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Catalogue information
LastDodo number
6291897
Area
Drawings / paintings
Title
Germans to be armed for guerilla warfare - News Items
Artist
Art object
Art Movement / style
Genre
Material
Technique used
Colouring
Dimensions
38 x 26 cm
Series / hero
Collection / set
Number
Addition to number
Year
1944
Country
Language
Details
Original pen and ink/pencil/crayon editorial cartoon drawing on art card, 1944, published in the Christian Science Monitor, shows Hitler handing weapons to older civilians while saying ‘you must help defeat the enemy!’. Two Germans in uniform, probably Gestapo, look on in alarm while one asks ‘but supposing they have a different idea from ours as to who their enemy is? The “Volksturm” was set up by the Nazi Party in October 1944 as a people’s militia and made up of men between the ages of 16 and 60 not already in military service, in a last desperate attempt to turn the tide of war - Hitler was prepared to sacrifice countless German military and civilian lives to sustain the war effort indefinitely for no good reason. In the eyes of German civilians however, the once triumphant image of Adolf Hitler was beginning to fade amid the ceaseless air raids, gloomy war news from all fronts, increasing deprivations and shortages on the home front, and the ever-mounting death toll among the German armed forces. The possibility that these civilian forces might turn against Hitler was however greatly reduced by the fact that Volksturm units were integrated into regular army units. Stamped on verso: “Used Oct 9 1944". Signed lower left, card size 38 x 26 cm, image size: 29 x 24.5 cm. Caption in blue crayon in upper border, in overall very good condition.