L'Amerique en Guerre, 8 Decembre 1943
Europe: United States Office of War Information (OWI) in Europe, 1943. Periodical. This is a surprisingly well-preserved copy of the 8 December 1943 issue of the U.S.-published, French-language wartime newspaper L’Amerique en Guerre, published by the U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) in Europe. The English translation of the title reads America at War, and the sub-heading: Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill decide to attack to the west, to the east, and to the south.
The newspaper-format artifact is a single sheet folded to produce four panels measuring 10.5 x 8.5 inches (26.7 x 21.6 cm), these printed in black, red, and blue with dense text punctuated by multiple black and white photographs, including of Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt at Tehran and of a petulantly contorted Hitler on the rear panel.
Two things render this Second World War artifact special. The first is its excellent state of preservation. The second is the stamps at the head of the front cover. In bold red at the upper center in two lines is stamped “CONFIDENTIAL | (BRITISH SECRET)”. Just below and to the left at an angle in two lines, also in red, is stamped “APPORTE au People Francais | par l’Armee de l’Air Americaine” – this roughly translating as “Brought to the French People by the American Air Force”. Per print at the base of page 4, publication is attributed thus: “Publie par le Bureau d’Information du Guerre du Governement des Etas-Unis d’Amerique a sa base europienne”, roughly translating as “Published by the United States Government War Information Office at its European base”. Whether this publication, entirely in French, was intended for the people of occupied France or for expatriate French, including forces fighting with the Allies, we do not know. Certainly the “CONFIDENTIAL (BRITISH SECRET)” stamp is interesting.
Condition is very good plus. The newspaper is bight, clean, and complete, despite being wrinkled at extremities and with a short, closed tear to the lower blank margin of the front panel. It is now housed in a clear, removable, archival sleeve.
The lead story and image dominating the front cover is of the Tehran conference held from 28 November to 1 December 1943. Many images were taken of this moment when the “Big Three” posed for the press. This particular image is perhaps most true to the sentiments of the gathering – showing none of the three men directly regarding one another, Churchill slouching and unsmiling, Roosevelt composed and aloof, Stalin leaning forward, hands clasped, with the hint of a grin.
The “Big Three” conference was the first of its kind and one of only two among these leaders. Churchill christened the meeting – not entirely hyperbolically - as probably ‘the greatest concentration of worldly power that had ever been seen in the history of mankind’. But concentration did not mean harmony.
Together with the second WSC-FDR-Stalin Conference at Yalta in the Crimea from 4-11 February 1945, Tehran proved a defining event of the 20th Century, shaping not only Allied war strategy, but also the postwar world and drawing the battle lines of the long Cold War to come. Item #006985
Price: $150.00