V for Victory Radio Campaign

In January 1941 Belgian politician and broadcaster Victor de Laveleye used the BBC’s Belgian service to encourage listeners in occupied Europe to adopt the letter V as a sign of resistance. The symbol could stand for victoire in French and vrijheid in Dutch, allowing it to cross language boundaries and be reproduced easily as graffiti or hand signs.

The BBC expanded the idea into a broader campaign, associating the letter with the opening rhythm of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Winston Churchill publicly adopted the V sign, while the symbol circulated through occupied countries and was also used by Charles de Gaulle and other Allied figures. German propaganda attempted to appropriate the campaign in response.

The campaign illustrates how wartime radio propaganda could invite audiences to participate rather than simply listen. David Boyle’s V for Victory reconstructs the origins and spread of the symbol and places the BBC’s broadcasts within the wider psychological struggle against Nazi occupation.