Information—particularly through leaflets and flyers—played a very important role in raising awareness in France during the Occupation.
Flyers, leaflets, or brochures distributed for informational purposes, and “posters”— tiny leaflets that were stuck on walls or tossed casually around, were a key means of raising awareness among the general public about the situation of Jews in France and the activities of the Resistance. They complemented the information disseminated by the underground press and helped recruit new fighters on a broader scale.
Many young Jewish communists were handing out leaflets outside movie theaters, from the balconies inside the theaters, at markets, at factory entrances and exits, from the elevated metro in Paris, on trams in Lyon and Villeurbanne, and in other regions.
During an operation in Lyon, leaflets in German were thrown over the walls of the Part-Dieu barracks to demoralize the enemy.
Passersby who pick up flyers—on the street or elsewhere—quickly hide them.
Transporting them is extremely dangerous, and many broadcasters are arrested and deported for anti-Hitler propaganda.
Reference:
Simon Cukier, Dominique Decèze, David Diamant, Michel Grojnowski, 1987, Revolutionary Jews, Messidor/Éditions sociales
