1942: Britain Hits Back - 1,000-Bomber Raids on Cologne, Essen, Bremen
Three aerial photographs show a factory district of Cologne and the Koelnisch Gummifaden Fabrik at Deutz before and after the raid, beside a quotation credited to Winston Churchill promising that German cities will face an ordeal 'the like of which has never been experienced by any country'. The tell is the attributed prime-ministerial promise (testimonial) and the one-sided tally of 250 factories damaged or destroyed, given without British losses or civilian casualties (card-stacking).
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Unattributed British wartime poster series 'The Battle of Britain, August-October 1940' (no imprint visible)
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Churchill Government
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (UK Crown copyright expired); NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
Unattributed British wartime poster series 'The Battle of Britain, August-October 1940' (no imprint visible). National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-434a.
Text on the object
"German cities will be subjected to an ordeal the like of which has never been experienced by any country" promises WINSTON CHURCHILL 1942: BRITAIN HITS BACK 1,000-BOMBER RAIDS ON COLOGNE, ESSEN, BREMEN ON MAY 30th, 1942, over 1,000 bombers raided Cologne in a concentrated attack lasting 90 minutes. Here is an aerial photograph of the devastation caused in the factory area of the city. At left: The Kölnisch Gummifaden Fabrik at Deutz, Cologne, before the raid. At right: The same factory after the raid. The main building has been entirely destroyed. Over 250 factories were damaged or destroyed in the raid. [emblem:] THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN AUGUST-OCTOBER 1940 (1940 1942)
