The Second World War in Cartoons

Explores how political cartoons used satire, humor, and caricature to depict enemies, leaders, and pivotal wartime events.

Humour is a vital ingredient for the morale of a nation at war. From Britain’s John Bull mocking a diminutive Napoleon carving up the world, the caricatures of a bombastic Kaiser in the First World War, to an often demented looking Hitler, cartoons have not only portrayed the enemy in a satirical light but have raised a smile in the darkest of times.

Self-depreciating humour is also a facet of cartoons during wartime – making fun of incumbent politicians and incompetent generals – while at the same time challenging the decisions of those in powerful positions in a manner meant to embarrass. Indeed, cartoons often carry a serious message which exemplifies the subject far more impactfully than the written word.

It is also the case that cartoons can broach subjects too sensitive to be touched upon in editorials or by columnists. Such is the case with this absorbing, if light-hearted view of the Second World War portraying the seismic events of the conflict in a fashion which everyone at the time could understand and nod their appreciation to with a smile on their lips.

The Second World War in Cartoons begins in the aftermath of the First World War. It then covers the events that lead to a resurgent Germany and the slow march to war. This is followed by the inevitable references to the Phoney War and to Hitler’s ‘Sink-on-Sight Navy’ after the Graf Spee had been scuttled by her captain.

A more serious tone is undertaken during Britain’s darkest hour, the cartoons reflecting both Churchill’s stubborn determination to resist as well as encouraging the fighter boys to stop Goering’s Luftwaffe. Gradually, the mood changes as Britain’s strategic position improves. When the war ended with victory in Europe, a cartoon of Germany depicts a notice ‘Under New Management’.

Churchill’s defeat in the 1945 general election resulted in one cartoonist declaring that Britain had ‘dropped its pilot’ and, ever a cartoonist’s favourite character, among the final images is that of Churchill declaring an Iron Curtain had descended across the Continent, as the Cold War took its grip.

This is the biggest book ever published on political cartoons and each of these wonderful cartoons is provided with a full explanation of the historical background, and its relevance to the events of the day.

Dr Tim Benson is Britain's leading authority on political cartoons. He runs the Political Cartoon Gallery which is located near the River Thames in Putney. He has produced numerous books on the history of cartoons, including Giles's War, Churchill in Caricature, Low and the Dictators, The Cartoon Century: Modern Britain through the Eyes of Its Cartoonists, Drawing the Curtain: The Cold War in Cartoons and Over the Top: A Cartoon History of Australia at War. He also edits Britain’s Best Political Cartoons.