Afrika Corpse. New York, 1943.

SZYK, Arthur. Afrika Corpse. Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk. N.Y. (19)43.” Pen and pencil on card. Sheet size: 6″ x 4″. Image size: 4 1/8” x 3 1/2”. Very Good condition.

Afrika Corpse depicts two German soldiers of the Afrika Korps — the German expeditionary force in Africa during World War II — being captured by a Jewish American from Brooklyn.  The top of the sheet reads “The American Way: ‘Taken prisoners by a Jewish fellow from Brooklyn!! What a humiliation for us, the masterrace!” (Szyk similarly mocks the Nazis’ self-aggrandizement in Racial Humiliation (1944), where instead of a Jewish captor, a Nazi officer is under the custody of an African-American.)

By deliberately choosing the wording “Afrika Corpse” to title this illustration, Szyk likely intended to reference the defeat of the Afrika Korps after their Tunisia Campaign ended in May 1943.

Of interest, quite unlike Szyk’s other caricatures of Jewish soldiers during World War II who are portrayed with identifying signs such as the Star of David, his Brooklyn Jew (where most were highly religious) has no straightforward Jewish markings (either in adornment or in physical features), and he appears totally assimilated as an American. Only Szyk knows he is a Jew, which is surprising given that he might want the Nazis to unmistakably feel totally humiliated in being captured by  Jew.

Publication History: New York Post, March 1943.