{"id":1876,"date":"2020-06-10T18:47:43","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T17:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=1876"},"modified":"2021-12-16T15:38:57","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T15:38:57","slug":"sinister-stalin-the-cold-war-octopus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=1876","title":{"rendered":"Sinister Stalin, the Cold-War Octopus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cartoonist David Low\u2019s depiction of Stalin as an octopus, published in 1948, sits within a long-standing tradition of monstrous, dehumanised depictions of political enemies.\u00a0 Octopi in particular have been used in the past to represent the sinister ambitions of Prussia, Britain, France, Nazi Germany, America and the oil industry, amongst others.\u00a0 But as second-year UoP History student Georgia Hutton explains, Low\u2019s octopus critiques both Soviet policy and contemporary Western-bloc attitudes towards it.\u00a0 Georgia wrote this piece for the second-year module, Danger! Censorship, Power and the People.<\/em><\/p>\n

A cartoon by David Low for the Evening Standard, <\/em>on 15 April 1948<\/a>, reveals a great deal about the British, contemporary Western, perspective of the USSR during the early development of the Cold War hostilities.[1]<\/a> The \u201cGrand Alliance\u201d of 1945 had crumbled into a polarised Europe by 1948.[2]<\/a> Whilst it is important to note that cartoons generally exaggerate the truth for comedic purposes, the image by Low provides insight into messages a contemporary audience was exposed to regarding the USSR: Britain\u2019s fear of Soviet expansion; the USSR\u2019s policy of isolationism and perceived \u2018Social Utopia\u2019 alongside the years of \u2018anti-red hysteria\u2019.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Stalin<\/a>

Stalin in 1949<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Low\u2019s decision to place Stalin\u2019s facial features on a large cartoon \u2018octopus\u2019 statue is significant as it provides an acknowledgement that the USSR was pursuing a policy of expansionism, whilst illustrating a negative assessment of this. Low creates the metaphor of the Russian spread of communism across Europe by portraying Stalin as an octopus with a \u2018tentacle like\u2019 grip that he warns with text at the bottom of the statue is \u201cREACHING ALL OVER THE WORLD [sic]\u201d.<\/span>[4]<\/a> Stalin viewed \u201cEastern Europe as vital to Russia\u2019s security\u201d and consequently post-war focused on the creation of the Eastern Bloc to \u201cprevent any nation in the region from developing close economic or military ties with the West\u201d.<\/span>[5]<\/a> Longden stresses that Britain was inherently fearful of the prospect of Soviet expansion; foreign Secretary Ernst Bevin knew post-war Britain was too weak to protect Europe or themselves from the Soviet threat.<\/span>[6]<\/a> In addition, the timing of the cartoon is significant as it was published less than two months after the Prague Coup of 1948 which saw \u201cCzechoslovakia\u2019s slide into Communist rule\u201d.<\/span>[7]<\/a> The Coup of February 1948 alongside the post-war swing towards the left in countries such as Italy and France persuaded the West that political change was \u201cbeing orchestrated from Moscow\u201d.<\/span>[8]<\/a> Schwartz notes that by January 1948 the Foreign Office had launched an anti-communist propaganda campaign to stop the USSR\u2019s influence infiltrating Britain.<\/span>[9]<\/a> Although Low\u2019s depiction of Stalin trying to extend its influence was not direct government propaganda, its view of the USSR was one shared with Whitehall.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Red<\/a>

An octupus was again used an symbolic of Soviet aggression in 1980<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Low highlights the idea throughout his cartoon that Russia was pursuing a policy of secretive and hostile post-war isolationism in the large wall that runs across the middle of the image separating the two sides of the cartoon. This draws parallels to the notorious speech by Winston Churchill in 1946 claiming \u201c\u2019an iron curtain\u2019 had descended across the Continent\u201d.[10]<\/a> Robert Dallek highlights that \u201cStalin \u2026 couldn\u2019t accept that his allies meant what they said about post-war goodwill\u201d.[11]<\/a> As a result, Russia fell into a policy of hostile isolationism and bitter distrust of the West. However, whilst the wall is blocking what Low labels \u201cSIGHTSEERS [sic]\u201d a figure with resemblance to Stalin is seen looking over the wall into the other side. [12]<\/a> This suggests that the USSR, whilst isolating themselves from the rest of the world, were still interested in the politics of, and how they were perceived by, the West. Ian D. Thatcher states that \u201cthe world of Soviet politics was noted for hidden motivations\u201d which links to Low\u2019s depiction of the USSR hidden behind the wall.[13]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Low titles his piece, \u201cPRETTY GOOD SOVIET PROPAGANDA, I SAY [sic]\u201d.[14]<\/a> The Soviet Union\u2019s effort to maintain the illusory image of \u201cSocial Utopia\u201d is referenced in Low\u2019s cartoon on the entrance door of the wall.[15]<\/a> Low makes reference to the Western view that there was instead \u201cMUDDLE & MESS IN THE USSR [sic]\u201d.[16]<\/a> Levering suggests the USSR recognised their technological inferiority and would produce propaganda accordingly insisting \u201cthe West was preparing to attack the Soviets in order to destroy their way of life\u201d.[17]<\/a> Through Low\u2019s imagery we are exposed to the contemporary views regarding Russia\u2019s secrecy and policy of isolationism, which in turn are used to promote a negative suspicious view of the Soviets.<\/p>\n

In his cartoon Low presents the \u2018anti-red hysteria\u2019 surrounding ideological differences in his descriptions of Stalin.\u00a0 Although as Erik Goldstein states, \u201cgeo-politics even more than ideological rivalry have shaped British reactions to Russia\u201d, there was an obvious stark contrast in ideology between the Communist \u201cSoviet camp\u201d and the Western \u201cimperialist camp.[18]<\/a> .[19]<\/a>\u00a0 Low plays on the differences between the two ideologies by his use of juxtaposing statements on the base of the statue. Underneath the statue starting with the title \u201cSINISTER STALIN [sic]\u201d follow three more statements: \u201cFRIGHTFULLY CLEVER, DREADFULLY POWERFUL, AWFULLY EFFICIENT [sic]\u201d.[20]<\/a> The positive adjectives link back to the idea of \u2018social utopia\u2019 whilst the contrasting negative adverbs highlight the \u2018anti-red hysteria\u2019 created by the West. Despite this, However, Low also acknowledges the hysteria generated by expansionism and contrasting ideologies by the inclusion of a man labelled \u201cANTI-RED HYSTERIA [sic]\u201d who is building the statue where both ideas were presented.[21]<\/a> It is important to note that the Evening Standard <\/em>was a staunchly conservative paper.\u00a0 Mark Hampton argues that while Low, as he stressed in his autobiography, had \u201ccomplete freedom in the selection and treatment of subject-matter\u201d, his cartoons often met with a \u201chostile reception\u201d from its readers,\u00a0 reaction he was perhaps both evoking and provoking with his direct reference to the subject matter of hysteria[22]<\/a>\u00a0 Through Low\u2019s descriptions of Stalin we are exposed to how he perceives the \u2018anti-red hysteria\u2019 is being created.<\/p>\n

Low\u2019s cartoon provides us with great insight into the British perspective of the USSR in the early years of the cold war through the use of imagery. Low highlights the British fear of Soviet expansion through the depiction of Stalin as an octopus following the creation of the Eastern Bloc including the recent Czechoslovakian Communist coup. In addition, Low highlights how the British perceived the Soviet policy of hostile isolationism through his imagery of the giant wall separating the cartoon despite Stalin being able to see over. This suggests that, whilst isolating themselves from the rest of the world, the USSR were still interested in\u00a0 how they were perceived by the West. Finally, Low\u2019s description of Stalin provides us insight into the ideological differences of the cold war suggesting \u2018anti-red hysteria\u2019 was created both by expansionism and differing ideology.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> David Low, \u2018Pretty good Soviet propaganda, I say\u2019, Evening Standard, <\/em>15 April 1948. DL2866, British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> David Reynolds, From World War to Cold War: Churchill, Roosevelt, and the International History of the <\/em>1940s<\/em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 267.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Lowell H. Schwartz, Political Warfare Against the Kremlin: US and British Propaganda Policy at the Beginning of the Cold War <\/em>(Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), 209.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> David Low, \u2018Pretty good Soviet propaganda, I say\u2019<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ralph B. Levering, The Cold War: A Post-Cold War History <\/em>(Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2016), 21.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Martin A.L. Longden, \u201cFrom \u2018Hot War\u2019 to \u2018Cold War\u2019: Western Europe in British Grand Strategy, 1945-1948\u201d, in Cold War Britain 1945-1964: New Perspectives <\/em>ed. Michael F. Hopkins, Michael D. Kandiah and Gillian Staerck (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 116-117.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Michael D. Kandiah, \u201cThe Conservative Party and the Early Cold War: The Construction of \u2018New Conservatism\u2019\u201d in Cold War Britain 1945-1964: New Perspectives, <\/em>ed. Michael F. Hopkins, Michael D. Kandiah and Gillian Staerck (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 33.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Longden, \u201cFrom \u2018Hot War\u2019 to \u2018Cold War\u2019\u201d, 117.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Schwartz, Political Warfare, <\/em>19.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Reynolds, From World War<\/em>, 249; Jenks, British Propaganda<\/em>, 32.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Robert Dallek, The Lost Peace: Leadership in a Time of Horror and Hope<\/em> (New York: Harper, 2010), 66.\u00a0 Quoted in Levering, The Cold War, <\/em>20.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> David Low, \u2018Pretty good Soviet propaganda, I say\u2019<\/p>\n

<\/a>[13] Ian D. Thatcher, \u201cFrom Stalin to Gorbachev: Reflections on the Personality of Leaders in Soviet History\u201d, Contemporary European History <\/em>19, <\/em>no.1 (2010): 96.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> David Low, \u2018Pretty good Soviet propaganda, I say\u2019<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> Schwartz, Political Warfare, <\/em>209.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> David Low, \u2018Pretty good Soviet propaganda, I say\u2019<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> Levering, The Cold War, <\/em>32.<\/p>\n

[18]<\/a> Erik Goldstein, \u201cBritain and the Origins of the Cold War\u201d, in Cold War Britain 1945-1964: New Perspectives <\/em>ed. Michael F. Hopkins, Michael D. Kandiah and Gillian Staerck (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 7.<\/p>\n

[19]<\/a> Robert C. Tucker, The Psychological Factor in Soviet Foreign Policy <\/em>(Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, RM-1881,1957), Quoted in Schwartz, Political Warfare, <\/em>14.<\/p>\n

[20]<\/a> David Low, \u2018Pretty good Soviet propaganda, I say\u2019<\/p>\n

[21]<\/a> David Low, \u2018Pretty good Soviet propaganda, I say\u2019<\/p>\n

[22]<\/a> David Low, Low\u2019s Autobiography <\/em>(New York: 1957); Mark Hampton, \u201cInventing David Low: Self-Presentation, Caricature and the Culture of Journalism in Mid-Twentieth Century Britain\u201d, Twentieth Century British History <\/em>20, no. 4 (2009): 494, 500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cartoonist David Low\u2019s depiction of Stalin as an octopus, published in 1948, sits within a long-standing tradition of monstrous, dehumanised depictions of political enemies.\u00a0 Octopi in particular have been used in the past to represent the sinister ambitions of Prussia, Britain, France, Nazi Germany, America and the oil industry, amongst others.\u00a0 But as second-year UoP History student Georgia Hutton explains, Low\u2019s octopus critiques both Soviet policy and contemporary Western-bloc attitudes towards it.\u00a0 Georgia wrote this piece for the second-year module, Danger! Censorship, Power and the People. A cartoon by David Low for the Evening Standard, on 15 April 1948, reveals a great deal about the British, contemporary Western, perspective […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":1884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[548,550,552,712,549,172,11,551,98,13],"class_list":["post-1876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning_in_focus","tag-cartoons","tag-cold-war","tag-communism","tag-danger-module","tag-newspapers","tag-satire","tag-slider","tag-soviet-union","tag-twentieth-century","tag-visual-sources"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/history.port.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/stalin-cropped-1.jpg?fit=620%2C304","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p91PlX-ug","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1876"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1889,"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1876\/revisions\/1889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}