A little big of home-front propaganda. Probably American due to spelling. Late war and part of the dime store effort to make a penny while appearing to support the war effort.
Archive for Homefront
Novelty Hitler Moustache
Posted in Propaganda Items, Toys with tags Fuck Hitler, Homefront, United States, WW2 on July 22, 2018 by The DudeHitler Propaganda Postcard
Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags Fuck Hitler, Homefront, Propaganda, United States, WW2 on May 13, 2017 by The DudeAnother simple bit of propaganda, mocking the Fuhrer. Looking at the material that propagandists used to attack the Germans, it focused mostly on Adolf Hitler. He was characterised as being a carpet biter, portrayed as a monkey or a rat or, as in this example, there was a toilet joke in there somewhere. This looks mid-war American, unofficial and designed for the home front. Let’s say it together, Fuck Hitler.
Slap A Jap Birthday Card
Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags Empire of Japan, Homefront, United States, WW2 on March 30, 2017 by The DudeVisitors to this site will have noted, perhaps, my rather retro-racist love for WW2 anti-Japanese propaganda. A common theme to this kitsch is the invitation to “Slap Japs”. It was pretty widespread to use this kind of disparagement of the enemy to build morale on the homefront. This birthday card, dating from 1943, is an example of this theme. Other examples are here and here, oh and here and here.
Hang Hitler Propaganda Toy
Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags Fuck Hitler, Homefront, United States, WW2 on November 24, 2016 by The DudeMan this stuff just cracks me up. It’s a cardboard doll from, I would guess, the USA around 1943. The legs and one arm are articulated and if you hold the noose and pull the string, well Adolf just goes nutzi! Honestly, fuck Hitler.
Hitlers Will Novelty, Version 2
Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags Anti-Axis, Fuck Hitler, Homefront, United States, WW2 on March 18, 2016 by The DudeThis is the second version of this novelty that I have. Content wise it is very similar to this one here. However there are minor differences, in the front and rear pages and small verbiage deltas. This one is not attributed to the Robbins Novelty Company but it is so similar that it’s either theirs or a knock-off.
Three Dirty “Rats” License Plate Topper
Posted in Propaganda Items, Vehicles with tags Anti-Axis, Fuck Hitler, Homefront, United States, WW2 on March 1, 2016 by The DudeMore home front nonsense here. This plate topper (designed to be mounted above the rear number plate of a private car) comes out of the States and perfectly captures the three axis stooges theme of mid-war anti-axis personality propaganda. A good solid yellow bucktooth Tojo, followed by Hitler and the giant-chinned Mussolini. These are just about impossible to find anymore. They didn’t have reflective paint like we do now so the paint contains ground glass to make it shine under light at night.
Hitler’s Will: The Novelty Version
Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags Anti-Axis, Fuck Hitler, Homefront, United States, WW2 on March 1, 2016 by The DudeI love these home front items. They represent a great view into the social zeitgeist that existed or had to be manufactured in the middle of the largest war we have ever seen. They range in execution from the cheesy comedy to toxic racism. It really does show how hard they had to work to generate the hatred necessary for a democracy to defeat militarism. This particular one is a novelty representation of Adolf’s last testament. It was manufactured by the prolific D J Robbins Novelty Company of NY in 1943.
Hausser Flak 36 Tin Toy
Posted in Toys with tags Germany (Third Reich), Hausser, Heer, Homefront, Tin Toys, WW2 on December 27, 2015 by The Dude
The Hausser toy company was a well known and prolific producer of tin military toys in Germany, both during and immediately after WW2. This example is the third type Hausser Flak 36, manufactured during the war and up until about 1950. This one is post-war as evidenced by its olive green paint job. The same model made during the war was painted in a drab grey. The earlier models varied in their paint schemes as well as the method of attachment for the transport dollies. In this example they are attached using a screw tensioner. The gun has a receptacle for a contact cap and a working trigger.
Arnold 1938 Tin Toy Submarine
Posted in Toys with tags Arnold, Germany (Third Reich), Homefront, Kriegsmarine, Tin Toys, U-Boats, WW2 on October 27, 2015 by The Dude
This is an Arnold tin clockwork submarine. Manufactured in 1938 for the German market it is obviously a U-Boat. Note the swastika on the conning tower. It is missing its key and guy wires but is otherwise functional. Post war the Arnold company made this same toy but with the swastika swapped for an American white star. This was sold to U.S. servicemen for their children. The Arnold company stopped making boats in 1950.
U-Boat KapitänLeutnant Joachim Schepke gives an Arnold company U-29 to Horst Plenk, son of the renowned German skier Toni Plenk. From Signal Magazine 1941.
WW1 Anti-German Toilet Paper
Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags Homefront, United States, WW1 on July 30, 2015 by The Dude
The arrival of the US in the First World War was accompanied by a rash of the usual cheesy propaganda items. This one, a sheet of toilet paper with Kaiser Wilhelm’s face printed on it, was typical of the tone many of these items adopted. Bloody funny still and Bill’s been dead for 90 years.
Anti-Japanese Postcard
Posted in Propaganda Items with tags Anti-Axis, Empire of Japan, Homefront, United States, WW2 on December 14, 2014 by The DudeThere’s a racist theme in early war propaganda coming out of the US. Fairly uniformly the Japanese were displayed as small, bucktoothed and simian-like. Certainly the phrase “Slap the Jap” was very common. Of course the US would have a very hard war in the Pacific that wasn’t really helped by their consistent underrating of the Japanese soldier. This postcard, franked in October 1942, is illustrative of the messaging used at this point in the war.
Anti-Hitler Propaganda Pot
Posted in Propaganda Items with tags Anti-Axis, Homefront, United Kingdom, WW2 on December 14, 2014 by The Dude
Fieldings of Staffordshire put out a very successful run of propaganda items in the opening months of the war. These included small “po’s” that mocked the Axis leadership. Of course there were imitators that got onto the market, hoping to take advantage of the demand that Fieldings created. These imitators are generally lower in quality than the Fieldings ones. Here is an example. It simply says “Adolf in Poland” on the outside and has a caricature of the guy inside.
More googling tells me that these were made by Lancaster Ltd. in Hanley, England during 1939-1940.
Mussolini Propaganda Ashtray
Posted in Propaganda Items with tags Homefront, Italy (Fascist), Mussolini, United States, WW2 on December 14, 2014 by The DudeHere’s a particularly ugly bit of home decor. It’s a caricature of Benito Mussolini, intended as an ashtray and manufactured by Bassons Dummy Products of New York City in 1942. There’s one of Adolf and Tojo as well which I shall cast the Eye of Sauron onto and track down.
Tippco Tin Toy Kübel, Crew and Pak-36
Posted in Toys with tags Germany (Third Reich), Homefront, Tin Toys, Tippco on June 6, 2014 by The DudeThe Tippco Toy Company made these vehicles between 1934 and 1939. Tippco was a German-Jewish owned company whose owner was forced to sell for pfennigs on the reichsmark and emigrate to England. This one is called a Kübel and tows a Pak-36 AT Gun. The crew is made of Elastolin. The engine still winds and it has a forward and reverse gear and steerable wheels. Makes me want to go and invade Miniature Poland.
You’re a Sap, Mister Jap Lyric Sheet
Posted in Paper, Propaganda Items with tags Empire of Japan, Homefront, United States, WW2 on June 6, 2014 by The DudeI never get sick of the overt racism inherent in the US response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Here is the sheet music for the December 23rd 1941 hit by the Murphy Sisters, “You’re a Sap, Mister Jap”. On a side note the A-B-C-D that the song refers to is the joint alliance of America, Britain, China and the Dutch, most of whose naval assets were sent to the bottom of the South Java Sea by the Japanese in early 1942.
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you make a Yankee cranky
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, Uncle Sammy’s gonna spanky
Wait and see before we’re done
The A, B, C and D will sink your rising sun*
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you don’t know Uncle Sammy
When he fights for his rights, you’ll take it on the lammy
For he’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap sap, Mr. JapYou’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you make a Yankee cranky
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, Uncle Sammy’s gonna spanky
Wait and see before we’re done
The A, B, C and D will sink your rising sun
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh what a load to carry
Don’t you know, don’t you know, you’re committing hari-kari
For we’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap, sap, Mr. JapYou’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh it makes a Yankee cranky
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, Uncle Sam’s gonna spanky
Wait to see before we’s done
The A, B, C and D will sink your rising sun
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh you don’t know Uncle Sammy
When he fights for his rights, you’ll take it on the lammy
For he’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap sap, Mr. JapYou’re a sap, Mr. Jap, oh what a load to carry
You’re a sap, Mr. Jap, you’re committing hari-kari
For we’ll wipe the Axis right off the map
You’re a sap, sap sap, Mr. Jap
Lineol SA Truppen Figures
Posted in Toys with tags Germany (Third Reich), Homefront, SA & Party on June 5, 2014 by The DudeThis group of SA figures was made by the Lineol company sometime between 1933 and 1945. Interestingly these are not made out of plastic but rather from a combination of wood waste and resin. You can identify Lineol brand vs their competitor Hauser by looking for rectangular bases on the figures. In this case I was lucky enough to find a set with their original boxes. Wonderful, now I just need to find a little über-brat who wants to recreate Kristallnacht.
Fieldings Anti-Hitler Ashtray
Posted in Propaganda Items with tags Anti-Axis, Homefront, United Kingdom, WW2 on June 3, 2014 by The DudeThis is the rarest of the propaganda items put out by Fieldings of Staffordshire, England in 1940 to take advantage of the, then recent, “Violation of Poland” by Hitler’s armies. On the top it says “Caught In The Allies Web” while down below says “Drop Your Ashes On Old Nasty”. Inside is a cartoon image of Hitler, probably by David Low, a prominent political cartoonist of the period. The design is a tongue in cheek one executed by the outstanding designer Enoch Boulton. These items were viewed as being a little bad taste at the time, especially the faux chamber pots.
These ash trays are very hard to find in good condition. This one took me three years to find.
Anti-Axis Propaganda Ashtray Set
Posted in Propaganda Items with tags Homefront, United States, WW2 on March 15, 2014 by The DudeA little while ago I picked up the Hitler ashtray from this set. Then recently someone emailed me to say they had the full set with it’s cardboard box.
This is a set of three Anti-Axis ashtrays manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States by the Kemper Thomas company and aimed at Hirohito, Mussolini and of course Adolf. Still with it’s original box although that’s in a bit of shaggy condition.
Kiwi Medals 