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15 August

On August 15 1945 Japan surrendered, in effect ending World War II in Asia. 

This cartoons by the artist Emile Brumsteede are from the booklet 'Jappenspiegel' (Bezige Bij, 1945)

The Childrens Bizzare: Keedle (1940)

The Childrens Bizzare: Keedle (1940): "The Book For Children From 6 To 60, A Living Proof That As Long As KEEDLE Can Be Written And Published, The World We Know Is Safe. The Keedles Will Never Conquer Us No Matter How Many Cannon And Guns And Submarines They Use To Murder Us". Because we can laugh and they can't.

Nazi Ducks in Holland!

Just like the books I mentioned in my earlier post, there are other examples of animals in war. In this American children's book about Holland, Kwik and Kwak (1942) by Oscar Fabres, all figures are ducks, also the German paratroopers who invade Holland.

Kwik and Kwak are living peacefully and happy in the Dutch village of Volendam. Kwak is a fisherman who goes out fishing in his boat every morning and in the evening smokes his pipe by the fireplace. In winter they skate and in the summer they ride their bikes to Amsterdam.
But one day suddenly green ducks are falling from the sky with parachutes. Kwik and Kwak flee in their boat. Soon the boat sinks in a raging storm, but luckily the little ducks are rescued by a big passenger ship.
When this ship is attacked, Kwak becomes a hero by destroying the Nazi submarine.

Oscar Fabres (1894-1960) was a Chilean illustrator and artist. He studied art in Paris and worked there as a cartoonist  for 'le Petit Journal'. In 1931 he married the Dutch writer Alice Overduin and settled in Amsterdam. After the German invasion of Holland in 1940 they moved to New York. There he wrote among other things this charming book.

This edition has a nice inscription by Fabres:

To Mr. and Mrs. Ian Kozendall, with our best wishes for Christmas and the New Year, Alice and Oscar Fabres, New York 1942

What the RAF did for the Occupied Netherlands - 1944

Another example of a fine Dutch underground cartoon book is the booklet 'Wat de RAF voor bezet Nederland beteekende' (What the RAF did for the Occupied Netherlands), written by A.Q and illegaly published in the Hague in 1944. A.Q. was the pseudonym of the author A.Q van Braam Houckgeest.

This illegal print has numerous full-page pro RAF and anti Nazi colour cartoons. Ironically, some of these books already got lost during the war because the very same RAF missed its target and accidentally bombed a department store where the books were secretly stored.
The Colophon of this book states that this sketchbook was secretly printed in December 1944 by 't Kuypje Honigh. And that the proceeds will be donated to the relatives of those who gave their lives for your freedom. 

Two dubious allegories with animals in a leading role.

'Van den Vos Reynaerde, Ruwaard Boudewijn en Jodocus' is an antisemitic 1941 version of the well-known medieval animal epic. This propaganda book  features the rhino Jodocus (Jodo-cus is an anagram for jew in Dutch ). In this story the fox Reynard rounds up and kills most of the rhinoceroses, including Jodocus. 
The book is written by Robert van Genechten, A well known collaborator and fascist of the Dutch national socialist party (NSB).

Van den vos Reynaerde was also produced as a NSB cartoon movie in 1943.
In 1991, parts of the film were found again in the German Bundesarchiv. In 2005, more pieces were found, and the film has been restored. The reconstructed film was shown during the 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

• A fragment on Youtube with English subtitles from Van den Vos Reynaerde

• More details about: Reynard the Fox and the Jew Animal (Since this AWN article was published, the rest of this film has been found)

The other book: 'Reintje verwekt onrust' is a "fairy tale" with 15 large colored plates. The book is an adaptation of the animated propaganda film 'Der Störenfried. (1940) The red fox in this story is the Soviet Union and the wasp is a German Stuka. The writer of this book is Hans Held German  animator and artistic director for the film company 'Netherlands Film' run by the NSB. The same film company that also produced the film: Van den vos Reynaerde!

• A short video about the film Der Störenfried (1940) from a documentary about Hitler and animation. (in German) 

Moffenspiegel - The Busy Bee

During the Second World War the students Geert Lubberhuizen and Charles van Blommestein together with some other students from Utrecht in the Netherlands set up a small illegal press. This press ‘De Bezige Bij’ (The Busy Bee) wanted to finance their resistance movement with clandestine and illegal publications.

A particularly appealing book ‘Moffenspiegel’ (Krauts mirror) appeared in 1944. The writer/cartoonist Karel Links (who is in this edition of course not named) made this popular underground work with graphic anti-Hitler cartoons. The book was a success and did manage to generate a lot of money for the underground movement. After the war, the book due to great demand for it, appeared in print again.