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Cartoon Analysis - Rendezvous - Jackson Tipple

This political cartoon from 1939 depicts Hitler and Stalin bowing over a dead Polish soldier to represent their secret pact dividing Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The cartoon aims to portray the two leaders as scheming and criticize the unlikely agreement between the ideologically opposed nations.

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128 views2 pages

Cartoon Analysis - Rendezvous - Jackson Tipple

This political cartoon from 1939 depicts Hitler and Stalin bowing over a dead Polish soldier to represent their secret pact dividing Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The cartoon aims to portray the two leaders as scheming and criticize the unlikely agreement between the ideologically opposed nations.

Uploaded by

weatbixx
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cartoon Analysis –

‘Rendezvous’, 1939
Contextual Information:
This cartoon was published days after
the German and Soviet invasions of
Poland, at a time when the rest of the
world did not know about the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The
cartoonist, David Lowe, was a New
Zealander who worked in Britain at
the time. He was well known at the
time for his highly critical
representations of Hitler and the Nazi
Regime.

Analysis Evaluation
Information - Political Cartoon Usefulness
- 1st of September Germany invaded
Poland and Soviets invaded on the
17th.
- Rendezvous refers to the Russo-
German Non-Aggression Pact.
- Historical figures: Hitler, German
leader; Stalin, Soviet leader; dead
Polish soldier on the ground.
Origin - David Lowe Reliability
- Primary source – Political cartoon.
- Published September 1939
Perspective - British cartoon
- Would be opinionated and biased in
some ways since Britain is against
Germany in the war.
Context - If Germany invaded Poland, the USSR
would remain neutral.
- In a secret part of the Pact the two
countries agreed to divide Poland
between them after it had been
captured.
Audience - British public (published in a
newspaper)
Motive - Political cartoon: to persuade, less
facts, on the humorous side.
- Portraying current events in an
understandable and funny fashion.
Analysis Notes for ‘Rendezvous’ Paragraph

Analysis Paragraph:
This political cartoon was created by the New Zealander cartoonist David Lowe while working in
Britain. Basing the commentary on a recent event and is suggesting that Germany and the USSR are
being friendly to each other in order conquer Poland. It was published to the British newspaper
Evening Standard on the 20th of September 1939, days after the invasion of Poland by Germany and
the USSR. The cartoon shows Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, bowing to
each other politely over a dead Polish soldier, representing defeated Poland. The cartoon inclines the
reader to feel bad for the dead soldier. The purpose is to portray the two leaders as scheming and that
their pact was quite secretive.

Evaluation Paragraph:
This cartoon is very useful in understanding the affect the Russo-German Non-Aggression Pact had on
the course of the war and showing what made Britain declare war on Germany in the first place.
Political cartoons do present some facts about events and figures, the reliability of the source is
questioned, as political cartoonists provide social commentary, often with a humorous twist. Meaning
there would be some bias, as it is not very serious, and the cartoonist is working for a British
newspaper. Britain was confused about the seemingly unlikely agreement between two politically and
ideologically opposite leaders. The language used in the cartoon is supposed to show passive-
aggressiveness and sarcasm, because even though they are opposing of each other, they are united to
achieve a common goal, creating a somewhat awkward feeling. Additionally, the cartoon is not
supported by absolute facts, therefore affecting the source’s reliability further.

Extremely Usefulness & Reliability Extremely


Highly Somewhat Highly

Useful/Reliable Useful/Reliable

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