Source B : a Cartoon from Punch - March 1938

1
Source B a Cartoon from Punch - March 1938

• 2. Explain the significance of the cartoon
  (Source B) in the context of events at the
  time. 5
• In reaching a conclusion, you should refer to
• the origin and possible purpose of the source
• the content of the source and
• recalled knowledge

Caption GOOD HUNTING Mussolini- "All right,
Adolf- I never heard a shot"
2

• Step 1 -Immediate context
• Source refers to the Anschluss i.e. the
  annexation of Austria by Germany Feb/March 1938
• Strictly forbidden under Versailles this action
  should have brought resistance from
  Britain/Prance as guarantor powers of the treaty
• As it turned out, they accepted the act despite
  criticism that this only encouraged Hitler and
  indeed strengthened his position in that he now
  out-flanked the Czech state

Source B - a cartoon from Punch March 1938
3

• Step 1 -Immediate context
• Austrian freedom was sacrificed to maintain peace
  
• For reasons which are now in debate, Britain
  condemned but did not resist the annexation
• The popular view was that the Nazis had saved
  Austria from a Communist plot
• Popular view in UK was that the Austrians
  welcomed the event and that it was not worth a
  war over principle of Versailles

Source B - a cartoon from Punch March 1938
4

• Step 2 - Big picture
• The source offers a critical view of Hitler's
  actions and makes the impression that Hitler has
  got away with an illegal act.
• It very much opposes British Government opinion
  at the time

Source B - a cartoon from Punch March 1938
5
Step 3 Select relevant points from the source
and use recall to evaluate each point
Point one from source Figure of Hitler as a
poacher
Recall evaluating point from source Reflects
minority view that Hitler had 'poached' Austria.
Most people in UK saw the German/Austrian union
as a practical solution for both states
6
Step 3 Select relevant points from the source
and use recall to evaluate each point
Point two from source Strictly Preserved
Recall evaluating point from source Reflects
Versailles terms which had forbidden the union.
Yet the view in UK was that this term was
outdated.
7
Step 3 Select relevant points from the source
and use recall to evaluate each point
Recall evaluating point from source Reflects
apparent loss of freedoms of Austrian people
under the proposed Anschluss. A minority view at
the time. The Austrian goat/deer representing the
nation 'poached' or controlled by Hitler was
believed by some to have been 'shot' by Hitler -
a metaphor for the type of Government the Nazis
represented
Point three from source Austrian Integrity
8
Step 3 Select relevant points from the source
and use recall to evaluate each point
Recall evaluating point from source This is a
key point. The gamekeeper figure as he is
represented is shown encouraging and accepting
Hitler's actions and, as he says, I never heard
a shot. This is in contrast to 1934 during the
failed Anschluss when Mussolini threatened to put
10,000 troops into the Brenner Pass to prevent
the threat of Nazis expansion. However by 1938,
it was, as the source suggests, Mussolinis key
role which allowed Hitler to complete the
Anschluss. By 1938, events over Abyssinia, the
collapse of the Stresa Front and the Spanish
Civil War had undermined the Italian position.
Point four from source Mussolini
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Step 3 Select relevant points from the source
and use recall to evaluate each point
Point five from source Caption I never heard a
shot
Recall evaluating point from source There was no
shooting! The Germans appeared to have been
welcomed (flags, crowds) -so much so that Hitler
decided to absorb Austria into Germany rather
than put in a puppet Government.
10
Step 3 Select relevant points from the source
and use recall to evaluate each point
Point six from source Good Hunting
Recall evaluating point from source Ironic,
sarcastic view of the event.
11
Step 4 - Link back to the question
Explain the significance of the cartoon (Source
B) in the context of events at the time.
Source B highlights a critical view of the
Anschluss and warns about German actions.
12

• Step 5 -Additional recall
• At the time however, the majority view was to
  accept Hitler's actions. Few people knew the
  actual details of the events leading up to the
  Anschluss i.e. the actions of Schuschnigg the
  bullying by Hitler at Berchtesgaden and the
  plebiscite and then forced playing of Hitler's
  hand (Communist plot etc.)
• Most people accepted the view that the Austrian
  people wanted the union and accepted it. In
  letters to newspapers, George Bernard Shaw and
  Lord Lothian spoke out in favour of a common
  sense view of the matter.
• While Chamberlain did not 'like' the way the
  Anschluss had been carried out, he nevertheless
  had no intention of using force to stop it. The
  risks/gains were weighed out and the balance was
  to accept it and move on. It was another of the
  wrongs of Versailles resolved.

13
Step 6 Conclusion In conclusion, the source
offers a critical view of the Anschluss -one
which was not reflected at the time.