Content note: Poster labelling eleven named West German and NATO officers 'Faschistische Mörder' ('fascist murderers') with portrait photographs and epithets; shown whole, the accusations are the poster's own wording. This object is shown as it was published. Why
"Faschistische Mörder erneut in Aktion!": street board with eleven numbered portraits, East Berlin
A curved street display holds a large black-and-white poster headed 'Faschistische Mörder erneut in Aktion!'. A black eagle stands over eleven numbered, cut-out head photographs packed behind vertical bars; a numbered key beside it gives each man a one-line epithet (for example 'Henker von Frankreich', 'Kriegstreiber Nr. 1') plus his present West German or NATO post. The eagle and the numbering do the pasting of wartime guilt onto 1957 office-holders. The next board, 'Arbeiter- und Bauernsöhne', shows uniformed officer pupils at a relief map under a Wilhelm Pieck quotation.
- Date
- 1957
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- Not named on the boards; open-air display in East Berlin, GDR (Commons file description: 'Propaganda poster in East Germany, distributed in 1957')
- Country
- East Germany
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Leader
- Otto Grotewohl
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Demonize
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- Cold War
- Techniques
- Name-callingTransfer
- Leader
- Otto Grotewohl
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons (photographer: Manfred Niermann; uploaded by his heirs), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- CC BY-SA 4.0 (Commons, heirs; VRTS 2017021610010914); photograph only
Manfred Niermann (heirs), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Text on the object
FASCHISTISCHE MÖRDER ERNEUT IN AKTION! 1 SPEIDEL: Henker von Frankreich. Spezialist für die Taktik der verbrannten Erde. Heute General für NATO-Gruppen in Europa. 2 HEUSINGER: 40 Jahre Militarist. Spezialist für Überfälle auf Nachbarvölker. Heute Befehlshaber der Bonner Armee. 3 STRAUSS: Adenauers Kriegsminister und Kriegstreiber Nr. 1. 4 CRÜWELL: Militarist alter Schule. Mörder von Jugoslawien. Für seine Henkerarbeit von Hitler zum General ernannt. 5 BAUDISSIN: Spezialist für Hinrichtungen von Kriegsgegnern. Faschist bis auf die Knochen. Heute Mitarbeiter im Bonner Kriegsministerium. 6 WENK: Mordete bis 5 Minuten nach 12 für seinen Führer Tausende Jugendliche. Heute Verbindungsmann zwischen Rüstungsindustrie und Kriegsministerium. 7 KESSELRING: Massenmörder von Italien. Spezialist für Genickschüsse. Hauptzahl der Opfer: Zivilisten. Heute Führer des „Stahlhelm" in Westdeutschland. 8 GEHLEN: Hitlers Spezialist für Spionage, Sabotage, Terror und Mord. Heute Spionagechef Adenauers. 9 MANNSTEIN: Verantwortlich für Massenmorde der SS und Liquidierung der Juden. Heute engster Berater des Kriegsministers Strauß. 10 KREISCHMAR: Mörder zur See. Begeisterter Anhänger für totale Kriegsführung. Spezialist für Torpedierung wehrloser Handelsschiffe. Heute Befehlshaber der westdeutschen NATO-Marine. 11 KAMMHUBER: Verantwortlich für den Abwurf deutscher Bomben auf Freiburg. Für seinen Führer zu jedem Mord bereit. Heute Befehlshaber der NATO-Luftwaffe in Bonn. [adjacent board] Unsere Deutsche Demokratische Republik stellt die Basis dar für die Herstellung eines demokratischen und unabhängigen Deutschland[s], das frei ist von Imperialisten und Militaristen. Daraus ergibt sich, daß die Arbeiterklasse und alle Werktätigen unsere[s Landes] [cut off] der nationalen Sache des deutschen Volkes am besten dienen, wenn sie die Macht der Arbeiter und Bauern festigen und stärken, sie wachsam schützen und entschlossen verteidigen. WILHELM PIEC[K] Arbeiter- und Bauernsöhne[...] [caption list under the photograph of officer pupils, naming individual pupils with ages and fathers' occupations: partly cut off and partly illegible, not transcribed]
FASCIST MURDERERS BACK IN ACTION! 1 SPEIDEL: Hangman of France. Specialist in the tactic of scorched earth. Now general for NATO groups in Europe. 2 HEUSINGER: 40 years a militarist. Specialist in attacks on neighbouring peoples. Now commander of the Bonn army. 3 STRAUSS: Adenauer's war minister and warmonger no. 1. 4 CRÜWELL: Militarist of the old school. Murderer of Yugoslavia. Made a general by Hitler for his hangman's work. 5 BAUDISSIN: Specialist in executions of war opponents. Fascist to the bone. Now an employee in the Bonn war ministry. 6 WENK: Murdered thousands of young people for his Führer until 5 minutes past 12. Now liaison between the arms industry and the war ministry. 7 KESSELRING: Mass murderer of Italy. Specialist in shots to the neck. Main share of the victims: civilians. Now leader of the 'Stahlhelm' in West Germany. 8 GEHLEN: Hitler's specialist in espionage, sabotage, terror and murder. Now Adenauer's spy chief. 9 MANNSTEIN: Responsible for mass murders by the SS and the liquidation of the Jews. Now closest adviser of war minister Strauß. 10 KREISCHMAR: Murderer at sea. Enthusiastic supporter of total warfare. Specialist in torpedoing defenceless merchant ships. Now commander of the West German NATO navy. 11 KAMMHUBER: Responsible for the dropping of German bombs on Freiburg. Ready for any murder for his Führer. Now commander of the NATO air force in Bonn. [adjacent board] Our German Democratic Republic provides the basis for creating a democratic and independent Germany that is free of imperialists and militarists. From this it follows that the working class and all working people of our [country] [cut off] serve the national cause of the German people best if they consolidate and strengthen the power of workers and peasants, protect it vigilantly and defend it resolutely. WILHELM PIEC[K] Sons of workers and peasants[...] [caption list under the photograph of officer pupils, naming individual pupils with ages and fathers' occupations: partly cut off and partly illegible, not transcribed]
Read from the 1280 px image with enlarged crops of the numbered key and the adjacent board. Spellings (Kreischmar, Wenk, Mannstein, Crüwell) are as printed. 'verbrannten' (line 1) and 'Hauptzahl' (line 7) are partly unclear at this resolution and read by context; the Commons description's English rendering gives 'scorched earth'.
