original are joined. Translation is a machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader.
