Herblock Looks at Communism
In his very first publication, Herblock Looks at Communism, political cartoonist Herbert L. Block (1909–2001) warned the world of the dangers of government tyranny and limited free speech. This selection of cartoons from 1951 shows how Herblock continued to focus on countries ruled by the Communist Party, including North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union. He used a range of visual metaphors including the Asian tiger and the dragon as well as dismal swamps and an abyss to drive home his concerns.
The Korean War began in 1950 when the Chinese Army marched across the 38th parallel that had divided North Korea from South Korea after World War II. In 1951, General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) advocated bombing and full-scale war with China. President Harry Truman (1884–1972) disagreed and recalled MacArthur to the United States. Herblock did not approve of Mao Zedong (1893–1976) and the Communist Party ruling in China, but he also felt that demands for economic assistance from the ousted leader Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975) were unwarranted and diverted aid from other pressing world needs.
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