In the aftermath of World War I, the French occupation of the Rhineland sparked a wave of intense propaganda in Germany. This campaign, known as the Black Shame, exploited deep-seated racial prejudices and fears, portraying the presence of French colonial troops as a threat to German women and the purity of the German race. The campaign was fueled by fabricated stories of violence and sexual assault, which were widely disseminated through brochures, posters, and films. This propaganda not only demonized the French colonial soldiers but also targeted the children born from relationships between these soldiers and German women, who were subjected to social ostracization and, in some cases, forced sterilization under the Nazi regime's racial hygiene policies.