Karikatür 1940 Humor Magazine Turkish Turkey Goebbels and the Propaganda Balloons WW2 era Germany
Karikatür Humor Magazine – “Children’s Toys: Goebbels and the Propaganda Balloons” – Issue No. 219 – March 7, 1940 – Turkish Edition
Description:
Karikatür was a prestigious Turkish weekly humor magazine founded by Sedat Simavi, with its first issue published on January 1, 1936. Continuing until 1948, the magazine published a total of 614 issues and brought together celebrated cartoonists of the period, including Cemal Nadir Güler, Ramiz Gökçe, Necmi Rıza Ayça, and Münif Fehim. Through its distinctive illustrations and satirical writing, it explored social change, economic difficulties, the tensions surrounding Westernization, and international developments, becoming an important visual record of Turkey’s early Republican period.
This issue, number 219, is dated March 7, 1940. Its cover features a political cartoon titled “Children’s Toys,” depicting Joseph Goebbels, wearing a Nazi armband, attempting to sell balloons to a Turkish customer. The balloons carry slogans about wartime developments and foreign-policy claims, including “The British Navy in the Straits,” “Military Build-up in the Caucasus,” “Mobilization,” “The Germans Advance into the Balkans,” and “Declaration of War.” Goebbels asks, “We have balloons of all kinds. Wouldn’t you like some?” The Turkish customer responds, “Do you take the person in front of you for a child?” The illustration satirizes wartime propaganda and the attempt to persuade audiences through sensational claims.
The first page continues the theme with a cartoon of a giant snake labelled “Propaganda Lie,” shown swallowing itself. The accompanying caption describes it as a “Long-Tailed Lie = Long-Tailed Snake,” referring to propaganda that finds no place to take hold in Turkey and consequently consumes itself. Inside, the issue includes selections from international cartoons and an article titled “A Child Because of a Button,” about Bismarck’s life and political career. Other pages feature humorous stories and illustrations concerning marriage, conversations between spouses, museum visits, and social interactions, alongside cartoons under the theme “Aphrodite Has Gone Out into the Street.” Additional humorous columns include “Theft,” “Stubborn,” “New Pictures,” and “The Absent-Minded Man.” The back page carries advertisements and announcements for Dentol, Gripin, the Ev Doktoru Encyclopedia, and the Ramiz Cartoon Album. Combining anti-propaganda satire, international political commentary, social humor, and period advertising, this issue offers a revealing glimpse into Turkish illustrated satire during the early years of the Second World War.
Key Features:
• Publication: Karikatür
• Issue Number: 219
• Publication Date: March 7, 1940
• Language: Turkish
• Publication Type: Weekly humor and caricature magazine
• Founder: Sedat Simavi
• Cover Feature: “Children’s Toys,” depicting Joseph Goebbels attempting to sell propaganda balloons to a Turkish customer
• Cover Dialogue: Goebbels offers balloons carrying political and military claims; the Turkish customer replies, “Do you take the person in front of you for a child?”
• Political Satire: Nazi propaganda, wartime claims, the British Navy in the Straits, military preparations in the Caucasus, mobilization, German advances into the Balkans, and declarations of war
• First-Page Cartoon: A self-consuming snake labelled “Propaganda Lie,” accompanied by the caption “Long-Tailed Lie = Long-Tailed Snake”
• Historical Article: “A Child Because of a Button,” covering Bismarck’s life and political career
• Social Humor: Cartoons and anecdotes about marriage, conversations between spouses, museum visits, and everyday interactions
• Illustration Feature: “Aphrodite Has Gone Out into the Street”
• Additional Humor Columns: “Theft,” “Stubborn,” “New Pictures,” and “The Absent-Minded Man”
• Period Advertisements: Dentol, Gripin, the Ev Doktoru Encyclopedia, and the Ramiz Cartoon Album
• Historical Interest: Turkish political satire, anti-propaganda commentary, and everyday humor in March 1940