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 United States
Novelty Hitler Moustache
Posted in Propaganda Items, Toys with tags Fuck Hitler, Homefront, United States, WW2 on July 22, 2018 by The DudeEisenhower Jume 6th order of the Day
Posted in Paper with tags Canada, DDay, Eisenhower, France, Normandy, United Kingdom, United States on March 18, 2018 by The Dude
Drafted in February, 1944, this printed version of Eisenhower’s order of the Day for June 6th, 1944, was distributed to all 175,000 members of the Allied Expeditionary Force. This one came from the estate of a Birchall group I picked up. I have the President Roosevelt version here.
Nuremberg IMT Trials Visitors Ticket
Posted in Paper with tags France, Fuck Hitler, Germany (Third Reich), Nuremberg Trials, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, United States on June 18, 2017 by The Dude
Interesting bit of shyte here. This is a ticket for the visitors gallery for the 379th session of the Nuremburg Military Tribunal (NMT). This session falls within the 7th trial, the Hostages Trial, which ran from 8th July 1947 until 19th February 1948. The defendants were mostly higher commanders of the Wehrmacht accused of atrocities against civilians in the Balkans and Greece.
The ticket holder was a man named Constantine Brown who served in B-24’s in the USAAF until the end of the war when he was seconded to provide Greek-English language translation. He later served in the CIA and upon his return to the US became a policeman.
From his obituary… “BROWN–Constantine. 1927-2014. Constantine Brown passed away on October 22, 2014. His friends and family will miss his enthusiasm and active life style. In 1923, his parents and sister escaped from the forced exchange of Greek and Turkish populations, and came to New York City. He was born in Manhattan’s “Hell’s Kitchen” where his mother struggled to bring up her fatherless children while working at the Greek Orthodox church nearby. He enlisted in the New York State Guard when a teen-ager. During World War II, he joined the Air Force Cadet Program to become a flight engineer on B-24 bombers. His fluency with the Greek language was used by the C.I.A. When the war ended, he completed high school and earned a B.A. from Columbia University while working full-time with the New York City Housing Authority Police. From 1954, he rose through the ranks of the Housing Authority Police which merged with the New York City Police Department. He married Olga Boondas, a professor of social work at Columbia University. His beloved wife and daughter, Themis, pre-deceased him. Constantine was an active member of several organizations, including the Captains’ Endowment Association–NYPD, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Fraternal Order of Police, and St. Paul’s Society, NYPD. Olga and Constantine inaugurated the Themis Anastasia Brown Endowment Fund at the Morgan Library and Museum 21 years ago. He was in the process of instituting a chair for Classical and Byzantine Studies at Queens College in NYC, and provide support for the Orphanage under the aegis of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.”
Hitler 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.
German Trip Wire Spool
Posted in Mines with tags Anti-personnel Mines, Germany (Third Reich), Mine Parts, United States, WW2 on March 13, 2017 by The DudeWell it doesn’t get much more dull than this. This small spool contains the tripwire used to set up the Stockmine 43 and Bouncing Betty mines as booby traps. The wire comes in two colours, desert yellow and temperate green. This one is marked YBW for the manufacturer. These spools are almost identical to those used by the U.S.Army during WW2 and postwar. The difference is in how the spool core is turned and on the code marking.
End of the War Novelty Panties
Posted in Toys with tags Novelty Items, United States, Victory 1945, WW2 on January 28, 2017 by The DudeIn the great tradition of “a serviceman and his backpay are soon parted” we bring you tiny novelty underwear. As the demobilisation of the US Forces got underway from September 1945 these troops, soldiers, sailors and airmen were shipped through a small number of West Coast ports on their way back through the system and ultimately home to civilian life. Along the way enterprising merchants attempted to siphon as much of the serviceman’s demob pay as possible and this little item is just one example of the methods they used. I find it kinda interesting because beyond the obvious puns being used here, it also plays to the fear of the cuckold and the “Dear John” letter that servicemen endured.
