Loins des Tiens…Mais pour Eux, pour la France [Far from Your Loved Ones…But for Them, for France]

Artist unknown
1944
lithograph on paper
Estate of Richard N. Tetlie ’43 in honor of Evelyn Ytterboe Tetlie and Joseph Tetlie

Superimposing a large photorealistic rendering of a man onto a map of France and centering it in the frame poses starkly the question of the Relève: Should a French citizen place their own happiness over duty to their country? The pathos-laden iconography and text make clear that patriotic duty is more important than individual concerns. The bold, simplistic representation of France channels an emotional attachment to the nation cultivated in French classrooms from an early age. The map is linked by color to the emotional appeal that war work in Germany is “for France,” while the poster’s tricolor background evokes the French flag. Echoing traditional gender expectations, the poster reminds men that they must provide for their families, even in wartime. The poster is soliciting civilian volunteers in exchange for repatriating three prisoners of war, implying that this program will lift up France, and therefore all French citizens, in a new Nazi Europe. While the portrait’s realism allows viewers to acknowledge one man’s anguish, his personal trials are overshadowed by concern for the greater good.  In the extensive campaign to recruit labor in occupied countries, posters often featured photographic images to enhance the credibility of the message