Caricature of a Jew whispering to Stalin while he blows bubbles
Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Anti-Jewish, anti-Communist caricature depicting a Jewish man whispering to Joseph Stalin. This cartoon was likely distributed by anti-Soviet partisans in Soviet-controlled Lithuania in approximately 1947. The image depicts a Jewish man with stereotypical features behind Stalin who is in a military uniform and blows soap bubbles full of anti-Communist slogans. The inclusion of the Jew reinforces war-time propaganda that emphasized the Soviet Union’s role as an aggressor advancing the Jewish-Bolshevik agenda. In June 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, and one year later was occupied by Germany. In the second half of 1944, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania, and remained in control following Germany’s surrender and the end of the war in May 1945. Soviet authorities exiled, deported, or imprisoned many of their outspoken opponents, including many partisans like members of the youth organization “Union for the Liberation of Lithuania,” who were carrying an almost identical version of this flier when they were arrested in 1947.
- Title
- Tik muilo burbulas
- Alternate Title
- Only a soap bubble
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
approximately 1947
- Geography
-
distribution:
Lithuania
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection. The acquisition of this collection was made possible by the Crown Family.
- Markings
- front, top bubble, printed, black ink : ÙKIS APRÙPINTAS / 100% [FARM APPROVED / 100%]
front, center bubble, printed, black ink : MIŠKO NORMOS / 100% [FOREST RATES / 100%]
front, bottom bubble, printed, black ink : BALSAVO / 100% [VOTED / 100%]
front, bottom center, printed, black ink : Tik muilo burbulas [Only a soap bubble]
Physical Details
- Language
- Lithuanian
- Classification
-
Art
- Category
-
Caricatures and cartoons
- Object Type
-
Caricatures (aat)
- Physical Description
- Black ink caricature drawing on brown paper depicting Joseph Stalin in right profile wearing a rumpled Soviet military uniform while blowing 3 large bubbles bearing Lithuanian text above a bowl with a black, 6 pointed star. He is seated and hunched forward while holding up a long, narrow tube with 1 bubble emerging from the end. His eyes are closed as he blows on the tube, his cheeks rounded with air and his lips pursed, extending out beneath his large pointed nose and bushy mustache. Standing behind him, in right profile, is a bald man with bushy eyebrows and fleshy jowls wearing 5 pointed stars on a uniform and pince-nez glasses on his large, hooked nose. He leans in and shields his fleshy lips with his hand as he tells Stalin what to do. The Lithuanian title is centered beneath a horizontal line running across the page below the image. The drawing is mounted to an off-white, heavy weight backing paper.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 6.750 inches (17.145 cm) | Width: 12.000 inches (30.48 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, ink, adhesive
- Inscription
- front, top left mat, handwritten, pencil : 68
back, center mat, handwritten, pencil : 6D
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- Restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The caricature was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018. The acquisition of this collection was made possible by the Crown Family.
- Record last modified:
- 2022-07-28 18:31:03
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn594474
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