1941.07.15 "Propaganda" by Paul R Carmack

1941.07.15 “Propaganda”
by Paul R Carmack (1895-1977)
11.5 x 14.4 in., crayon and ink on board
Coppola Collection

Paul Carmack was a staff cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor.

There was an information crisis in mid-July 1941. Operation Barbarossa began June 22. By early-to-mid July, American newspapers were flooded daily with German communiqués claiming enormous victories, Soviet communiqués claiming heroic resistance and counterattacks, and eutral or semi-neutral reports that contradicted both. Maps, casualty figures, and front-line descriptions changed from day to day, often from morning to evening editions. Editors themselves openly admitted that no one really knew what was happening on the Eastern Front.

Do not mistake headlines for truth. Anyone claiming certainty is not dealing in facts.