This is a really poignant illustration of the seductive nature of glorifying war but that is a LOOK and she is SERVING it
I’ve seen Death depicted as a card dealer or other sort of gambler, a guy in a suit, a farmer, a robed apparition, and any other number of things, but this? This has to be the best Death I’ve seen yet. An old seductress saying “hey kid, don’t you wanna die in a trench for a government that doesn’t give a fuck about you, just like your dear old dad?” This goes hard as fuck.
as an artistic piece this is very powerful—its artist, c.d. batchelor of the new york daily news, won a pulitzer prize for it—but the new york daily news was a centrist paper that was staunchly isolationist throughout the 1930’s
1936 was three years into the second world war in asia. it was the year hitler remilitarized the rhineland, breaking the treaty of versailles. it was the year the spanish civil war began—a war which saw not only european youths, but also a number of americans (many of them black and jewish) going overseas to volunteer in spain’s fight against fascism. those americans would later be labeled “premature anti-fascists” in their fbi files during the red scare
fear of another european war was somewhat understandable, but by 1936 it was clear to anyone paying attention that the fascists had expansionist ambitions and war was only one of the horrible things they planned to bring to europe. it should also be noted that at this time there were a huge number of white americans who were not only okay with the idea of fascism, but actively wanted to try it at home
that’s not to say we can’t appreciate the artistry of this piece, but it’s also good to be aware that this particular anti-war message is propaganda against fighting nazis and we are not immune to it
