La paix de l'ennemi (Peace on the Enemy's Terms)
A spiked-helmet Kaiser tramples a prone man and thrusts a 'Traité de Paix' at a kneeling woman while a dagger points at her; the printed text lists what befell Russia and Romania and asks readers to 'judge' what France would be offered, ending 'Vaincre d'abord!' The argument runs from two hand-picked cases to a single predicted fate for France.
- Date
- 1918
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- French wartime home-front propaganda (sponsor not named on the sheet); signed V. Prouvé; printed by Berger-Levrault
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- France
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- Clemenceau Government
- Leader
- Georges Clemenceau
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front
- Event
- World War I
- Techniques
- Fear appealCard stacking
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Library of Congress, retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain in the U.S. (published 1918, before 1931); LOC record states no rights line
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZC2-3997.
Text on the object
[on the document in the Kaiser's hand] TRAITÉ DE PAIX La PAIX de L'ENNEMI. L'Allemagne a déclaré en 1917 qu'elle désirait une paix sans indemnités ni annexions. La Russie, pour avoir cru à sa parole, a été dépecée, humiliée et ruinée; elle a perdu ses provinces, ses alliés, elle subit la famine et l'anarchie. La Roumanie, sous peine de se voir partagée entre l'Autriche et la Bulgarie, a dû céder à ses pires ennemis une partie de son territoire et devenir en fait la vassale de l'Allemagne. Par les conditions imposées à la Russie et à la Roumanie, jugeons de celles qui nous seraient réservées si nous nous laissions prendre au piège. Vaincre d'abord ! [signature, lower left] V. Prouvé 1918 [printer's line, lower right] Imp. Berger-Levrault, Paris-Nancy
[on the document in the Kaiser's hand] PEACE TREATY The ENEMY'S PEACE. Germany declared in 1917 that it wanted a peace without indemnities or annexations. Russia, for having believed its word, was dismembered, humiliated and ruined; it has lost its provinces and its allies, and it suffers famine and anarchy. Romania, on pain of being divided between Austria and Bulgaria, had to cede part of its territory to its worst enemies and in effect become the vassal of Germany. From the conditions imposed on Russia and on Romania, let us judge those that would be reserved for us if we let ourselves be taken in by the trap. Victory first!
Read from the 1024-pixel LOC image; the hand lettering is legible but a few words in the body text may be misread. The printer's line at lower right is very small.
