L. J. Jordaan (1885-1980) was a powerful graphic artist and political cartoonist in Amsterdam for the magazine, Green. He drew a biting series of anti-Nazi cartoons during the 1930s. After the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, they promptly shut down his magazine but Jordaan continued working underground and for alternative publications.
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| Dictating to the newspapers (wearing handcuffs) about what they can print. |
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| Ridiculing Nazi efforts to portray Amsterdam painter Rembrandt as part of the Aryan tradition |
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| Stealing into the Netherlands by the back door... |
As the tide turned against the Nazis later in the war, Jordaan gleefully recorded their misfortunes:
In the end, Germany lay in ruins and Green published the following illustration of "the hangover of Brunhilde," the German valkyrie who had become drunk on Nazi lies. The collar on the cat in the window says "retribution. "
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| Note the graves on the hill. |
In addition to his job as a political cartoonist, Jordaan was a journalist and a musician. After the war he changed careers and became a well known film critic.
I think his images, drawn in the face of political opposition, were strong and evocative. His work deserves a broader audience than it has had.
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