"Liberators"
The picture to the right of the page from Maus is a Nazi propaganda poster targeting the Americans. Looking at it carefully, you'll see that each detail is a mockery of America's own issues. The girls on the shoulders wearing the beauty pageant sashes mocks the idea of being awarded a title like "World's Most Beautiful Leg." One of the girls, "Miss America," is wearing a Native American plains- Indian head-dress, demonstrating the mistreatment of Native Americans. Gangster problems and gun violence is represented with the gun. The guy is wearing a Ku-Klux-Klan mask while there are Blacks trapped in his rib (bird) cage, doing the jitterbug dance- supposedly an animalistic ritual. Indiscriminate military violence is demonstrated with the bomb for the bloodied foot. "Liberators" is the name of a U.S. bomber plane. Ironic, no? The malignant influence of Jews and Freemasons is shown with the flag of the Star of David hanging from the drum... There's so much more to mention but I think it's time to get to the point of the blog (if you're curious to read more, it's titled "Kultur-Terror" and there's lots of places to read about it if you look it up.) Basically, they are mocking the American's for not minding their own problems. Also- side note- it totally looks like the the guy in the poster passed gas. Like he dropped a giant red bomb. More humor, I guess?
With the propaganda kept in mind when looking at the above page from Maus, the idea of being "saved" by the "Liberators" seems ironic. The Americans are considered a joke to the Nazis, maybe even to other places around the world, so it makes it seem like being saved by Americans is just a joke. The whole idea of Jews suffering was a joke to the Nazis anyways. The Americans are portrayed as racist and hypocritical in the poster, and it looks like the only liberation they do is freeing people from life. Now, they of course didn't kill the Jews when they freed them, but the page from Maus implies the Jews were never really freed. As if the Americans didn't do their job right since the Jews are still alive.
Of course this is all in perspective of the Nazi propaganda.In fact, in spite of the hypocrisy that truthfully existed, the Americans did save the Jews from those camps, and had America been solely focusing on its own problems and ignoring the horror of events happening around, who knows what shape the world would be in today.
Your last sentence really got me thinking- we could think of the situation as Americans putting others first, or just being too ignorant and lazy to solve our own problems. I love that you pointed out the irony in the Liberators page, nice job!
ReplyDeleteYour analysis was right to the point which made it really easy to understand and read. Also, I love how your analysis didn't just focus on the pictures but also connected to the real world.
ReplyDeleteI thought the images you chose to compare were really insightful! I agree that each group of people mentioned, whether it be African Americans, Native Americans, or the Jewish people, will forever carry scars of the past, and the role of America is present in multiple ways. The last paragraph got me thinking of all of the debate over this topic. Great job!
ReplyDeleteEven though it is a Nazi propaganda poster, the "Liberator" provides a new perspective to me. Now we criticize how the Germans thought themselves superior than the Jews, some of Americans show extreme racism and hate. It really exposes the hypocrisy of Americans although the Germans committed the hate crimes on a much larger scale.
ReplyDeleteYour deconstruction of the Liberators poster really shows the depth of the research and analysis you did. By comparing your knowledge of the context of the propaganda with the chapter title page Spiegelman illustrates, you create a more accurate analysis of the author's work. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThese two pictures really fit together! It's funny how the Nazis portray the Americans as racists, when most likely a greater percentage of Germans was racist during the war. The fact that the Nazis choose to undermine America's credibility also says something about their own cause; they basically bash another country instead of building up their own ethos.
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