Confiance – ses amputations se poursuivent méthodiquement [Have Faith - The Systematic Amputations Are Continuing]
- Title:
- Confiance – ses amputations se poursuivent méthodiquement [Have Faith - The Systematic Amputations Are Continuing]
- Alternate Title:
- Have Faith - The Systematic Amputations Are Continuing
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- S.P.K.
- Date:
- 1942
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 2123.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_2123_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1940 - 1959
- Subject:
- World War II
Satirical
Pictorial - Measurement:
- 74 x 54 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- In this "propaganda poster published in German occupied France, the figure of Winston Churchill is strikingly caricaturized as a giant octopus, cigar gripped between ruby-red lips, tentacles spreading out from Britain across a stylised map of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Many of the limbs are cut and bleeding profusely. The names of Mers El-Kebir, Dakar, Libya-Egypt, Somalia, Syria, Germany and Norway, adjacent to these cuts and amputations, triumphantly declare recent British naval and military set-backs and defeats." Barron 2008, #29. See Barber 2010, 165; Curtis 2016, 136-39. While this poster seems particular vicious to the modern viewer, "support for the Vichy regime was far more widespread than it was expedient to admit after 1945." Bryars 2014, 100.
Date is for the estimated publication of the original version of this poster, in a large format, about 1942; this copy is a smaller format version published after the war. Although sometimes referred to as a "Vichy" poster, the original "is likely to have been printed in Paris by the Propaganda-Abteilung Frankreich, the German propaganda unit in occupied France." Curtis 2016, 137.
The octopus is a persistent trope in persuasive cartography. It first appeared in Frederick Rose's "Serio-Comic War Map For The Year 1877," ID #2272, about the Russo-Turkish War. "Once Fred W. Rose had created the 'Octopus' map of Europe, it proved difficult to rid propaganda maps of them." Barber 2010, 164. "The prevalence of the octopus motif in later maps suggests that the octopus also spoke to humanity's primeval fears, evoking a terrifying and mysterious creature from the depths (the dark outer places of the world) that convincingly conjured a sense of limitless evil." Baynton-Williams 2015, 180.
The collection includes numerous maps - from Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, the Netherlands and the U.S. - employing the octopus motif. (Search > “octopus”.) Many of these relate to imperialism and war, from 1877 to the Cold War. Others attack social and political targets, including a "reactionary" journalist, the Standard Oil monopoly, “Landlordism,” mail order houses, Jews and Mormons.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.