Originally created for the 1945 Nazi Crime Exhibition, presented by the French government under the auspices of the United Nations War Crime Commission, this brutal Colin image was reissued twenty years later to commemorate the liberation of the concentration camps. When Colin, an agnostic, was questioned about his decision to illustrate humanity’s suffering in such a Christ-like manner, he replied, “Yes, if you insist, it’s Christ. But it’s really suffering, torture, humanity. I am anti-church. I believe that religions make war... So if you want to stigmatize, to evoke suffering, the fashionable martyrdom to use is that of Christ... Here you see, in this poster, a poor deported woman, nailed to the swastika. We should leave it at that” (Colin, p. 11). This is the larger format version of the poster.
Imp. Bedos, Paris
literature: Colin, 85; Colin Affichiste, 135; PAI-LIX, 320 (all var)