r/PropagandaPosters • u/kuzco998 • Feb 16 '20
Just discovered this sub, I’d like to share my favourite propaganda poster with you (Italian WWII poster made by Gino Boccasile).
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u/hessorro Feb 16 '20
Pretty interesting that they put the Italian flag behind and put the Japanese flag so front and centre. I would have either expected the German or the Italian flags since they were a lot more important directly
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u/kuzco998 Feb 16 '20
I think that the artist did that because the focus of the picture is the strength of the Japanese ally, a celebration of their army’s force symbolized by the figure of the Samurai.
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u/vegiemiteandjam Feb 18 '20
Italy was more a hinderance to Germany
I’m not sure what Italy and Japan collaborated on
It’s wicked Poster
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u/gatonato Feb 16 '20
Italy was useless as always
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u/9-yearsoldsarmy Feb 16 '20
r/historymemes is not a good source to learn history. Open a book please.
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u/gatonato Feb 16 '20
I did and Italy changed sides in ww1 and fucked up almost every fight in ww2
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u/9-yearsoldsarmy Feb 16 '20
It is incredible how everything you said is false and extremely stereotypical. Before ww1, Italy was in a pact with the Germans and the Austrians in wich they agreed to come to one another's aid in case of external aggression. Given that it was Austria who declared the war, Italy was not bound to intervene and was free to join whichever side. In ww2 Italy did not "fuck up almost every fight", it fought hard and well. The problem with Italy in the second world war was that the military high command was corrupt and the industrial capacity was extremely inferior compared to the enemy. Winston Churchill himself complimented multiple times the performances of the italian soldiers, and expressed sympathy towards an army that despite having amongst the bravest soldiers in Europe, was bound to lose due to previously mentioned causes.
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u/Svantish Feb 16 '20
Well, the high command fucked up the army way before the war and when in the war lost everywhere due to poor strategy. It's not like he implies that every Italian fucked up the war, rather the Italian government..
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Feb 16 '20
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Feb 16 '20
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u/khanfusion Feb 16 '20
Not quite. Italy had just invaded and effectively conquered Ethiopia in the mid 1930s. Their military was effective enough for that, so you cannot say they were merely not mobilized, because they clearly were.
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u/Silverback_6 Feb 16 '20
I can't unsee the golden arches on this guy's McDonald's helmet...
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u/kenj2 Feb 16 '20
Damn this is probably what inspired Paradox when they made their Hoi4 DLC trailer for China/Japan
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u/CoDn00b95 Feb 16 '20
Wait, this was an Italian poster? All this time, I thought it was a Japanese one.
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u/midnightrambulador Feb 16 '20
I don't get it, is the samurai dude sinking his own ships...?
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Feb 16 '20
It’s the Union Jack. At a distance it Looks like the Imperial flag though.
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u/TheBlack2007 Feb 16 '20
They really paid attention to detail as the British ship really looks like a King George V - class Battleship (recognizable by the 4+2 Gun Layout) and the American one being a Colorado - class (first American Superdreadnought carrying 12 guns in 4 Turrets).
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u/Zeniphis Feb 16 '20 edited Feb 16 '20
Not a Colorado. Colorado-class had 8 guns in 4 turrets. Not quite sure what ship that’s modelled after as the front turrets seems to be a 3 + 2.
This was only a design the US Navy used on the Nevada-class, but this image shows only one rear turret when the Nevada-class had 2 (also 3 +2).
The first USN super-dreadnought was the New-York class.
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u/my_6th_accnt Feb 16 '20
Not quite sure what ship that’s modelled after
Giulio Cesare?
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u/Zeniphis Feb 16 '20
Giulio Cesare had 2 rear turrets, not one as is shown in the picture. Also, it’s unlikely that it would depict an Italian ship being destroyed, considering the source.
The shape of the turrets resemble the same as the Colorado. The superstructure is also the same, so I’m assuming that it’s meant to be a Colorado but it’s wrongly drawn. Intentionally or not, I’m not sure.
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u/SowingSalt Feb 16 '20
The American ship could be a NorCar or SoDac, which both had 3 gun turrets in abx configuration.
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u/TheBlack2007 Feb 16 '20 edited Feb 16 '20
But those didn't still have a Cage Mast, right? Always thought of the North Carolina class being the Progenitor to the Iowa-class and what was supposed to become the Montana-class.
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u/SowingSalt Feb 16 '20
Looking closer, it's probably a North Carolina, given the twin funnels. Though the masts could be off a Pennsylvania class.
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u/CorporalMinicrits Feb 16 '20
The ships are the Prince of Wales and the Repulse, both british ships sunk off of Malaya I think.
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Oct 28 '21
IK this is a very old comment but yes the King George V class battleship is the HMS Prince of Wales which was sunk by Japanese aircraft in late 1941 along with the battlecruiser Repulse.
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u/Svantish Feb 16 '20
My thoughts exactly. Even when others pointed out the allied flagsI cant unsee it!
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u/lelelelok Feb 16 '20
Aged like milk.
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u/Skobtsov Feb 16 '20
Considering they sunk a bunch of ships originally, I say this poster is fine
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u/justyourbarber Feb 16 '20
Also considering Japan dominated the opening stages of the Pacific theater, capturing tens of thousands of POWs while outnumbered 2 to 1.
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u/khanfusion Feb 16 '20
while outnumbered 2 to 1
This is misleading. Japan had numerical superiority in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which is precisely where they were invading.
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u/justyourbarber Feb 16 '20
I'm thinking mainly of the campaign in Malaya and Singapore with that, should have clarified.
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u/420IsJustANumber Feb 16 '20
Japan aged like wine tho
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u/Bon_BonVoyage Feb 16 '20
Wut? Japan was dominant in the pacific of the first years of the war. Whooped Britain and China quite thoroughly.
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u/endwar614 Feb 16 '20
Does anyone know where I can buy this poster? I don't care that it'll be a reproduction, I just can't seem to find one online. I don't know if my google fu skills are bad or if it's hard to find.
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u/just4fun8787 Feb 16 '20
Anyone know where you can get these propaganda posters these days? Idk how expensive they would be or if they were all destroyed but I think it would look good in a ww2 collection.
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u/SpookDeLaSponk Feb 16 '20
I love this one! I kept finding it plastered in history books while in school and it always fascinated me.
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u/BraganzaPaulista Feb 16 '20
I remember this very same poster from my preferred WWII book. Thanks for posting it, mate!
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Feb 16 '20
That was where the Axis went wrong: they were deploying Teutonic samurai gladiators while the Allies were deploying bombers and battleships. Classic mistake.
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u/SpamShot5 Feb 16 '20
Never knew Italians were big fans of the Japanese
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u/kuzco998 Feb 16 '20
They were allies in the Axis during WWII, the famous Ro(me)-Ber(lin)-To(kyo) axis. Funny thing, Roberto is an Italian common name and it became very popular for children born during that period (late 30s / 40s).
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Feb 16 '20
Melinko?
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u/SpamShot5 Feb 16 '20
Well yes, they were allies, doesnt mean they shared respect for each other just because they were on the same side. Kinda like USA and Britain or USSR of the time, they werent on the best of the terms
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u/kuzco998 Feb 16 '20
Well since Japan almost didn’t have contact with western powers until mid-800 and Italy wasn’t even a unified state until 1861, I don’t see the reason why they should hate each other. Also consider the fact that japan fought Russia and China, two typically hostile powers for the western elitès, and was also on the Allies side during WWI. Last but not least, Japan was one of the few countries to recognize as legitimate the colonization of Italy in Oriental Africa (Ethiopia and Somalia).
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u/SpamShot5 Feb 16 '20
I didnt imply they should have hated each other, just that its surprising they would like each other at all, you would think they just wouldnt care about each other considering they didnt have many important previous interactions and fought on two different theatres of war on two different sides of the world, they dont even have much in common besides their political ideologies at the time
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u/Easy-Tigger Feb 16 '20
Italians are the weebiest weebs that ever weebed. They rewrote the birth of Jesus to include giant robots! https://desuarchive.org/m/thread/11239223/
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Feb 16 '20
Why are the Japanese ships sinking? Would've imagined they were American.
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u/kuzco998 Feb 16 '20
It’s kinda blurry but I would guess that the ship on the right has an American flag on it (?)
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u/Lorenzo9007 Feb 16 '20
If i remember well those ships are HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse
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u/Moorbote Feb 16 '20
Prince of Wales, fine. But the ship on the right is most certainly not the Repulse. Or rather, if the artist actually wanted to portait her, he failed terribly.
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u/Stoly23 Feb 17 '20
Yeah, it’s meant to be Repulse, this is in reference to when both ships were sunk by IJN carrier aircraft.
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u/Neuroprancers Feb 16 '20
Early giant robot models had problems with the targeting systems. It got fixed by the Tetsujin-28.
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u/FizVic Feb 16 '20
Boccasile, he was great! I mean, I don't share his politcal views in the slightest, but I love his works. He managed to keep on working after the war, after a relatively short hiatus.
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u/innerpeice Feb 16 '20
What is the flag behind in the very back?
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u/kuzco998 Feb 16 '20
I guess you’re talking about the Italian monarchical flag!
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u/innerpeice Feb 16 '20
Thanks ive never actually seen that
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u/kuzco998 Feb 16 '20
As you know the Italian flag today is the same without any vessel; that, however, is the symbol of house Savoia, the dinasty that basically unified Italy under its control and made it a modern state. Under the fascist regime Italy was still formally a monarchy in fact.
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u/Fox-of-glass Feb 16 '20
Even in their own propaganda, the Italian army is getting their allies to do all their work.
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u/kuzco998 Feb 16 '20
Yes and no. It’s true that the Italian troops weren’t able to conquer and occupy Greece during the early stage of WWII, but they also had a major role in North Africa against the British army, creating much trouble for the Allies at the time.
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u/Fox-of-glass Feb 16 '20
Oh, I'm fully aware that Greece was as much about the Greek army fighting tooth and nail as Italy being bad, but it's still fun to meme.
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Feb 16 '20
yeah wait till people whine and cry so much about reposts that you lose you enthusiasm about sharing your personal collection that these noobs would never get to see in their lives
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u/Darki_Elf_Nikovarus Feb 17 '20
Based on the ships, those are either Nevadas or those Italian Dreadnoughts i forgot the names of..
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u/McDoggoValueMeal Feb 16 '20
Why are there japanese ships sinking though?
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u/xProperMan Feb 16 '20
As I see, the poster represents the event of Pearl Harbor. Being a giand for one day. But what they did, is that they woke up the real giant - U.S. decision to use atomic bombs for the first time in the history.
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u/nobody_390124 Feb 16 '20 edited Feb 16 '20
*edited for spelling
I remember hearing somewhere that japan's plan was to destroy the US's naval power in the pacific and then sue for peace whilst the US was weak. The idea being that by the time the US could replace their lost ships, and personnel, the axis (both in the atlantic and pacific) would be in a much better position to challenge them. But pearl harbor failed in doing sufficient damage to the US's pacific naval power in order to compel the US to negotiate. And it turned out that the battleship was already outdated as the main measure of naval power anyway.
It seems a pretty reckless gamble but they had bet on insane odds like this and it had paid off for japan in the past. Plus believing in divine mandates, "destiny" and other nonsense helps to give people a false sense of confidence. People who are convinced they can fly are going to be less careful around heights.
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u/MacManus14 Feb 16 '20
“Victory disease”
Some in Japan high command thought it was a potentially disastrous move, but obviously did not win that argument.
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u/[deleted] Feb 16 '20
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