Allied Intrigue in the Low Countries. A Summary of the German White Book No. 5.
- Title:
- Allied Intrigue in the Low Countries. A Summary of the German White Book No. 5.
- Alternate Title:
- Allied Intrigue in the Low Countries
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- German Library of Information
- Date:
- 1940
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 2063.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_2063_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1940 - 1959
- Subject:
- World War II
Deception/Distortion - Measurement:
- 19 x 13 on page 28 x 22 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This spurious map was an attempt by the Nazis to justify the invasion of France and Low Countries as a defensive necessity. The Germans claimed there had been an "elaborate plan of the British and French to invade the rich German valley of the Ruhr with the cooperation of both Belgium and the Netherlands." The German deception featured an elaborate "German White Book No. 5" explaining the alleged plot with a large, incomprehensible map purporting to illustrate the allied plans. The "German Library of Information" in New York published the "White Book" and large map in English, and further spread the disinformation on the front page of its periodical publication "Facts in Review." As one scholar concluded, this is an example of "Nazi propagandists" using "facsimile maps to prove their opponents' treachery and justify Germany's advancing western front. Nonskeptical Americans were thought likely to accept the largely illegible, hand-labeled map . . . as convincing evidence" of the alleged Franco/British scheme. "Germany, the map implied, had merely done to them first what they had been plotting to do to her." Monmonier 1996, 104-05. For a copy of the full-size map from White Book No. 5, see ID #2059.
The "German Library of Information" in New York played an important role in German propaganda from the late 1930s until America's entry into the war after Pearl Harbor. The collection includes other publications of the German Library in New York: ID ##1302.01-.07 ("The War in Maps 1939/40"); ID #2273 ("The German Reich 1939"). And the reaction of the American cartographic community to maps issued by the Library marked a turning point in the history of persuasive cartography. For more about the Library, see Notes for ID #1302.01.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- "Allied Intrigue in the Low Countries, A Summary of the German White Book No. 5," Facts in Review, November 25, 1940.
- Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.