Wednesday, December 21, 2016

World War II In Cartoons and Lutwaffe In Color


I was born in 1953, a mere eight years after World War II.  By the early 1960s I often would sit around with veterans of the war who lived in my hometown and be enthralled by their tales of the war, both in Europe and in the Pacific.

There was still a grudging acceptance of the Germans and Japanese’s at the time.  Many veterans of the war avoided both nationalities like the plague.

Understandably so, because at one time they were the enemy, or at least their nations were.  Today that attitude seems a bit harsh, but the reality of the war cemented long held grudges and prejudices.

During my childhood much of the literary material from the war could still be found: old comic books, newspapers, brochures, fliers, poster and other propaganda material from both the Allie and the Axis powers still existed.

Much of it was racist, cruel and peppered with lies and half-truths.  Nowhere else was the war more lampooned that with cartoons printed in comic books, newspapers and magazines.

Casemate Publishers and author Mark Bryant present ‘World War II In Cartoons’ that compiles cartoons from the Pre-War Era to the final days of the conflict. 

Ripe with political and social commentary cartoons lampooning military and government figures, the book successfully captures the fears and concerns from both sides of the war.

Some cartoons are hilarious put-ons of the war while others capture the horror of war in all its various manifestations.  It makes for a fascinating and often disturbing look at the war that defined the 20th and 21st centuries.

In the ‘Luftwaffe In Color: The Victory Years 1939-1942’ authors Christophe Cony and Jean-Louis Roba and Casemate examine the German Air Force and its technological superiority over the Allied Forces.

Despite what you may think of the Nazi, no one can question the incredible technological advancements and superiority they held over the Allied Forces just before and during most of the war.

This book illustrates, using full-color photos, the incredible air power the Nazi commanded during the war used in all sorts of climate and environmental conditions.

Explore the war in full-color and come away with a new appreciation of the superior military air power the Nazi employed.  

Given more time and fewer defeats the Nazi could have won the war.