Simplicissimus, No 7, 17th February 1943

Simplicissimus No. 7, 17th February 1943, 48 Jahrgang. (Years of publication) (The name is a Latin term meaning simplest and is the name given to the protagonist of a 17th-century novel, Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimuss, in which a naive and innocent boy with the name Siplicissimus, navigates a corrupt 17th-century Europe). Simplicissimus was a long-running political satire magazine published continuously from 1896 through to September 1944, when, as for the majority of print publications in the Third Reich, paper shortages forced it to cease. The magazine was popular and known for its biting satire, attacking bourgeois morality, the church, civil servants, lawyers and the military. During the Weimar period it attacked the politics of the left and the right equally, including numerous Adolf Hitler caricatures, and these continued into 1933 even after the Nazis regime assumed power. However, later in 1933, Simplicissimus underwent Gleichschalting - the process of coordination and Nazification, which forced publications to align with National Socialist ideology and state control. This involved replacing journalists who didn't conform, sacking Jewish or those of non-Aryan descent and ensuring that all content served approved Nazi objectives. Following this Simplicissimus published increasing antisemitic, anti-British and anti-American material which hardened once Germany was at war. Simplicissimus was published from 4th April 1896 to No 37 to the 13th September 1944. The cover picture shows US president Franklin D Roosevelt standing up with the aid of crutches while a nurse writes at a desk behind him, with the title and text reading: The Dictator - Miss, you're taking shorthand too slowly. How quickly do you think I divided up the world!'. The cartoon mocks President Roosevelt's disability and references his polio paralysis, a frequent target of Nazi propaganda. It further vilifies the Allied war effort as dictatorial imperialism: The caption portrays Roosevelt as a ruthless dictator and suggests the Allies, including the USSR and Great Britain, were dividing up the world for their own gain and uses The Dictator to equate Roosevelt with Axis leaders like Hitler, thus undermining Allied resolve: The ultimate aim of the cartoon is to weaken the moral standing of the US and its allies by suggesting the war was for territorial conquest, not a just cause

Anti-american Axis Caption Cause Crutches Dictator Dictatorial Disability Divided Dividing Frequent Further Gain Imperialism Long-running Mocks Moral Paralysis Polio Portrays Quickly References Resolve Roosevelts Ruthless Shorthand Simplicissimus Slowly Suggesting Suggests Target Territorial Think Thus Ultimate Undermining Uses Weaken Writes Youre

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