Editing Anti-Americanism (section)

===== "Liberators" poster =====
[[File:Liberators-Kultur-Terror-Anti-Americanism-1944-Nazi-Propaganda-Poster.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|A [[History of the Netherlands (1939–1945)|1944]] [[Propaganda in Nazi Germany|German propaganda]] poster aimed at the Dutch, from a Norwegian World War II poster by [[Harald Damsleth]]]]

The "Liberators" poster that was distributed by the Nazis to a Dutch audience in 1944 displays multiple elements of anti-American attitudes promoted by the Nazis. The title ''Liberators'' refers to a common Allied justification for attacking Germany (and possibly the American [[B-24 Liberator]] bombers as well), and the poster depicts this "liberation" as the destruction of European cities. The artist was [[Harald Damsleth]], a [[Norwegians|Norwegian]] who worked for the [[Nasjonal Samling|NS]] in [[German occupation of Norway|occupied Norway]].
<!-- NOTE: The list below originated in a mostly cite-supported list on the image description page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Liberators-Kultur-Terror-Anti-Americanism-1944-Nazi-Propaganda-Poster.jpg. There has been some subsequent editing of the list here, but the list here, as of September 2019, is still generally representative of the list it was drawn from -->

Motifs contained in this poster include:

* The decadence of [[beauty pageant]]s (scantily-clad "[[Miss America]]" and "Miss Victory", "The World's Most Beautiful Leg") – or more generally, the putative sexual laxness of American women. The "[[Miss America]]" beauty pageant in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]] had expanded during the war and was used to sell [[war bond]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Susan Dworkin|title=Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson and the Year That Changed Our Lives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ifd8I17iWbgC&pg=PA97|year=1999|publisher=Newmarket Press|pages=97–98|isbn=9781557043818|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ifd8I17iWbgC&pg=PA97|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Gangsterism and [[Gun violence in the United States|gun violence]] (the arm of an escaped convict holding a [[Thompson submachine gun|submachine gun]]). Gangsterism had become a theme of anti-Americanism in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Philippe Roger|title=The American Enemy: The History of French Anti-Americanism|url=https://archive.org/details/americanenemysto0000roge|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=U. of Chicago Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanenemysto0000roge/page/346 346]|isbn=9780226723686}}</ref>
* Anti-black violence (a [[Lynching in the United States|lynching]] noose, a [[Ku Klux Klan]] hood). The lynching of blacks had attracted European denunciations by the 1890s.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Noralee Frankel|author2=Nancy Schrom Dye|title=Gender, Class, Race, and Reform in the Progressive Era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=btZ7N4qAJhYC&pg=PA156|year=1991|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|page=156|isbn=0813127823|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=btZ7N4qAJhYC&pg=PA156|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Alexander Stephan|title=The Americanization of Europe: Culture, Diplomacy, and Anti-Americanization After 1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgCqwXmGxNYC&pg=PA104|year=2006|publisher=Berghahn Books|page=104|isbn=9781845450854|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=sgCqwXmGxNYC&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref>
* General violence of American society, in addition to the above (boxing-glove which grasps the money-bag). The theme of a violent American frontier was well known in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jason Pierce|title=Making the White Man's West: Whiteness and the Creation of the American West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PG4siz5bDCIC&pg=PA91|year=2008|page=91|isbn=9780549963516|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=PG4siz5bDCIC&pg=PA91|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Americans as Indian savages and as a mockery of American genocide over Natives as well as land-theft, since it is a chieftain symbol here used as a fashion trinket. ("Miss America" wears plains-Indian head-dress).
* The capitalism, pure [[materialism]] and [[commercialism]] of America, to the detriment of any spirit or soul (money bag with "$" symbol). The materialism of America contrasted with the spiritual depth of European high culture is a common trope, especially in [[Scandinavia]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Thomas Ekman Jørgensen|title=Transformations and Crises: The Left and the Nation in Denmark and Sweden, 1956–1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dS3lKQJkxYC&pg=PA66|year=2008|publisher=Berghahn Books|pages=66–67|isbn=9781845453664|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=9dS3lKQJkxYC&pg=PA66|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Anti-semitism appears in most Nazi-generated images of America. A Jewish banker is seen behind the money.
* The presence of [[African Americans|blacks in America]] equals its "mongrelization", adding undesirably "primitive" elements to American popular culture, and constituting a potential danger to the white race (a stereotypically-caricatured black couple dancing the "[[Jitterbug]] – Triumph of Civilization" in birdcage, which is portrayed as a degraded animalistic ritual). The degradation of culture, especially through [[miscegenation]], resonated with European anxieties, especially in Germany.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Frank Trommler|author2=Elliott Shore|title=The German-American Encounter: Conflict and Cooperation Between Two Cultures, 1800–2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h0703VRj7tUC&pg=PA275|year=2001|publisher=Berghahn Books|page=275|isbn=9781571812902|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=h0703VRj7tUC&pg=PA275|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Decadence of American popular culture, and its pernicious influence on the rest of the world (dancing of jitterbug, hand holds phonograph record, figure of a European gullible "all-ears" dupe in lower foreground). The growing popularity of American music and dancing among young people had ignited a "[[moral panic]]" among conservative Europeans.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1950, prosperity and welfare. 4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZfvCVndvXoC&pg=PA406|year=2004|publisher=Uitgeverij Van Gorcum|page=406|isbn=9789023239666|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=JZfvCVndvXoC&pg=PA406|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Indiscriminate [[United States war crimes|U.S. military violence]] (bloodied bomb for foot, metal legs, military aircraft wings), threatening the European cultural landmarks at lower right.
** Hence the suggested falsity of American claims to be "Liberators" (the [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|Liberator]] was also the name of a U.S. bomber plane).
* Nazis denounced American [[jingoism]] and war fervor (a business-suited arm literally "beating the drum" of militarism, "Miss Victory" and her drum-majorette cap and boots).<ref>{{cite book|author=Samuel D. G. Heath|title=The American Poet: Weedpatch Gazette for 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=teQluAzCbUcC&pg=PA132|year=2009|publisher=iUniverse|page=132|isbn=9781440139581|access-date=29 October 2015|archive-date=5 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105152107/https://books.google.com/books?id=teQluAzCbUcC&pg=PA132|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The malevolent influence of American [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] (Masonic apron descending from drum) was a theme among conservative [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], as in [[Spain]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Preston|title=Franco: a biography|url=https://archive.org/details/francobiography00pres|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=BasicBooks|page=[https://archive.org/details/francobiography00pres/page/324 324]|isbn=9780465025152}}</ref>
* Demonization of national symbols of the United States ("Miss Victory" waves the reverse side of 48-star U.S. flag, and the [[:Image:USAAC Roundel.svg|WW2-era Army Air Corps roundel]] – of small red disk within white star on large blue disk – is shown on one of the wings).