File:Liberators-Kultur-Terror-Anti-Americanism-1944-Nazi-Propaganda-Poster.jpg

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Summary[edit]

A 1944 Nazi propaganda poster titled "LIBERATORS", which perfectly epitomizes many perennially-recurring themes of anti-Americanism. Published in 1944 by the Dutch SS-Storm magazine that then belonged to a radical SS wing of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands.

The original colour version titled "Kultur-Terror", was made by the Norwegian Harald Damsleth [1] for Nasjonal Samling in 1943. The original size is 49x61 cm; 10,000 copies were printed. [2], [3]

Text contained in image: "Miss America", "Miss Victory", "Ku Klux Klan", "JITTERBUG - Triumph of Civilization", "World's Most Beautiful Leg". Symbols contained in image: reverse side of 48-star United States flag, WW2-era Army Air Corps roundel, dollar sign, Star of David. Dutch caption at bottom (proferred by European gullible "all-ears" dupe) reads: "De USA zullen de Europeesche Kultuur van den ondergang redden", meaning "The USA wants to save European culture from decline".

Some motifs contained in this poster:

• The decadence of beauty pageants (scantily-clad "Miss America" and "Miss Victory", "The World's Most Beautiful Leg") -- or more generally, the putative sexual laxness of American women, a theme which strongly resonates with extremists today.
• Gangsterism and gun violence (the arm of an escaped convict holding a submachine gun).
• Anti-black violence (a lynching noose, a Ku Klux Klan hood).
• General violence of American society, in addition to the above (boxing-glove which grasps the money-bag).
• Mistreatment of Native Americans ("Miss America" wears plains-Indian head-dress).
• The pure materialism or commercialism of America, to the detriment of any spirit or soul (moneybag with "$" symbol).
• The presence of blacks in U.S. population, contributing to its "mongrelization", adding undesirably "primitive" elements to American popular culture, and constituting a potential danger to the white race (strongly muscular arms of a black male, a stereotypically-caricatured black couple dancing the "JITTERBUG - Triumph of Civilization" in birdcage, which is portrayed as a degraded animalistic ritual).
• Decadence of American popular culture, and its pernicious influence on the rest of the world (dancing of jitterbug, hand holds phonograph record, figure of a European gullible "all-ears" dupe in lower foreground).
• Indiscriminate U.S. military violence (bloodied bomb for foot, metal legs, military aircraft wings), threatening the European cultural landmarks at lower right.
  • Hence the falsity of American claims to be "Liberators". (The word "Liberators" was also the name of a U.S. bomber plane.)
• American jingoism and war fervor (a business-suited arm literally "beating the drum" of militarism, "Miss Victory" and her drum-majorette cap and boots).
• Malevolent influence of Jews and Freemasons (Star of David on Masonic apron descending from drum, caricatured Jewish figure holding on to money-bag).
• Demonization of national symbols of the United States ("Miss Victory" waves the reverse side of 48-star U.S. flag, and the WW2-era Army Air Corps roundel -- of small red disk within white star on large blue disk -- is shown on one of the wings).