Picturing anti-Semitism in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands: anti-Jewish stereotyping in a racist Second World War comic strip

ABSTRACT

In 1942, the Dutch weekly magazine Volk en Vaderland, which propagated the political opinions of the Dutch National Socialists in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, published a comic strip, “Rare, maar ware commentaren” (Odd, but true comments). In it, the illustrator, Peter Beekman (1911–1959) depicted current events and the various perceived enemies of National Socialist society, Jews in particular, providing insight into how the genre was deployed in the Nazi propaganda machine. This article analyses the use of six dominant anti-Semitic themes which appeared in this particular wartime comic strip, but which were also a reflection of wider anti-Jewish stereotyping present throughout Europe at the time, including those of “otherness,” greediness and Judeo-Communism. My discussion will be thus placed in a broader context of both the Dutch political culture and the Volk en Vaderland editorial policy. I will also focus on Beekman himself, an intriguing figure of the time, who joined the NSB, the country’s National Socialist party, in 1940, and who continued to work as an illustrator after the Second World War. As such, the article will go deeper into the intricacies of anti-Jewish discourse, its hidden mechanisms, and the individuals and institutions that molded it.

KEYWORDS:

• National socialism
• anti-Semitism
• comic strips
• propaganda
• Second World War
• The Netherlands

Comics have often been described as a medium without memory (Groensteen 2006, 67). Now in existence as a distinct genre for over a century, the number of comic strips from the early decades that today’s readers are still familiar with remains limited. With the exception of few classics, a large share of comic strips that used to be popular with wide audiences is forgotten. This is also true for graphic narratives that existed during the Second World War, the messages they tried to convey and the artists who created them.

Comic strips were an emerging medium in the Netherlands in the 1930s and 1940s (Kousemaker and Kousemaker 1979; Lambiek 2017b; Matla et al. 2013; Ribbens and Sanders 2006). While comics were primarily regarded as entertainment for children – a misconception that was common throughout the world until the appearance of the graphic novel in the late twentieth century – they were also used as a medium for adults. To some extent, this was a continuation of the political cartoons that had become popular in the printed press in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, regardless of the growing importance of photography. Caricatures were inspired by contemporary events at home and abroad, and were usually humorous with a serious undertone. There were artists who did not limit themselves to single frame depictions, but chose to use more frames, thus creating comic strips representing the dynamics of current life and illustrating a wider variety of themes (Van der Heijden and Ribbens 2010, 35–38).

The use of comic strips for political purposes was not unusual, despite the widespread belief that comics only represented the status quo in a way that was simplistic and lacking nuance. This was certainly the case with the Dutch National Socialist comic strip drawn by the professional illustrator Peter Beekman in the weekly magazine Volk en Vaderland in 1942. Placing Beekman’s strip at the heart of my analysis, I will discuss the artist’s portrayal of Jews and elucidate the potential impact of his anti-Semitic images. After an introduction to the Dutch National Socialist movement and its anti-Semitic tendencies, I will briefly outline Beekman’s work. Next, a selection of his comic strips will be analysed using six topoi, including those of “otherness,” greediness and Judeo-Communism. As the instrumentalization of comics in the Netherlands as a means of political propaganda in the Second World War is still under-researched, this case study aims to provide insight into how this medium was used to present strongly racist views. As such, this article complements previous work on France (Ory 2002; Ragache 2000; Tufts 2004) as well as wider studies that look at this phenomenon globally (Strömberg 2010).

National Socialist anti-Semitism

Racial classification principles play an essential role in National Socialist ideology. The idea of superiority of the so-called Aryans derived from the nineteenth century cult of racial purity (Hondius 2014; Anemone 2016). Initiated by the French nobleman Arthur de Gobineau’s reverence for “pure descent,” and supported subsequently by widespread calls for eugenics, the racial doctrine was later enthusiastically embraced by Adolf Hitler. Aggressively promoting the idea of superiority of Germans and the inferiority of Jews (and other races and ethnicities) helped Hitler’s Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) in coming to power in Germany in 1933.

Although anti-Semitism had always been at the heart of Hitler’s political beliefs (Herf 2006; Meyer zu Uptrup 2003), it was not immediately adopted by similar right-wing authoritarian movements emerging elsewhere in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. In the neighbouring Netherlands, the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland (National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands, NSB), founded by Anton Mussert in 1931, seemed at first to reject the virulent anti-Semitism of the German Nazis. After an initial successful period in which the NSB had welcomed Jewish members, the support for this anti-democratic party decreased from 1935 onwards. This is when the NSB strongly radicalized its approach to Jews and began to openly express an anti-Semitic viewpoint, cherishing the conviction that the Dutch, like the German people, belonged to the Aryan race (Havenaar 1983, 101–113; Te Slaa and Klijn 2009; Zwaan 1984).

Anti-Semitism was by no means absent in the “pillarized” society of the interbellum, which was organized according to religious denomination or political affiliation, but the explicit way in which it was expressed by the NSB and smaller right-wing organizations was unusual for the Netherlands. Jews had been present in the country since the Middle Ages and had acquired the same civil rights as other groups. They were highly assimilated and integrated politically, economically and culturally. Nevertheless, like elsewhere in Europe, they were often fashioned into folk devils and the myths of their purported responsibility for the death of Christ, as well as their alleged unreliability were frequently cited. Although the pseudo-scientific anti-Semitism of the 1930s had limited support, a certain reluctance about accepting Jews as vital part of Dutch society was not that uncommon, even though it was often left unsaid (Blom and Cahen 1995, 284–287; Ensel and Gans 2017; Quispel 2016, 198–217; Romijn 1995, 313–315).

After the German invasion of Western Europe in May 1940 the virulent racial policies of the Nazis were introduced in the Netherlands. The measures taken to identify and isolate Jews – most of them living in the western urban areas – were part of the German effort at the nazification of the Netherlands. Those discriminatory measures were embraced by the NSB and implemented by the Dutch authorities. Doctrines such as the National Socialist Führerprinzip – the dictatorial leadership principle placing the political authority of Hitler and other high-ranking National Socialist leaders above all laws and governmental regulations – were introduced in Dutch society, and propaganda was employed to gain wide support from the general public.

A Nazi worldview in comic format

Various outlets were exploited by the Nazi propaganda. Daily and weekly newspapers were placed under censorship or eliminated. Print media, radio and film were used to reach the largest possible audiences with a variety of pro-German and pro-Nazi messages. An integrated part of this propaganda, of which the comics were part, was the cultivation and dissemination of the images of the various enemies as a way of discrediting political opponents.

The NSB media, such as the weekly newspaper Volk en Vaderland (People and Fatherland, 1933–1945) and Het Nationale Dagblad (The National Daily Newspaper, 1936–1945), had propagated the National Socialist ideals in the pre-war period and continued to do so during the war. The editors not only used the written word but also hired artists to make drawings. Images were commonly used elsewhere in NSB propaganda, in particular on posters, in documentary films and illustrated magazines (Vermeer 1987; Wilbrink 1998). From its inception, Volk en Vaderland published political caricatures (Mulder 1985; Van der Hoek 1990). In January 1942, a comic strip was also introduced to represent and support the weekly’s views on race. The new comic was conceived by the accomplished illustrator Peter Beekman (1911–1959).

Pieter Joannes Marie (Peter) Beekman was born in a Catholic family in Amsterdam. After secondary school he went to Switzerland to train as a cook. He then returned to the Netherlands to attend arts school in Maastricht. In the second half of the 1930s his illustrations started to appear in a variety of publications, such as sports magazines and newspapers. During the war, he became involved in the production of National Socialist books and magazines. In 1941, he began working on a comic strip for children (commissioned by Het Nationale Dagblad), “De merkwaardige avonturen van Hansje, Ansje en de meeuw” (The Remarkable Adventures of Hansje, Ansje and the Seagull), which tells a story of the Nationale Jeugdstorm member, the Dutch equivalent of the Hitler Youth (Catalogue of the International Institute of Social History 2017; Lambiek 2017a).

In this period, he also made illustrations for the NSB books and magazines such as Kaderblad voor functionarissen (Magazine for Executives) and De Zwarte Soldaat (The Black Soldier), a publication of the NSB “defense” unit Weerafdeling (WA), and worked as an editor for the monthly magazine Ontwakend Volk (Awakening People). After the war, he was arrested and interned for 15 months until August 1947 for membership and active support of the NSB, and for collaborating with the enemy (National Archives of the Netherlands: CABR file 56394 [Tribunal Utrecht 1623]; Utrechts Nieuwsblad 29 July 1947, 5 August 1947). In hindsight, it appears remarkable that Beekman’s sentence did not refer specifically to his comic art but carried a more general charge of collaborating with the NSB. That this judgement ignored the specific ideas that had been spread, as well as the vicious degree of anti-Semitism that was expressed in his illustrations, presumably reflects that comics were hardly taken seriously by the postwar authorities. After his release, Beekman continued his career as an illustrator in the advertising business, as well as drawing editorial cartoons under a pseudonym. He died in Utrecht on 7 December 1959 at the age of 48.

Beekman’s comic “Rare, maar ware commentaren” (Odd, but true comments) was the first comic strip to appear in Volk en Vaderland. It ran for just one year and in total 45 episodes were printed, usually consisting of four strips with both text balloons and captions. In December 1942, the comic was taken over by Cor van Deutekom who continued in a similar vein. Beekman went on to publish visual propaganda in various NSB newspapers and magazines. The reason for his replacement remains unclear, though it appears to be connected to Beekman’s temporarily falling from grace with the German occupiers. On December 10, 1942 a drawing by Beekman had been published on the cover of De Zwarte Soldaat which portrayed a meeting between Mussert and Hitler. It seems to be the case that the portrayal of the Führer, in particular, angered the German authorities. There are unconfirmed reports that following the publication Beekman was briefly detained at the Scheveningen prison (Weber 1947, 346–401). He resumed his activity in early 1943 and his work again appeared in De Zwarte Soldaat and elsewhere.

Beekman’s comic in Volk en Vaderland, “Odd, but true comments,” did not simply cover the news, but commented on current events and developments in the Netherlands and abroad from a National Socialist point of view, which was supposed to embody the “true” and only way of looking at things. The reality Beekman depicted in these comic strips focused on the purportedly “undesirable” and “unwelcome” aspects of social and political reality, either in occupied Europe or elsewhere, that were to be eliminated to pave way for political transformation. Examples include the alleged phenomenon of the American government “buying” allies in Latin America, or British state and church leaders bonding with the Soviets. Once National Socialism was widely implemented, his comics implicitly argued, this reality would be changed for the better.

Apart from political leaders, who recurred across the various episodes, the comic had no set characters. However, certain topics were covered regularly, creating a sense of continuity. One of those recurring themes was the various enemies of the regime who prevented the National Socialist ideology from succeeding. Those appear in two varieties. The first is the anti-German Allies who obstruct and hinder the international ambitions of the Axis powers. The other is the Jews, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere, who are accused of derailing a just society from its course by deliberately sabotaging it for their own benefit. Representatives of these partially overlapping groups appear in different forms, reflecting six different stereotypes.

Jews as “the other”

In the case of the Allies, Beekman’s work mainly depicts recognizable political and military leaders. National iconic figures like the British John Bull and the American Uncle Sam are sometimes present, but much more frequent are the appearances of individuals, such as Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Only the upper part of their bodies is portrayed, using caricature and magnifying certain physical characteristics, without alluding, however, to their ethnicity or race. This is different from the portrayal of Jews, where few identifiable individuals (such as businessman Daniël Wolf) can be distinguished (Volk en Vaderland [VoVa], 20 March 1942). Instead, the homogeneity of Jews as a group is emphasized. This occurs first through references to physiognomy in particular, the continuous, highly racialized display of specific physical characteristics, and secondly by constantly stressing their purported negative qualities, actions and attitudes.

This mode of representation suggests continuity with stereotypical depictions in nineteenth-century German forerunners of the comic strip, as analysed by Dittmar (1995, 45–52; Cf. Gilman 1991). In both Bilderbogen and Fliegende Blätter – illustrated colour prints and magazines, which were usually widely distributed and simplistically visualized a wide range of topics from fairytales and religious scenes to political and dynastic developments – the appearance of Jews was fundamentally different from that of other characters portrayed. Whilst the representation of others abandoned the overly realistic convention (as befits a cartoon), the racially inspired, more detailed portrayal of Ashkenazi Jews exaggerated every purported unflattering feature, moving those portrayals even further from reality.

From their very first appearance in Volk en Vaderland, Jews are represented as “the other,” and singled out as a group with distinctive physical characteristics, regardless of their Dutch, American, British, or Russian nationality. Most Jews shown are men, who are assumed to be the gender in charge of most activities in the public sphere, but the few portrayed Jewish women hardly differ in their physical characteristics. Jewish children are almost absent, presumably because the general assumption of children as innocent might have been counterproductive for anti-Semitic propaganda.

Jews are portrayed with large hooked noses and big eyebrows, they are often bald and are wearing rings on their fingers. This use of physiognomy is meant to reflect their character which is, as implied here, as unattractive as their physical appearance. Although biological and medical metaphors for degeneration – by no means uncommon in racial discourses since the late nineteenth century – are rare in this strip, the perceived physical characteristics of Jews are unmistakably presented as shortcomings. These, as summarized by Strömberg, include “curly hair, an arrogant glance from heavy-lidded dark eyes, a crooked nose, thick lips, heavy, grasping hands, crooked legs, fallen arches, and so on” (2010, 26). These stereotypical facial features and appearances were meant to reflect the supposedly evil inner self. When a Jewish regiment in Great Britain is portrayed, its alleged inadequacy is stressed by mentioning the “flat feet” and “other Yiddish ailments” (VoVa 5 June 1942).

In May 1942, just one week after the introduction of the compulsory yellow star in the Netherlands, Beekman – dealing with topics as varied as the Allied takeover of Madagascar and Jews trying to escape from the obligation to wear the yellow star – claims to have insufficient racial knowledge, a remark that serves a double purpose. On the one hand, he notices that more people than he suspected were actually Jewish. This means not only that the Jewish “danger” was greater than previously assumed, but also legitimizes discriminatory measures that were meant to stigmatize and isolate this group from the rest of society. On the other hand, by showing how some “obvious” Jewish figures have managed to avoid the new measure by “posturing” as non-Jews, Beekman emphasizes their purportedly dubious credentials, their disloyalty towards the authorities and their opportunistic haggling with identities (VoVa 15 May 1942).

The reader does not learn much about the fate the persecuted Jews were facing in that crucial year. Whilst evading information about systematic deportations to labour and concentration camps, in March 1942, Beekman makes an observation that Amsterdam Jews “flee” into marriage in vain, hinting at futile attempts to avoid placement in labour camps elsewhere in the country (VoVa 27 March 1942). In July 1942, after the deportations from the Dutch concentration camp Westerbork to Auschwitz had started, it gradually became apparent that Jews were being transported to Poland. Yet, only a brief remark by Beekman from November 1942 referred to their fate, in which a Jewish man, who allegedly had managed to attend what was described as a Jewish baptism (jodendoop), was asked whether he did not have to go to Poland now. The following month, Beekman ominously made a reference to another Jewish man fearing he might have to go “shovel earth” in Poland, reminding the readers of the assumption that Jews would be sent there to do forced labour (VoVa 13 November, 4 December 1942). The fate awaiting the Jewish deportees never became more explicit than this suggestion of hard physical labour, while their actual removal from Dutch society did not change their representation or the nature of this anti-Semitic comic.

The omnipresence of Jews

Beekman’s “Odd, but true comments” never mentions the actual number of Jews living in the Netherlands or elsewhere but their presence in other countries is stressed throughout, suggesting an influential role of Jews worldwide. Stressing this stereotype, the propaganda comic tried to direct attention towards the specific positions Jews occupied. Jews were presented in positions of power and influence, as well as being able to obtain prestigious jobs.

Two episodes referring to the UK suggest that Jews are widespread across British society (VoVa 6 February, 31 July 1942). The appearance on 6 March 1942 of a senior Jewish officer who, according to recent newspaper articles, worked for the Chinese army, could easily be interpreted as a suggestion that Jews had achieved an influential position worldwide. This was probably a (highly distorted) reference to the Canadian officer Morris Cohen, who had been actually made prisoner of war in 1941 by the Japanese in Hong Kong (VoVa 6 March 1942).

Beekman’s representations of Jews in America portray them as police officers and as the representatives of the press. Their presence in the media is also shown among the Dutch community in exile in Britain, where an anchorman of the free Dutch radio, Radio Oranje, is portrayed as Jewish (VoVa 27 February 1942) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The “omnipresence” of Jews: Peter Beekman, “Rare, maar ware commentaren” (Odd, but true comments), Volk en Vaderland, 27 February 1942.

A similar way of emphasizing the presence of Jews within the elite, occurred twice by linking Prince Bernhard, a prominent representative of the exile community, to the Irene Brigade (an Allied Dutch regiment founded in Great Britain) which, without hardly any factual substantiation, was presented as Jewish military unit (VoVa 13 March, 12 June 1942).The significant (and blown out of proportion) Jewish presence in the important circles in Britain is also illustrated by King George VI using the services of a Jewish financier and by pointing out with clear indignation that even the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Samuel Joseph, was a Jew (VoVa 6 February, 10 April and 9 October 1942).

The claim that Jews effectively influenced government policies by their contacts and positions in the highest echelons of society is most frequently illustrated in the case of the United States. According to Beekman, not only was the president Franklin D. Roosevelt exposed to the influence of the so-called Jewish lobby, but this was also the case with his wife Eleanor, who is depicted wearing an earring with a Star of David (VoVa 27 February, 1 May 1942). The situation seemed to be rather similar in the Soviet Union, the third Allied superpower. Without any surprise, Beekman noted that Stalin had “many Jews in his environment” (VoVa 30 October 1942). His suggestion was that all political commissars in the Red Army were Jews, a reference to the idea of Judeo-Bolshevism discussed later.

Jews as a separate nation

A third major theme in the National Socialist-inspired anti-Semitism was the idea that Jews did not belong to any “national community” (Volksgemeinschaft). This is not only visualized by their distinct physical characteristics, but also made clear in the way they are described as “Israel,” a reference to their origin as a biblical nation (VoVa 16 and 23 January 1942). This common origin was supposed to confirm their unity and the separateness of ethnicity from citizenship. So when British Jews expressed their solidarity with Jews in the Soviet Union, probably as a result of the rapprochement between Jewish organizations in Britain – the Board of Deputies of British Jews in particular – and Soviet ambassador Ivan Maisky, this sign of Jewish solidarity and kinship was interpreted as ignoring the political differences, in particular the evils of communism. “Birds of a feather [flock together]” (soort zoekt soort) (VoVa 11 September 1942) is the comment of the comic creator, suggesting that the group’s loyalties lie predominantly, if not exclusively, with the diaspora and not the nation-states (and their political systems) in which they live.

Frequently, the supposed lack of integration is expressed implicitly using the text in speech balloons. Unlike most of the other protagonists in the comic, Jews make their statements in words that are incomplete or incorrectly spelled, regardless of their social background. This applies not only to Dutch Jews but also those from Britain and the United States. The characters’ command of the language is poor and is presented as an idiosyncratic concoction of slang and Yiddish. The recurring suggestion that Jews use a peculiar guttural lingo (Felsenstein 2005, 98–101) carries a double meaning: on the one hand they are no real compatriots, and on the other hand, they are barbaric or childish.

What is remarkable here is the regular use of the term “goy” by Beekman (VoVa 16 January, 13 February, 15, 22 and 29 May 1942) (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Jews as a “separate nation”: Peter Beekman, “Rare, maar ware commentaren” (Odd, but true comments), Volk en Vaderland, 22 May 1942.

The repeated application of this Hebrew term to identify non-Jews would normally be seen as a way of emphasizing how the Jews distinguish themselves from gentiles. The Nazi interpretation of this, however, suggests that Jews are not only different from others but consider themselves better. This is reflected in an episode devoted to a box of soap powder that has to have rabbinical approval (VoVa 22 May 1942). The Jewish users would place themselves above their fellow Dutchmen, while the Dutch who were sympathizing with the Jews – wearing yellow stars inscribed with the word “Goy” – did not realize they were looked down upon by those with whom they showed solidarity.

The comic strip does not hide the solidarity expressed by some non-Jews in the Netherlands, especially Christians, towards the persecuted minority. Apart from considering such Dutchmen naïve, the magazine employed another rhetorical weapon, namely associating Jews with anti-Christian communism and alleging that also church leaders supported communism (VoVa 2 and 30 October 1942). That a positive attitude of the Christian Churches towards communism, or a similar stance towards the Soviet Union (that was also under attack by Nazi Germany), were two different phenomena, of which especially the former was exceptional and rare, was conveniently ignored by the illustrator.

Jews and greed

Beekman’s comic applies the widespread anti-Semitic stereotype of the greedy Jew, of which Shakespeare’s Shylock in The Merchant of Venice is one of the best-known examples (Strömberg 2010, 26). The comic repeatedly stresses the importance of money to Jews who use every opportunity to do business: the fourth stereotype in the comic. The prototype of the Jew in this narrative is therefore one of a cunning businessman (VoVa 23 January 1942). This is a strong anti-Semitic motive utilized to ridicule and raise suspicion towards the group.

One of the first ways in which Jews are shown to make profit is the smuggling of jewellery (VoVa 30 January 1942) (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Jews and “greed”: Peter Beekman, “Rare, maar ware commentaren” (Odd, but true comments), Volk en Vaderland, 30 January 1942.

This not only designates Jews as greedy for money and luxury products but also identifies them as evaders of the law. Jews do not seem to hold honourable professions as craftsmen. When a Jewish tailor in the United States appears in the comic, it is hardly surprising that he is introduced as a crook (VoVa 13 March 1942). More generally, it is suggested that the money made by Jews is acquired at the expense of ordinary citizens. The statement that “the American citizen in the war year 1942 has to contribute the ‘modest amount’ of $ 18.5 billion” is, linked to the suggestive remark: “How much will Moos [an obvious Jewish name, KR] profit from it?” (VoVa 23 October 1942).

Money is thus made suspect by its purported illegal or dubious origin. In the case of British Jews expressing their solidarity with Jews in the Soviet Union, the hint is that their solidarity has purely financial motivations, instead of being a matter of honour. This implies that honour means nothing to Jews and that money is the only thing they value (VoVa 11 September 1942). Community spirit seemed to be lacking as well – a contradiction with the previously mentioned anti-Semitic stereotype of Jewish solidarity across national borders – as the comic showed how Jews in Amsterdam cheat each other in an atmosphere of envy (VoVa 3 April 1942).

Jews and the evil of communism

The value attached to money by Jews might suggest they were seen as capitalists par excellence, an element which, as Barkai noted, was part of the secularized modern anti-Semitism from the mid-nineteenth century onwards (Barkai 1995, 265; Rogalla von Bieberstein 2005, 389–391). This suggestion was, however, not stated explicitly in the comic, which is understandable as National Socialism did not rule out capitalist practices. At the same time, Beekman also portrayed an opposite phenomenon: the intertwining of Jews and communism – the fifth stereotype, also known as the stereotype of Judeo-Bolshevism – an image powerfully propagated since the second half of the nineteenth century by the modernizing societies in Central and Eastern Europe (Niedermüller 1995, 274). Strömberg (2010, 26) has pointed out that the contradictory combination of representing the Jew as capitalist and the Jew as communist (or the “Red Jew”) is a constant in the highly malleable anti-Semitic stereotypes in comic strips, in the postwar period as well.

The most striking portrayal of the alleged Jewish affinity with communism appears in August 1942 (VoVa 7 August 1942). It represents plans for a group of sculptures that will “commemorate the subjugation of Germany” by five purported evils, named “The blessings of Judaism.” One of the five alleged evils, all symbolized by Jewish men with hooked noses, was Bolshevism (communism). Usury was another. This was followed by degenerate art (entartete Kunst), a notion, as indicated by Berghof (1987), dating back to the late nineteenth century and used by the National Socialists to contrast their preferred artistic expression with modern art by Jews, communists and others who were considered too pessimistic, too pacifist or existentially alienated. The remaining two were pornography and neo-Malthusianism, the latter referring to pleas in favour of birth control, presented here in the killing of two apparently Aryan children. The embodiment of neo-Malthusianism is reminiscent of the old cliché of Jews as ritual child murderers. This stereotyping which, like the idea of Jews as sexually obsessed people, dates back to the Middle Ages, is recurrent in cartoons and comic strips (Strömberg 2010, 26). However, Beekman only addresses these clichés whilst discussing the proposed statues.

The absence of the anti-Semitic image of Jews as murderers of Christian children in Beekman’s comics illustrates his tendency to select from a range of prejudices, indicating a certain preference for stereotypes which, in the eyes of his contemporaries, were somewhat less historically oriented. That may help explain why another well-known image – certainly present in Beekman’s Catholic upbringing – is absent: the one of Jews as the killers of Christ, inspired by centuries of Christian anti-Semitism (although implicit references are made by the generic portrayal of Jews as treacherous). Undoubtedly, the ambivalent attitude of National Socialism towards Christianity as well as the negative attitude of the Dutch churches towards the New Order played a role in this (De Jong 1974, 645–724). Nevertheless, it is remarkable that this comic makes almost no references to the Jewish religion, which is therefore completely overshadowed by the preeminent racial classification. Although religion was generally not a dominant theme in National Socialist anti-Semitism, the absence of this topic remains striking in the strongly Christian Dutch society.

Jews and the military

Among the clichéd images of Jews, special attention was given to Jews in Allied countries assigned to military duties, from Britain to China. Most of these initiatives in various countries are used to underline the presumed unsuitability of Jews for such activities or to make their (potential) role in this look ridiculous.

Already in the fourth episode Beekman tries to show that American Jews were anything but committed soldiers and were thus useless warriors (VoVa 23 January 1942). This message is also conveyed by the use of British examples. In every possible way the alleged incapacity, both physical and mental, contributes to the sixth stereotype. Jews were seen as bad soldiers because of their purported laziness, lack of discipline, cowardice, the absence of any sense of honour and predominant interests in monetary gain (to the extent that they would even sell their own uniform) (VoVa 24 April, 17 July 1942).The credibility of Jews in military positions, whether it be in the British-ruled Palestine, in the forces of the Dutch government-in-exile, or in the US Army, is constantly presented as highly questionable (VoVa 13 March, 12 June, 9 October, 26 June, 20 February 1942). Yet, the intriguing tension between the perceived superiority of Jews in political and financial terms and their alleged physical and military inferiority is never explained.

It is not surprising that especially in this military context all alleged negative characteristics of Jews are strongly emphasized. This may reflect the idea that in a context of battle everyone’s true nature stands out more clearly than ever. What is, however, noteworthy is that the Jewish soldiers are not directly contrasted with the positive characteristics of their opponents, the armies of the National Socialist states.

By emphasizing the (putative) military roles of Jews, their position as enemy of the Nazis is compared to that of the Allied powers. Apart from being an ideological enemy, that is, enemy seen in racial terms (and not defined by religious characteristics), they are now invested with an additional role of military enemy. On the one hand, they are an embodiment of danger looming over the country, while on the other, they are considered as intertwined with the Allied nations and often seen as interchangeable in this military rhetoric. The possibility of drawing the ambivalent conclusion that Jews were actually integrated into the Allied nations, was conveniently ignored.

Racial stereotyping of non-Jews

Racial stereotyping in this comic largely consists of depictions of Jews (while the small Roma and Sinti community in the Netherlands remain notably absent). Remarkably enough, their supposed polar opposite, the “superior” German Aryans, are somewhat invisible too. Hitler, for instance, is mentioned but never portrayed, only the German military successes are underlined. Dutchmen appear more often than Germans, but the racial characteristics of both groups are never emphasized. Other Western European nations, with their relatively high position in the racial hierarchy of the Nazis, were distinguished by their clothing rather than by physical characteristics. The Slavic peoples, perceived as sub-humans (Untermenschen) by the Nazis, were not brought up explicitly. Russians, in particular the Soviet leaders, are frequently portrayed but references to their race were considered superfluous. Being communists was sufficient reason for despising them as inferior enemies.

In general, representing visual racial characteristics was used mainly to underline the exoticism of the represented people and only sometimes to stress their differing appearance as negative and inferior. Among the non-European races shown in Beekman’s comic strip were Asians and Americans. The most often portrayed non-Western individual in the comic is the Allied Chinese leader Chiang-Kai-shek (VoVa 30 January, 13 and 20 February, 6 March, 29 May and 23 October 1942), always shown with slit eyes and long teeth. In the compact reality of this comic strip Japanese, belonging to the Axis alliance and considered honorary Aryans (Ehrenarier), were represented in the very same way as the Chinese (unlike a certain distinction in Asian racial stereotypes made on the Allied side, in particular in the United States as indicated by Dower (1986) and Savage (1998, 123)). In both cases, nothing is mentioned about their presumed mental characteristics (VoVa 6 March; 9 January, 29 May and 9 October 1942). Just like the colonized Asians represented in the comic, the indigenous people of the Dutch East Indies and British India, their position in the racial hierarchy is left undiscussed.

Among the other foreigners represented in “Odd, but true stories” were Caucasian Americans from North America, portrayed in the same manner as the Dutch or British, and Native Americans, but these were too infrequent to merit further analysis (VoVa 27 February, 1 May 1942). African-Americans appeared in five episodes, their portrayals always following the usual Western (and racist) stereotypes of those days: they were depicted as having broad noses and thick lips, and presented as naïve, scared and stupid (Strömberg 2003, 2010; VoVa 30 January, 20 February, 17 April, 1 May and 9 October 1942). Their alleged poor way of speaking was supposed to recall the language of savages or children. By doing so, Jews and African-Americans were the only ethnic groups in this comic strips whose portrayal went beyond physical appearance.

Conclusion

Until the appearance of the graphic novel, comic strips were not well known for their ability to present balanced and subtle narratives. In the early 1940s, comics were a relatively new medium mainly aimed at entertaining the reader in a light-hearted way. However, Beekman’s “Odd, but true comments” mixed entertainment with political propaganda, and its seemingly light-hearted tone was not as innocent as it may have been perceived to be at first glance.

The frequent use of easily recognizable stereotypes was certainly not uncommon in rather compact media such as comic strips and political caricatures. Yet, the choice of stereotypes, their recurrent use and the deliberate way in which they were used by this comic creator strongly reflects the National Socialist outlook. What is most remarkable about those visual examples of racial propaganda is that most races (ethnic and national groups in contemporary terms) are not characterized by their alleged racial characteristics. The main exception here are Jews (and, to a much lesser extent, African Americans) whose “otherness” becomes amplified. In fact, Beekman uses the racial theories only in as far as he can discredit Jews. Various other ethnic groups are presented throughout the comic strip, both as individual characters and more general stereotypes, but their racial status is usually neglected. In this context, racist views simply serve the discrimination of one specific group that is singled out and, in this case, it can hardly be interpreted as an ideology that extends to other groups.

The frequently occurring portrayal of Jews as both racial (and therefore ideological) and military enemy is striking. Although this speaks to just one way of ridiculing Jews, it is also the expression of a strong National Socialist self-confidence. Keeping in mind that in 1942 Nazi Germany and her Axis-associates were at the top of their military and political strength, it is no surprise that in their militant view of dominance the images of both the Jews and the Allied powers were linked to weakness, both physical and mental. Yet, the Jews – in line with the recurring anti-Semitic pattern of their simultaneous inferiority and superiority – were still considered a serious threat, or at least it seemed useful to present them as being such a threat in order to unite the Aryans against a shared enemy. Otherwise there would be no need for this kind of propaganda. Beekman’s vision of Jews reflected, above all, his loathing for their supposed omnipresent malice, which seemed to spring from an irrational and alienating fear aimed to instil anxiety in his readers.

Based on this case study, it seems unlikely that the medium of comics was deployed in order to convey an ideological message that was substantially different from what was presented in other means of propaganda. Essentially, Beekman was recycling various traditional prejudices about Jews, without really “innovating” them in a specific National Socialist manner. The accents characterizing Beekman’s strip do not seem to be very specifically inspired by the (mainly visual) possibilities and early conventions of comics. The limited size of these comics and the artist’s habit of portraying various issues in every single episode obviously did not allow for a more elaborate and personal approach by the artist. However, the combination of text and images, which could be produced faster and cheaper than in other media, such as film, looked attractive to the editor and publisher, especially since Beekman’s light-hearted way of storytelling introduced anti-Semitism in a seemingly casual way. This approach, combined with the regular visual characteristic of multiple strips in most of Beekman’s comics, suggests a difference between comics and political cartoons, but in the case Volk en Vaderland these two expressions did not fundamentally differ in their propaganda message.

1942, the year in which this propaganda was published, was a dark year for Dutch Jewry. Not only was the obligatory yellow star introduced in the Netherlands but also the deportations to the concentration camps in Nazi-occupied Poland started that summer (Moore 1997; Michman, Beem, and Michman 1999). The efficiency with which this deadly operation was performed raises the question if, and to what extent, anti-Semitic propaganda has contributed to the Holocaust. Answering this question demands further research, but it would be too easy to ignore the possible impact of the complex variety of propaganda tools. Even when assuming that Volk en Vaderland was mainly read by devoted National Socialists – which remains to be proven – written and illustrated narratives like the ones by Beekman may have confirmed readers in their prejudices or even strengthened their racial beliefs.

The widespread feeling in 1942 that a powerful Germany, together with its Axis-allies, would continue to play a significant role, may have increased the credibility of Nazi propaganda, also among Dutchmen who did not join the NSB. Against this background, it should be kept in mind that many Dutchmen in the so-called pillarized society of the 1940s were strongly oriented to their own community and had only limited knowledge of other social and ethnic groups. Since stereotypes and prejudices concerning “the other,” mixed with xenophobia, were not only to be found among National Socialists, it is by no means unlikely that these curious comics had a wider impact on the political climate in which the persecution of the Jews was possible.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank guest editor Ewa Stańczyk and the two anonymous reviewers whose helpful and constructive comments greatly contributed to improving the final version of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Kees Ribbens is a senior researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam and endowed professor of Popular Historical Culture and War at Erasmus University Rotterdam. His research focuses on the history of the Second World War and the memories and representations of war and mass violence in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, in particular in comic strips and graphic novels. His other key interests include popular historical culture and public history in the broadest sense of the term (http://www.niod.nl/en/staff/kees-ribbens).