Yes, Germany HAD War Time (1939-45) Comics

It is very interesting.  ”What is?” you ask.  Well, let me tell you.

For years my German grand-father told me there were comic strips in Germany during the 1939-1945 war. Oh, but all those comic ‘experts’ (X=The Unknown and Spurt is a drip under pressure) who are into the Bandes Dessinee chuckled at my stupidity: “Don’t you know? The Germans hated comics -they were banned. Silly boy.”

One might wonder  WHY the country that gave us Max and Moritz (oh, just google them) would ban what could be useful propaganda tools -the Americans and Brits used comics for “Hun” and “Nip” bashing…uh, almost 70 years later they still do but it’s more liberal “can’t cut the string” between comics and Nazis that outright, often racist, propoganda.

I was even sure that, while at Kleine Marpe school in Germany I had seen a German war comic from the 1940s -found in someones barn but quickly confiscated (Gaarrgh!). But then…

JF Ptak Science Books  made a quick post on 7th November, 2011http://longstreet.typepad.com/thesciencebookstore/2011/11/wwii-german-comics-propaganda.html

The Bilderbogen vom Krieg–some examples of propaganda aimed at German children, efforts to convince them of the winning of the war, evidently a universal attempt….

Source:  Deutschsprachige Comics und Romanhefte vor 1945 here.

“Famany der fliegende Mensch” (1937) according to Puj Claus:"Famany -The Flying Man probably only appeared in the 1937 run of "Gazebo"- the hero using all means to fight against the criminal underworld in the U.S..

I know that it's highly unlikely but one day I would love to see a synopsis of this serial -and WHY all the aircraft after one man!

 ooh, now don’t those look to you like war comics…from the Second World War period to boot.

The site in question is run by the same person who runs the Dideldum childrens comic page. It’s interesting but shows the utter stupidity of German law -Hitler has to have his face obscured as does any swastika.  These are HISTORICAL publications but cannot be shown for fear of the law (yet Nazi thugs get together to celebrate Hitler’s birthday!!).

http://home.arcor.de/hitlerjugendzeitung2/index.htm

I need to go over the site more but I believe the owner Herr Claus is the person who discovered these.  He is invaluable to German comics history!

Yes, the Germans did exactly what the Allied Countries did both comic strip, cartoon and pin-up wise. There really was not that much difference –but Germany mainly forgot its War time comics.

Now, of course, our beloved comic ‘experts’ will start announcing their “new discovery” with no credit to anyone else.

One expects this.