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Chirol
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Chirol

Date

May 2nd, 2005

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Dr. Seuss Goes to War

As some of you readers may know, Dr. Seuss worked for the US government from 1941 to 1943 and drew many political cartoons, all in his patented Dr. Seuss style. All his work during this time is available here. In keeping with the spirit of his work, I’ve updated a few of them in order to make them relevant today. You saw the first yesterday. ComingAnarchy presents another for you:

Comments to this entry

Gabriel Mihalache
May 2, 2005
9:00 am
Sometimes I think that the US is a bit too conservative about its use of nuclear warfare. I'm sure it would solve a lot of problems. There, I've said it!
Chirol
May 2, 2005
9:21 am
I wonder if liberals agree!
Curzon
May 2, 2005
1:19 pm
Oh smack, Gabriel just led the perfect segue to my next post . . .
Mutantfrog
May 2, 2005
8:36 pm
You're a bit innacurate here. His political cartoons come from his civilian career drawing for humor magazines and newspapers. During the war he worked for the US military making animated propaganda and training films, which apparently no longer exist. After the war he actually requested copies of the films he had made for his private collection, but the army either claimed that they had never existed at all or that they had not been preserved. I find it pretty awful that they would have deliberately or even carelessly destroyed work by someone as brilliang as Dr Seuss.

At least I have a copy of the 1940s anti-Nazi animated propaganda film "Education for Death" that Disney refuses to release.
Chirol
May 2, 2005
8:45 pm
Thanks for the correction. I also have "Education for Death" and it's downright hilarous. What I did find impressive though is that the German is 100% correct. I mean it's fabulous. I wouldn't have expected it. There are lots of other good ones like "Der Fuhrers Face" with Donald Duck where he has a nightmare he works in a munitions factory in the 3rd reich!

For anyone else interested, you can buy the book here with the entire collection.

Mutantfrog: Check out http://www4.archive.org/movies/movies.php It's a collection of old Cold War propaganda films. Everything from nuke tests to John Wayne discussing the ideological differences between capitalism and communism.
Mutantfrog
May 3, 2005
2:03 am
I also have Der Fuhrer's face, although at much lower quality. And of course the Warner Brothers WW2 propaganda films, such as Bugs Bunny selling war bonds or gremlins from Moscow fighting Hitler, are great as well. But luckily for us, Warner Brothers is more appreciative to history and allows those and other out-dated cartoons (ones with blatant racism, etc) to be shown, as long as it's outside of the children's rotation.
Cartoon Central
May 3, 2005
4:55 am
Dr. Seuss Goes to War

I didn't know about this side of Dr. Seuss:...
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » I’m Saddam. Saddam I am. I do not like you, Uncle Sam.
September 18, 2005
2:25 pm
[...] I would like to add to Chirol’s Dr.Seuss series (Dr. Seuss Goes to War The EU Sideshow Isolationist Whale Seuss on Japan Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda) by pointing you to The Best Page in the Universe who has a stunning, illustrated tribute to Dr. Seuss that covers the Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War, War in Iraq, SARS, the media and shark attacks. [...]
onlythere
January 12, 2006
5:32 pm
Does anyone know where I may find some world war II recruiting propaganda cartoons? Also, any background information on American animation propaganda techniques for that era?
Seems Like Old Times. « Provide for the Common Defense
July 1, 2007
11:40 pm
[...] Here’s one particular cartoon he drafted July 16th, 1942. Still seems appropriate today, does it not? The following link has done Dr. Seuss one better. [...]