1943.02.04 “Can’t you Fellows Get Out and Push?”
by Ralph Lee (1906-1947)
14.5 x 16 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection
Ralph Lee was an editorial cartoonist for the Portland Oregonian. He died suddenly, at 41, in January 1947. His cousin, Art Bimrose, was the editorial cartoonist for the Oregonian for more than three decades. In 1937, the Oregonian hired him part-time to work on printing plates. Following Lee’s death, Bimrose was hired as the Sunday editorial cartoonist.
In early 1943, the Allies had several significant successes, and there was a sense of the tide starting to turn.
On January 27, the US Air Force launched its first bombing raid on German territory, targeting Wilhelmshaven, a key German naval base. The raid was successful, destroying several warehouses and factories and damaging the German air force.
American and Australian forces fought and defeated Japanese forces in the Buna-Gona area of New Guinea. This marked the first successful Allied land campaign against the Imperial Japanese forces. The capture of Buna on January 3rd was a significant victory.
By early February 1943, Nazi Germany's situation was dire due to the devastating defeat at Stalingrad. While some limited collaboration existed between Germany and Japan, it was not substantial enough to significantly impact the war's outcome. France was under Nazi occupation, and their collaboration was largely limited by their own internal struggles and the realities of occupation.
