1940.06.22 “The Valedictorian”
by Gerald Aloysius (Jerry) Doyle, Jr. (1898-1986)
17 x 18 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection
https://www.libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/9746.htm
Jerry Doyle spent most of his career at The Philadelphia Record, The Philadelphia Daily News (1951) and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He retired in 1973. Doyle's support for the New Deal meant that his cartoons generally expressed support for President Roosevelt, whom he depicted as tall, imposing, powerful, and larger-than-life. Doyle’s early and continual criticism towards Hitler and Mussolini made him the only American cartoonist to be put on the Nazi hit list. He wrote the book “According to Doyle - A Cartoon History of World War II” (1943). His son, who carried his name, was also a part-time cartoonist (1926-2009).
On June 22, 1940, following the German invasion and military collapse of France, Marshal Philippe Petain, a WW1 hero, became the head of the French government and negotiated an armistice with Nazi Germany. This armistice led to the division of France, with the northern and western parts occupied by Germany, and the southern part becoming the authoritarian Vichy France regime under Petain's leadership.
The Vichy regime collaborated with Nazi Germany on various levels, including the implementation of discriminatory laws and the deportation of Jews. After the war, Petain was tried for treason for his collaboration with the Nazis and sentenced to life imprisonment.
