Racism and Exaggeration

Tokio kid say “Much waste of material make so-o-o-o Happy! Thank you,” 1941-1945, Douglas Aircraft Company, University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Library

Another common form of demonization propaganda is the use of discriminatory and racist imagery to demoralize entire groups of people. This tactic is evident in anti-Semitic propaganda where Jewish people are often portrayed with grotesque features or as inhuman. During World War II, U.S. propaganda frequently used exaggerated racial stereotypes when depicting the Japanese.

The image to the left is from the “Tokio Kid” campaign which consisted of a series of posters featuring a caricature of a Japanese man with highly exaggerated features such as pointed ears and fangs.

Below is an anti-Semitic French-language flyer which reads “Tuberculosis, Syphilis, Cancer are curable ...It is necessary to finish the biggest curse: The Jew!”