Partners in Crime (Chinese poster distributed in Asia)
A yellow sheet with a hammer in a fist marked with a star and a sickle in a hand with a suited cuff, over a Chinese headline meaning 'Partners in Crime'. Five photographs, each with a Chinese caption, show anti-aircraft fire in Korea, a mass meeting, a man with a pistol beside men with rifles, and a denunciation scene; a Herblock cartoon shows Stalin kneeling on a victim with a 'letter of appreciation' to Mao. The tell is name-calling: the Sino-Soviet alliance is labelled a criminal partnership, with chosen images as proof.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- May 26, 1952
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- U.S. Information Agency (predecessor: State Department International Information and Educational Exchange Program), Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia series
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Truman Administration
- Leader
- Harry S. Truman
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Demonize
- Themes
- War and the military, Security and surveillance
- Event
- Korean War
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), Record Group 306, Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia (NAID 1767935), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work; NARA RG 306)
U.S. Information Agency / Department of State, May 26, 1952. National Archives, Record Group 306 (NAID 5730041, 306-PPA-140).
Text on the object
罪惡的夥伴 一九五○年二月十四日蘇聯及中共簽訂了友好同盟互助條約．此一同盟的自然產物之一便是北韓之襲擊大韓民國和中共「志願軍」的參戰．二者都使用蘇聯的武器和方式．另一種友好的結果便是企圖將中國改造成為蘇聯的附庸．克里姆林宮的「顧問」今日正在中國摧毀這偉大國家的久被尊崇的文化． 中共在韓國發射高射炮．他們自蘇聯得到槍炮，軍火和雷達設備． 一連串的控告和公開審判是蘇聯的發明．中共採取它來壓迫人民，並且加強他們在國內控制力量． 蘇聯式的警察制度現在也存在於中國了．「人民」軍的恐怖很快便箝制住一切抗議． 家庭制度破壞了．共黨驅使朋友們互相偵察，也鼓勵子女們去檢舉他們的父母． [cartoon] TO MAO-- "LETTER OF APPRECIATION" FROM STALIN HERBLOCK © 1952 THE WASHINGTON POST CO.
Partners in Crime. On 14 February 1950 the Soviet Union and Communist China signed a treaty of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance. One natural product of this alliance was North Korea's attack on the Republic of Korea and the entry of the Chinese Communist 'volunteers'. Both use Soviet weapons and methods. Another result of the friendship is the attempt to turn China into a Soviet dependency. The Kremlin's 'advisers' are today destroying in China the long-respected culture of this great country. Captions: The Chinese Communists fire anti-aircraft guns in Korea; they obtained guns, munitions and radar equipment from the Soviet Union. A series of accusations and public trials is a Soviet invention; the Chinese Communists have adopted it to oppress the people and to strengthen their control inside the country. The Soviet-style police system now also exists in China; the terror of the 'People's' army quickly silenced all protest. The family system has been destroyed; the Communists drive friends to spy on one another and encourage children to report their parents. Cartoon: To Mao--'Letter of Appreciation' from Stalin.
Some characters are small and low-resolution (for example 檢舉 and 在 in the captions) and are read approximately; the cartoon text is English. The cartoon copyright year is read from small print.
