Death to the Brutes

Death To The Brutes is the title of a historical anarchist poster that was originally printed in France in August 1943, during World War II . The poster was signed "International Revolutionary Syndicalist Federation (F.I.S.R.)". 150 copies of the poster were produced.^[1] The poster was referred to by Jean Rabaut in his best-selling Tout est possible!: Les gauchistes français 1929-1944 (Everything Is Possible: The French Leftists 1929-1944), in which he gave, according to Libcom.org, "a very distorted description of its contents, stating that it urged people to nail all "brutes" to doors, including those wearing the symbol of the "five-pointed star.""^[1][2]

The text of the poster illustrates well the militant pro-worker, cosmopolitan, anti-militarist and anti-government sentiments common to the anarcho-syndicalist movement.

Original copies of the poster are held by the C.I.R.A. Library, Centre Internationale de Recherches sur l'Anarchisme, avenue de Beaumont 24, CH-1012 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Text

The full text of the poster, as translated by Charlatan Stew, reads as follows: ^[3]

Proletarians!

From East to West, from South to North, throughout the world, for three years, to a greater or lesser extent, you have been paying the price of the battle unleashed by your masters. Thousands of proletarians of all countries are dying, while men of finance, politics and war, brutes that they are, congratulate each other, giving speeches, sharing out the benefits, and dividing the wealth and privileges among them selves.

Remember, you veterans of the "war to end all wars," when you came home in 1918, still blood-stained from that infamous butchery which left ten million dead, twenty million injured, ten million permanently disabled, three million missing and millions of widows and orphans--then you said, and promised, NEVER AGAIN! Now, again, the military beasts have got their hands on you. All over the world, men are no longer men, they are serial numbers.

How long will this last? Until the proletarians of the whole world understand that they have only one enemy: their bosses. Until the proletarians of the whole world fraternize, unite and finally charge forward, armed with bayonets still wet with their brothers' blood, to stab in the ass all the governing and war- mongering charlatans.

Proletarians: In 1919 and in 1936 you shouted, "Death to The Brutes!" Now, in 1943, don't shout, ACT. Death to ALL of them, whether they wear the swastika, the red star, the Order of the Garter, the Lorraine Cross or the Francisque.

LONG LIVE LIBERTY!

LONG LIVE PEACE!

LONG LIVE THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION!

See also

• Anarchism and the arts

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "1939-1945: Anarchist activity in France during World War II". Libcom.org. 2005-12-02. http://libcom.org/library/anarchist-activity-france-world-war-2. Retrieved 2008-02-24. 
2. ^ Rabaut, Jean. Tout est possible!: Les gauchistes français 1929-1944. Paris: Denoël-Gonthier, 1974 OCLC 1505571
3. ^ "Anarchist anti-war poster distributed in occupied France". flag.blackened.net. http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/anarchism/texts/war/deathtothebrutes.html. Retrieved 2008-02-24.