Cartoon by Shutenko on the danger of rapprochement between the FRG and France (20 July 1958)

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‘The knight from Bonn’. On 20 July 1958, the Soviet satirical weekly magazine Krokodil deplores the policy of rapprochement between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and France. The Soviet Union sees this rapprochement as a marriage of convenience and a political calculation on the part of the FRG to speed up its rearmament and give itself a key role on the international stage. France, represented by Marianne with her characteristic Phrygian cap symbolising freedom and democracy, is overwhelmed by the chivalrous gallantry of the German soldier, who greets her with a kiss on the hand. The tip of the soldier’s bayonet, covered in blood, comes dangerously close to Marianne, who seems to recoil. The Soviet cartoonist warns against the dangerous resurgence of a militaristic, bellicose Germany. The soldier in the cartoon still has all the garb of the Nazi regime: the Iron Cross, a German military decoration; the swastika used by the Third Reich as an emblem of the Aryan race; the steel helmet of the Wehrmacht and the uniform.

Source and copyright

Source: SHUTENKO, Rodion Stepanovich. [Le chevalier de Bonn]. In: Krokodil. 20-07-1958. n°20, p.11. ISSN 0130-2671.

Copyright: (c) Krokodil
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Cartoon by Shutenko on the danger of rapprochement between the FRG and France (20 July 1958)