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Anti-Axis pin calling for the extermination of Axis rats

Object | Accession Number: 2015.514.2

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    Anti-Axis pin calling for the extermination of Axis rats
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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Anti-Axis pin-back button distributed in the United States during World War II. The button compares the leaders of Germany, Italy, and Japan to rats and calls for their extermination. The name under the Japanese face, referred to as Togo, may refer to Shigenori Tōgō, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the beginning of the war. The name may also be a misspelling of Tojo, a reference to Hideki Tojo who was Prime Minister of Japan during the war and a more popular target of American propaganda. After the Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and Germany’s declaration of war four days later, a wave of American patriotism and anti-German, Italian and Japanese sentiment swept through the country. Much of this was manifested through pieces of ephemera such as posters, buttons, pins, cards, toys and decals. Often such pieces would depict unflattering or caricatured images of the Axis leaders along with a call to action for the public to aid in their defeat. This sentiment continued in America until the end of the war.
    Date
    manufacture:  1941-1945
    Geography
    distribution: United States
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, The Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Acquisition Fund
    Markings
    front, top, printed, black ink : EXTERMINATE / THESE 3 RATS
    front, bottom, printed, black ink : MUSSI / ADOLF / TOGO

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Classification
    Identifying Artifacts
    Category
    Badges
    Physical Description
    Metal, cream colored pin-back button with an image of the heads of Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Shigenori Tōgō in the center. Above are two lines of English text and below is a rat. The pin has a rounded edge and a flat surface. The back is silver colored with a recessed interior and has a horizontally mounted thin metal pin with a pointed end.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Width: 1.380 inches (3.505 cm)
    Materials
    overall : metal, ink

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access

    Keywords & Subjects

    Geographic Name
    United States.

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The artifact was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
    Funding Note
    The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by the Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Acquisition Fund.
    Record last modified:
    2024-10-03 12:57:07
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn534008

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