Lodniho Prostoru Ubyva Na Vsech Morich [Shipping Capacity Decreases on All Oceans]
- Title:
- Lodniho Prostoru Ubyva Na Vsech Morich [Shipping Capacity Decreases on All Oceans]
- Alternate Title:
- Shipping Capacity Decreases on All Oceans
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Date:
- 1942
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2401.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2401_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1940 - 1959
- Subject:
- Pictorial
World War II - Measurement:
- 55 x 50 on sheet 59 x 82 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This is a propaganda map produced at the height of German success in December 1942. It is entirely in Czech, and it was plainly part of an effort to counter a fierce resistance movement in the former Czechoslovakia by making it appear that ultimate German victory was inevitable.
On land, the map shows Axis advances in Africa, Russia and Western Europe, including the growing threat to England from German bombers. But the focus of the map is on the devastating impact of the war at sea, particularly by German U-boats: “Shipping Capacity Decreases on All Oceans.” Bold red arrows show the submarine warfare dominating the Atlantic, into the Caribbean, and to the doorstep of cities in the U.S. and Canada. Dramatic photos surround the map, with captions like “The United States tanker ship is torpedoed, a huge column bends and the smoke rises to the sky. The oil rain also lit the lifeboats and the wreckage floating on the surface.”
At the bottom center of the map is a graph covering the first 11 months of 1942, with the following legend: “Deadly curve of the sinking of the British and North American ships. In September 1942, It exceeded one million [tons]. Through autumn storms and intensified defenses, the sinking continues undiminished.”
At the bottom left of the map is a legend that emphasizes the point of inevitable German victory: “When the world public was deeply disturbed by the first news of the sinking of North American merchant ships by German submarines near the eastern US coast, the US immediately made a vicious statement that it would be done shortly and the German submarine would soon disappear from the American waters. It has been a year since the United States entered the war, but the Axis of the Sea has not disappeared from the US . . . . vessels suffer in all the seas, so great that even the largest shipbuilding program can't keep up with their sinking. What good will all the promises of help and the greater production of material do, if not enough shipping is available to make the material available on the battlefield?”
For a very similar propaganda map aimed at the neutral Portuguese, see ID #2358, “Is England in Trouble? Yes!” (1941).
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.