Kohlenklau, the coal thief, was a cartoon figure of the Second World War. He was an animal-like thief with a sack, and he lurked at the stove, the oven, the window and the door. A poster of 1943 by the graphic artist Johannes Landwehrmann shows him. The campaign asked Germans to save coal at home and at work.
The Propaganda Ministry had long used subordinate agencies for public campaigns like this one. A German historical source collection judges that the campaign was largely unsuccessful.