Max Radler’s cartoon was published in the German magazine, “Simplicissmus”, in 1946. Simplicissmus was a German, satirical magazine which was published weekly. The magazine was founded by Albert Langen in April of 1896 and ran until 1967. The magazine had modern graphics which were bright and striking, this was combined with daring political and audacious content. Max Radler was one of the many cartoonists who contributed to the satirical magazine. I will discuss is one of his most iconic political cartoons and also a famous cartoon in terms of its association with denazification. Political cartoons can often be light-hearted and witty, however, in many cases the cartoons serve as persuasive material to encourage the reader to reflect on current events. Usually the cartoonist will display a strong point of view in their artwork. There is a strong element of journalistic freedom and also freedom of speech that is accompanied with political cartoons. They allow the editors, artists, journalists and the general media to comment on politicians, politics and current events. For this essay I will focus on the concept of denazification and how it was conveyed in the political cartoon by Max Radler. I will also take a look at the cartoon in detail, along with its accompanying poem. Finally, I will analyze the success rate of denazification according to the cartoon and poem.
The National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party) ruled Germany as a totalitarian state during the years 1933 through to 1945. It was founded in 1919, initially called the “German Worker’s Party”. The group promoted anti-Semitism and also promoted German pride, the party expressed their dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. This was the peace settlement which ended World War I, the treaty required Germany to contribute a number of concessions and also reparations. Hitler joined the party in the year of its foundation and went on to become the leader in 1921. Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933 and soon after the Nazi government acquired their dictatorial powers. After the defeat of Germany in World War II in 1945, the Nazi party was banned and many of its high-ranking officials were convicted of war crimes in relation to the murder of 6 million European Jews during the Nazi reign. (Noakes, 2004) Germany was occupied by the Allies who and strived to purge Nazi influence from all aspects of German life this included state apparatus, German culture, press, economy and judicial system. This process of purging Nazi influences became known as “Denazification”. The process was agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference which was held between 17th July until 2nd August in 1945. (Loewenstein, 1947)
Denazification is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “The process of bringing the leaders of the National Socialist regime in Germany to justice and of purging all elements of Nazism from public life, carried out especially between 1945 and 1948.” (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2018) Denazification was the process of removing Nazi influence and ideology from all forms of public life in defeated Germany. The allies who occupied Germany carried out this process in a number of ways. The Nazi Party was banned. Any advocation of National Socialist ideas was made punishable by death. The Swastika symbol and other Nazi emblems were banned in public. Germans had to take questionnaires about the extent of their Nazi involvement. Former Nazi party members were taken to concentration camps and made watch footage of Jewish prisoners. This policy of denazification forced Germans to confront the crimes that they had committed due to the Nazi regime , but it was to also re-educate the ex-Nazi people, so they could leave Nazism in the past. There were five categories of involvement associated with Nazism established in 1946. These categories were; Major offenders, offenders, lesser offenders, followers and persons exonerated (a person who was at an obligation to do such a crime and therefore absolved from blame). (Plischke, 1947) Major offenders were faced with an immediate arrest which may include hard labor (only in some cases), they could also face death. Major offenders also had a list of smaller sanctions. Offenders included activists, profiteers, military figures and incriminated people. Offenders were faced with immediate arrest and could be imprisoned for up to ten years. They often had to work in reparations and reconstruction work. They also had a list of other restrictions which they had to abide by. Lesser offenders were on probations for two to three years with a list of restrictions, however, they were not faced with internment. Followers were often faced with restrictions regarding travel, political rights, employment and they also had to pay fines. Exonerated persons had no sanctions. (Noakes, 2004)
For the Allies they wanted to ensure that Germany would never again be able to cause such damage to European peace and identity as it had in both world wars. The main aim was to demilitarize, denazify and democratize Germany. The international military tribunal was established in August 1945, this was to put individuals who were considered to have prominent roles in the war and held responsibility for its outbreak and for crimes under the Hitler regime on trial. The trials were held in Nuremburg because many Nazi political rallies were staged here. These trials began in the November of 1945. (Loewenstein, 1947)
There were twenty-two men on trial. (Plischke, 1947) These men were considered to be responsible for the Nazi regime, the administration of the regime and also for the guidance of Germany’s armed forces (Wehrmacht). The crimes were against humanity and peace and also against war crimes. Some of the men on trial included Albert Speer and Hermann Goering. The accusers unveiled the background of the advancements that led to World War II and also the extent of the crimes which were committed was revealed. Twelve of those accused were sentenced to death, seven faced a sentence in prison and three men were exonerated. The trials received a large amount of media attention across the globe. People reacted with disgust and terror in regard to the revelations which were brought to light by the trials. After the trials of the prominent figures, there were trials of the lesser offenders. Thousands of people faced these trials. (Noakes, 2004)
As I mentioned, the allies wanted to punish the leaders of the Hitler regime, but they also wished to purge all elements of Nazism from public life. The pasts of lower level persons connected to the Nazi regime were reviewed in order to determine the parts they played within the regime and whether or not they should be excluded from roles within Germany’s new politics or government. German people with government experience who weren’t involved within the Nazi regime would be needed to assist with the authorities to deal with the zoning of Germany. Germany was divided into four zones. France in the southwest, Britain in the northwest, United States in the south and finally the Soviet Union, in the east. (Vogt, 2003)
The denazification process was carried out differently in each zone. The most complex procedures were carried out in the United States zone. Individuals who were being investigated completed questionnaires (Fragebögen) which requested information from Germans regarding their personal histories, activities and memberships during the Third Reich. They would also appear before a panel of German mediators to discuss the information on their questionnaires. (Noakes, 2004) Denazification was less extreme in the British and French zones, this was because the authorities felt that a working administration system needed to be re-established in their zones. Denazification was the most strict and meticulous in the Soviet zone. Any teachers, civil servants or legal officials who had any significant Nazi past were purged completely. Any former Nazis who had owned estates or factories had their property confiscated and were blacklisted. This was an ideal system for taking over the resources of the soviets “class-enemy”. Some former Nazis participated in a social transformation and in turn worked in high positions for the new communist class, they were also pardoned from their crimes. (Vogt, 2003)
Denazification authorized for lesser offenders to be tried before more complicated cases which involved official party members who were higher up within the regime. As time went on, prosecutions became less extreme, especially once the United States had to turn their attention to the Cold War. (Vogt, 2003) Denazification ended in March of 1948, the more serious cases associated with members higher up in the Nazi regime had not faced their trials. Many former Nazi members who were part of organizing extreme crimes escaped prosecution as a result of this. (Noakes, 2004)
Photo Analysation
As I mentioned earlier, the political cartoon was published in Simplicissmus in June 1946. The cartoon and its accompanying poem are entitled “Black becomes White, or Automatic Denazification”. This title gives us an insight into the minds of the population at the time. “Black becomes White”, while this references the newspaper tradition of political cartoons, it also gives a sense of contradiction in the German people’s behaviour. It seems that there is a blame game going in terms of taking responsibility for war crimes. “Automatic Denazification,” suggests that Nazi party followers were quickly changing their political views automatically in order to ensure that they were not the criminals.
This political cartoon critically and ironically comments on the results of the denazification program which is seen as problematic. There is an allied officer supervising the system in the top right corner of the cartoon, he holds a long list in his hand. We see an inspection on the machine which leads us to believe that the “denazifier” idea is owned by Heinrich Schmitt who was the Bavarian special minister for political liberation and also responsible for the carrying out of the denazification program by the American Military Government. The denazifier is said in the poem to turn “black sheep from the brown house” into “snow-white lambs”. The brown house references the NSDAP headquarters in Munich. The lambs in the cartoon have crosses around their necks and hold flowers which portrays a strong innocent image. There also spectators in the cartoon who seem to hold no responsibility for the Nazi war crimes. We see the lambs pass the government of Bavaria and a church representative, this is in the middle of the cartoon, where they stand in a pulpit. The poem strongly exposes a view that the Nazi followers automatically shifted the blame from themselves, that they claimed to never have been involved and how the others were “the guilty ones”. It would was believed that the followers automatically turned from “bad into good” through this program, however this was an ironic view laid out by Max Radler and the poet J. Menter.
Success or Failure?
When analysing the cartoon and its poem, it is evident that the poet and cartoonist believed the denazification program to be problematic and inadequate. This political cartoon shows a negative perspective on the denazification program. The cartoon deals with denazification in a subjective manner, constantly criticizing. The program is seen as contradictory. The supervisor figures of the program are shown to believe that denazification would be a straight forward and automatic process, in the cartoon we see the black sheep going through denazification process and coming out as white innocent and holy sheep. The cartoon suggests that this process was just to keep spectators quiet and content with the aftermath of the war. The most striking part of the cartoon for me, which gave the true opinion of the illustrator was the banner which reads, “There will be more joy over one sinner who repents than over ten righteous persons.” This is a quite ironic statement. It refers to the amount of innocent people who suffered and how there is so much praise to the war criminals who are seeking forgiveness. In conclusion the cartoon and poem are highly critical of the denazification process. This conveyed through the visual aspect but also the accompanying poetry. Personally, I believe that the denazification program while effect was unsuccessful. The fact that many former Nazi members who had a large role in the organisation of extreme crimes had escaped prosecution due to the denazification program coming to an end before these ex-Nazi members were tried for their far more serious cases. (Noakes, 2004) In my opinion, this is where the program became unsuccessful.
Max Radler’s 1946 cartoon from “Simplicissimus” and its accompanying poem look at denazification in an ironical way. The cartoon and poem criticize the denazification program through words and visuals. Denazification brought many war crimes to light, however, not all responsible party members were put on trial for their crimes. (Vogt, 2003) The denazification program did purge many elements of Nazi behaviour from public life however it was problematic and complex, due to the different zones having contrasting procedures. Many former Nazi officials, with the exception of offenders and major offenders were able to reclaim their positions in civil service or in political positions within the West German government system. To conclude I would like to restate the message that was included in the cartoon by Max Radler, “There will be more joy over one sinner who repents than over ten righteous persons.”
Word Count: 2201 words
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