diff --git a/cmd2/cmd2.py b/cmd2/cmd2.py
index de0621bf..72d93f49 100644
--- a/cmd2/cmd2.py
+++ b/cmd2/cmd2.py
@@ -4484,7 +4484,10 @@ def _initialize_history(self, hist_file: str) -> None:
             self.perror(f"Cannot read persistent history file '{hist_file}': {ex}")
             return
         except (json.JSONDecodeError, lzma.LZMAError, KeyError, UnicodeDecodeError, ValueError) as ex:
-            self.perror(f"Error processing persistent history file '{hist_file}': {ex}")
+            self.perror(
+                f"Error processing persistent history file '{hist_file}': {ex}\n"
+                f"The history file will be recreated when this application exits."
+            )
 
         self.history.start_session()
         self.persistent_history_file = hist_file