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One Sheet Created in
1942 by Dutch artist Louis Manche, this anti-American and antisemitic propaganda poster, titled De Dollarpoliep ("The Dollar Octopus"), was published in Nazi-occupied Holland. It characterizes U.S. foreign policy as a predatory "dollar octopus" whose tentacles of economic and imperial expansion are being severed by the Axis powers.
Visual Elements and Symbols
The Octopus: A common propaganda motif representing the "inhuman spread of evil" and a "malevolent intelligence" manipulating its surroundings. Here, it represents American capitalism and supposed "Jewish world domination".
Tentacles and Dates: Each tentacle marks a year of U.S. territorial or military expansion:
1848: Annexation of Mexican territories (Texas, New Mexico, California).
1867/1876: Purchase of Alaska (the poster incorrectly dates this as 1876).
1898: Acquisition of Hawaii and the Philippines (Spanish-American War).
1940-1941: Recent military activities, including bases in Newfoundland and Bermuda, and the defense of Iceland.
The Rising Sun Sword: A sword bearing the emblem of Japan is shown severing the tentacle at the Philippines (1942), symbolizing the Japanese "liberation" of the islands from American control.
Text and Propaganda Message
The text at the top and bottom translates to:
Top: "Roosevelt miscalculated! The arms of The Dollar Octopus are being cut off."
Bottom: "The Jews in the White House and the gold in Fort Knox are surrounded by the young nations, by the armies of labor."
The poster promotes the antisemitic "Jewish control" canard, a conspiracy theory suggesting Jewish leaders secretly control global politics and the economy. By framing the Axis powers as "young nations" and "armies of labor," the propaganda attempted to contrast them with the "avaricious" and "plutocratic" United States |
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