WWII references in Barks' stories, part 2

Daniel van Eijmeren dve at kabelfoon.nl
Sat Feb 3 18:44:17 CET 2001


STEVEN ROWE, 2 FEBRUARY 2001:

> Without looking at the particular Barks books, and assuming you
> are talking about the swastika rather than the iron cross; 
> the Nazis "borrowed" this widely used symbol from other cultures.
> Many native American cultures used this in their artwork. Prior
> to WW2, it may not have any nazi meaning (indeed, the ACE pulp
> magazine company used it as their cover emblem in the 1930s).   

Thanks for correcting me. I knew that the Nazi/iron cross has been
used long before World War II (about 1000 years?), but I wasn't
aware of the word "swastika" having a different meaning than 
"Nazi/iron cross".

As can be seen in the update below, I've corrected the WWII references
list. Please let me know if it's still done in an improper way.

I've also added the still missing references which have been mentioned
here in the past days. 

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In some of Barks' stories (mostly from the early forties) there are 
references to World War II, or at least World War II phenomenae: 

(Unchanged entries are omitted. These are mentioned in my previous email.)

WDC 60-02 (corrected)
As part of Donald's feather ornament, swastikas can be seen. See the
note below. (panel 5.4)

WDC 84-02 (new)
Donald, just before he attacks a big man at a bus stop: "I'll give him the
flying arm-lock that I learned in commando school!" (panel 7.7) As a
result, the big man is running away and yelling: "What ran into me - A
Tiger tank?" (panel 8.1) As this story was made in 1947, it's likely that
"Tiger tank" means the infamous WWII German Tiger tank. (Maybe a hidden
joke could be that the big man Donald beat up was a war veteran?)

WDC 142-02 (corrected)
As part of Donald's grumbling, a swastika can be seen. See the note below.
(panel 9.8)

OS 147-02 (corrected)
As part of the Volcano Valley president's grumbling, a swastika can be
seen. See the note below. (panel 18.5)

OS 189-02 (new)
"With some chemical spray I stole from a foreign spy during the war!"
Though it's not literally being said, this war could very well be meant as
being World War II. (panel 31.6)


Note:
Since the swastika isn't related to the Nazi's iron cross only, it's a
matter of debate whether or not a swastika should be counted as a WWII
reference. The Nazis "borrowed" this widely used symbol from other
cultures. For example, many native American cultures used the swastika
in their artwork. Prior to WW2, it may not have any Nazi meaning. (The
ACE pulp magazine company used it as their cover emblem in the 1930s.) 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sources: Information on OS 189-02 taken from an email by Carey Furlong,
sent to the Disney comics Mailing List on 30 January 2001 (digest
Vol01#394). Information on WDC 84-02 taken from an email by Simo Malinen,
sent to the DCML on 1 February 2001 (digest Vol01#396). Information on
swastikas taken from an email by Steven Rowe, sent to the DCML on 2
February 2001 (digest Vol01#397). 


Best wishes,

--- Daniel



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