Karikatür 1942 Humor Magazine Turkish Turkey Africa WW2 era Egypt War German Soldier

Karikatür Humor Magazine – “Africa Is Getting Shaved” – Issue No. 340 – July 2, 1942 – 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, caricatures, and satirical writing, it explored social change, economic difficulties, and international developments, becoming an important visual record of Turkey’s early Republican period.

This issue, number 340, is dated July 2, 1942. Its colourful cover features a German soldier shaving a head labelled “Africa” with an electric shaver. Titled “Africa Is Getting Shaved,” the illustration includes the soldier’s remark, “The more we take, the more it grows—what machine could withstand this!” Through this humorous visual metaphor, the cover comments on the military situation in North Africa during the Second World War and the challenges faced by the forces involved in the campaign.

The first page features a cartoon titled “The New Meaning of the Old Kanton,” addressing developments in Egypt and the relationships between the parties involved. It includes a dialogue featuring an Egyptian female singer: “Keep chattering and fluttering away... My dear sir, don’t you come any closer!” The illustration uses musical and flirtatious humour to frame contemporary political affairs. With its topical wartime cover and satirical treatment of events in Egypt, this issue offers a glimpse into Turkish political caricature and popular humour in the summer of 1942.

Key Features:

• Publication: Karikatür

• Issue Number: 340

• Publication Date: July 2, 1942

• Language: Turkish

• Publication Type: Weekly humor and caricature magazine

• Founder: Sedat Simavi

• Cover Feature: “Africa Is Getting Shaved,” depicting a German soldier using an electric shaver on a head labelled “Africa”

• Cover Dialogue: “The more we take, the more it grows—what machine could withstand this!”

• Political Satire: The military situation in North Africa during the Second World War

• First-Page Cartoon: “The New Meaning of the Old Kanton,” addressing developments in Egypt and relations between the parties involved

• Cartoon Dialogue: A humorous exchange featuring an Egyptian female singer

• Historical Interest: Turkish political caricature and commentary on wartime developments in July 1942