Sign In

- Or use -
Forgot Password Create Account
Description

An important and striking image from World War II showing Hermann Göring as a corpulent sphere of a man in an opulent uniform. Its title contrasts the Nazi propaganda of a thin or "streamlined" Aryan with the reality of Göring's unathletic physique. There was probably a secondary layer of irony intended to contrast Göring's association with airplanes and the Luftwaffe with his certainly-not-aerodynamic shape.

The poster was produced by Russian War Relief, Inc., the important Soviet propaganda organization in the United States.

"TASS 22 appeared in a variety of Soviet publications throughout the war . . . in the United States, Russian War Relief, Inc. (RWR), published a suite of four prints based on a selection of TASS posters, among them the Goebbels and Goering panels of TASS 22. The entire poster was reproduced in Life on August 24, 1942" (Windows on the War p. 169)

The series included images of Hitler, Goering, and Goebbels, all of whom "were lampooned . . . for possessing none of the physical attributes that the Nazis assigned to the ideal Aryan. The contrast between text and image pointedly and wittily demonstrates the disjuncture between Nazi ideology and reality." (Windows on the War p. 169)

Condition Description
Color screenprint. Some expert restoration at the edges. Not backed on poster linen.
Reference
Windows on the War page 169