After the resignation of General de Gaulle from his post as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic on 20 January 1946, the mouthpiece of the French Communist Party, L’Humanité, calls for the formation of a new government led by the Communists.

In his memoirs, Maurice Thorez, General Secretary of the French Communist Party, recalls the large number of Communists in the French Government after the Second World War and their dismissal from power in 1947.

On 11 June 1945, the German Communist Party calls for the formation of a united democratic front against Nazism and for measures to overcome the consequences of the Second World War.

On 13 June 1945, the Deutsche Volkszeitung, periodical of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany, calls for unity among all anti-fascist democratic parties.

On 26 October 1945, the Deutsche Volkszeitung, daily newspaper of the German Communist Party, emphasises the success of the French Communist Party (PCF) in the elections of 21 October 1945.

On 4 August 1945, three months before general elections in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Communist Party announces its manifesto and reaffirms its determination to fight capitalism.

On 6 May 1947, L’Humanité, the mouthpiece of the French Communist Party, attacks the decision taken by Paul Ramadier to remove the Communist Ministers from the second government that he had formed the day before.

On 28 April 1947, workers at the Renault plant in Boulogne-Billancourt go on strike to protest against food shortages, rationing and wage freezes.

On the occasion of the 11th Congress of the French Communist Party (PCF) held in Strasbourg from 25 to 28 June 1947, Jacques Duclos, former Resistance fighter and Communist Vice-President of the French National Assembly, condemns the political instability and strikes affecting the country while emphasising the key role played by the Communists in the reconstruction of post-war France.

On 14 October 1947, in the light of the socio-economic difficulties facing Western Europe, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the growing influence of the Communist parties in France and Italy and sees Jacques Duclos, one of the leading figures in the French Communist Party and Vice-President of the French National Assembly, and Palmiro Togliatti, Secretary of the Italian Communist Party, as two representatives of Moscow’s political ideas.

‘We are bringing our geography to the Americans’. In October 1947, French cartoonist Bec deplores France’s economic and political subjugation to US interests. From left to right, Paul Ramadier, President of the Council of Ministers, and General de Gaulle, founder of the political party Rally of the French People (RPF), offer their country to the United States.

On 22 November 1947, the Bavarian newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung covers the riots and strikes paralysing France and Italy and analyses the role played by the Italian and French Communist parties who stand accused of fomenting disorder in order to gain power.

On 1 December 1947, the French Communist daily newspaper L’Humanité deplores the repressive measures taken by the French Government against the strikers and the trade union movements and warns against violating the right to strike, the right to form trade unions and the freedom of the press.

On 22 April 1948, commenting on the Communist defeat at the most recent legislative elections in Italy, the Luxembourg daily Catholic newspaper Luxemburger Wort strongly criticises the actions of the Communist parties in Europe.

On 16 November 1948, in an address to the National Assembly, Jules Moch, French Interior Minister, strongly condemns the political designs of the French Communist Party.

‘FIVE TO! — So, shall we keep it going or not?’ In November 1948, cartoonist Woop illustrates the social unrest affecting post-war France and highlights the role played in events by the French Communist Party (PCF).

On 10 October 1947, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the political objectives of Kominform and comments on the power struggle between Communist and Socialist parties in Eastern Europe.