| Image | 
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| Reference Number | LSE2692 |
| Alt Ref No | LSE2692 |
| Artist or Creator | David Low (1891-1963) |
| Title or Caption | Rendezvous |
| Extent | 1 item |
| Published by | Evening Standard |
| Date | 20 Sep 1939 |
| Format | Newspaper |
| Embedded text or transcript | The scum of the earth, I believe
The bloody assassin of the workers, I presume? |
| Person Depicted | Hitler; Adolf (1889-1945) |
| Stalin; Joseph (1879-1953) |
| Notes | "A pact was announced between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia by which (it transpired later) it was arranged to defeat and partition Poland. Germany invaded Poland, and Britain and France declared war." [Europe since Versailles by Low.]
Republished in David Low, Low's War Cartoons, Cresset Press, 1941.
The declared nature of the pact was a 'non-aggression' treaty; Russia and Germany would not fight each other. For Hitler, this removed the threat of a war on two fronts should he invade Poland. For Stalin, this operated in similar fashion to Britain and France's policy of appeasement in that it gave him time to prepare for conflict: Stalin was convinced that Britain and France would leave him to do all the fighting on the Eastern front, despite their promise to guarantee Polish neutrality, and he needed time to re-arm. For both parties, of course, the secret element of the treaty (the division of Poland) served to regain territory lost in the aftermath of World War I. Hitler and Stalin remained ideologically opposed, as the captions suggest. The Nazi-Soviet pact was merely a pragmatic gesture on both parts.
Poland is represented by the prostrate figure. |
| Description | A cartoon entitled, Rendezvous. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin loom over the body of a dead Polish soldier against a backdrop of smoke and ruins.
A uniformed Hitler raises his hat and bows formally, a gun holstered at his hip. He says to Stalin, The scum of the earth, I believe?
Stalin returns his salute, raising his hat in turn and bowing, his hand pressed to his chest. Stalin replies, The bloody assassin of the workers, I presume?
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| Subjects | Germany |
| International relations |
| Poland |
| USSR |
| World War 1939-1945 |
| dictatorship |
| invasion |
| treaties |
| Copyright holder | Associated Newspapers Ltd. / Solo Syndication |
| Copyright contact details | Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT solo@solosyndication.com |
| Relates to cartoon | LSE2692 |
Show related Persons records.
Persons
| Code | PersonName | Dates | About | Multimedia | Image |
| GB/BCA/394 | Hitler; Adolf (1889-1945) | 1889-1945 | Born in Austria. Politician and leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party). He served as German chancellor from 1933-1945 and head of state (Fuhrer) from 1934-1945. He established a single-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideals of national socialism. He gained support for his views on German nationalism, anti-Semitism, anti-capitalism and anti-communism through his impassioned speeches and propaganda. He wanted to establish a New Order of absolute rule in Europe and pursued a policy of seizing land by force for the Aryan people. | | |
| GB/BCA/273 | Stalin; Joseph (1879-1953) | 1879-1953 | | | |