Votre Famille Sera Heureuse!  Travaillez en Allemagne [Your Family Will Be Happy! Work in Germany]

1942
André Deran
lithograph on paper
Estate of Richard N. Tetlie ’43 in honor of Evelyn Ytterboe Tetlie and Joseph Tetlie

Similar to other posters, this one upholds and celebrates the traditional gender role of the “nurturing mother”  while appealing to men as the traditional protectors of the family unit. Image and text divide the poster into four horizontal panels. The largest panel highlights a mother and child, happy presumably because the father can earn money and recover his dignity. Comparison with Loin des tiens… is useful; André Deran, a Frenchman and known supporter of Nazi Germany, is the likely artist of both posters. Unlike in Loin…, working in Germany is not a matter of sacrifice and longing for family. Rather, it is presented oxymoronically as both a dream come true and a command from authorities. The decontextualized factories floating in the “sea” in the third horizontal panel here transform Loin…’s dark factories and smoke stacks into surreal, dream-like images. The pastel blue background in the second panel and fresh greens in the third lend a distinct painterly feel that evokes calm and a “fresh start,” rather than brooding patriotism. Similar to Loin…, the bottom panel entreats viewers to “Work in Germany.” However, this panel includes addresses, likely for French municipal offices, where individuals should go to register. This poster harkens to an earlier period visually, but dictates compliance with the hated new STO as resistance to the Nazis was increasing.