The threat of war had become real by the late 1930s. Japan invaded China in 1937. The United States and other nations protested, but did little to make Japan stop. Germany invaded Poland in 1939. As a result, France and Britain declared war on Germany. At the time these political cartoons were published, Germany was invading France. Americans were very worried about their future. Would the U.S. have to go to war, too?
Daniel Fitzpatrick was the creator of “Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse.” He won two Pulitzer Prizes for his editorial cartoons. “Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse” appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on June 4, 1940.
[SHS St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Cartoon Collection, June 4, 1940]
The following points may help to interpret “Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse”:
- Apocalypse means the end of the world.
- The Bible uses the term “four horsemen of the apocalypse” to refer to causes of mankind's destruction.
- Fitzpatrick's “fifth horseman” implies that there is an additional cause of mankind's destruction.
- The face of the “fifth horseman” is a death skull.
- The hairstyle of the “fifth horseman” is the same as Adolf Hitler's.
- The “fifth horseman” has a swastika armband, symbol of the Nazi Party.
- “Air power” refers to the powerful German Luftwaffe, or air force.
