introduction

[USHMM #93833/Location of original artwork unknown, photo courtesy of Irvin Ungar through the Arthur Szyk Society ] Satan Leads the Ball, 1942 Detail curator's comments Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler Carrying a copy of his autobiography, Mein Kampf (My Struggle).   [USHMM #93705/Wm. Hallam Webber, Maryland; Original dimensions: 13 11/16" x 10 11/16" ] He Who Rules By the Sword, Collier’s, 1943 In the 1940s Collier’s was one of America’s leading magazines, with a mass circulation of almost three million. As a sign of Szyk’s growing popularity as a wartime caricaturist, the magazine used several of his images for cover art in 1942 and 1943. This cover art for Collier’s shows Hitler with a demon over his shoulder looming over the globe. Mussolini grabs at Hitler’s vest tail, while a skeleton in a Nazi helmet stands to the left.   [Interview: Steve Luckert United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. 2002 Playing time 1:11] Dr. Steve Luckert, curator of The Art and Politics of Arthur Szyk, speaks about Arthur Szyk's portrayals of Adolf Hitler and the Axis leaders. Dr. Luckert also describes how Szyk emphasized what he saw as the embedded nature of militarism and antisemitism in German society.   [USHMM #01657/Library of Congress] Early advertisement for Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, showing the original title of the work. Munich, Germany, 1924.   [USHMM #71547/DIZ Muenchen GMBH, Sueddeutscher Verlag Bilderdienst] Hitler delivers a speech at the Harvest Thanks Day celebration. Bueckeberg, Germany, September 30, 1934.   [USHMM #05316] Hitler salutes the youth ranks at the Nazi Party Congress. Nuremberg, Germany, September, 1935.   [USHMM #70073/Wide World Photo] A streetcar decorated with swastikas passes billboards displaying Hitler's face. The billboards urge Austrians to vote "Ja" (Yes) in the upcoming plebiscite on the German annexation of Austria. Vienna, Austria, April 1938.   [USHMM #71538/DIZ Muenchen GMBH, Sueddeutscher Verlag Bilderdienst] Adolf Hitler speaks at the Nazi Party Congress. Nuremberg, Germany, September 1938.   [USHMM #87883] At Berlin's Sportpalast arena, Hitler (at podium) delivers a speech to thousands of Nazi party officials. Berlin, Germany, April 1941. MORE Szyk