Uilenspiegel Calls You to the Waffen-SS
Flemish recruitment poster for the Waffen-SS. The “Ashes of Claes” is a metaphor used to refer to one’s Flemish ancestors, while the illustrated figure featured here is Tijl Uilenspiegel, a character from German-Dutch medieval folklore. He is employed here in an effort to mobilize the Flemish youth by appealing to their sense of honor for their ancestors. Forming the backdrop is the Flemish lion, a longstanding symbol for Flanders, again dating back to the Middle Ages.
The horrors these volunteers would experience on the Eastern Front were sublimated by the propaganda machine of Nazi-aligned forces in Flanders into a heroic tale of chivalry and self-sacrifice using these medieval motifs. These soldiers would nonetheless embody this narrative of dignity and bravery in the flesh, with Hitler himself stating of the Flemish they “have indeed shown themselves on the Eastern Front to be more pro-German and more ruthless than the Dutch legionaries”.
Poster reads: The Ashes of Claes Beats on My Chest… | Uilenspiegel Calls You to the Waffen-SS | Replacement Command Flanders of the Waffen-SS, Wetstraat 44, Brussels
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Flemish recruitment poster for the Waffen-SS. The “Ashes of Claes” is a metaphor used to refer to one’s Flemish ancestors, while the illustrated figure featured here is Tijl Uilenspiegel, a character from German-Dutch medieval folklore. He is employed here in an effort to mobilize the Flemish youth by appealing to their sense of honor for their ancestors. Forming the backdrop is the Flemish lion, a longstanding symbol for Flanders, again dating back to the Middle Ages.
The horrors these volunteers would experience on the Eastern Front were sublimated by the propaganda machine of Nazi-aligned forces in Flanders into a heroic tale of chivalry and self-sacrifice using these medieval motifs. These soldiers would nonetheless embody this narrative of dignity and bravery in the flesh, with Hitler himself stating of the Flemish they “have indeed shown themselves on the Eastern Front to be more pro-German and more ruthless than the Dutch legionaries”.
Poster reads: The Ashes of Claes Beats on My Chest… | Uilenspiegel Calls You to the Waffen-SS | Replacement Command Flanders of the Waffen-SS, Wetstraat 44, Brussels
