We will remember that!! Word of the Week German propaganda poster mocking British defeats and criticizing politician Duff Cooper

German propaganda poster issued in 1940, from the Parole der Woche (Word of the Week) series. The poster references British politician Duff Cooper, who was Secretary of State for War in Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s administration. Cooper believed that Hitler and Nazi Germany were a threat to European peace, and used his position to fight for increased military budgets and rearmament. His views went against those of Chamberlain’s administration and public sentiment at the time. He was viewed by many as increasingly hawkish, and along with Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden, Cooper was called a warmonger by Hitler. Cooper disagreed with Chamberlain’s appeasement policy toward Hitler. After Chamberlain conceded Czechoslovakia to Germany in the Munich Agreement, Cooper resigned from office in protest. When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, Cooper served as Minister of Information and as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The poster also references British defeats during the battles of France and Norway in 1940. The Nazis used propaganda to buttress public support for the war effort, shape public opinion, and reinforce antisemitic ideas. As part of their propaganda campaign, the Nazis created the Word of the Week Series of posters (also referred to as Wandzeitung, or wall newspapers), which began distribution on March 16, 1936. Each week, new posters were placed in public places and businesses to be viewed by as many people as possible. Posters were the primary medium for the series, but smaller pamphlets were also produced, which could be plastered on the back of correspondences. The posters targeted the Nazis’ early political adversaries, Jews, Communists, and Germany’s enemies during the war. The series was discontinued in 1943.