|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Edited by: TJVNews.com
In this exclusive interview with The Jewish Voice, Holocaust scholar Dr. Rafael Medoff and comics historian Craig Yoe discuss their new book, Cartoonists Against Racism: The Secret Jewish War on Bigotry (published by Yoe Books / Dark Horse).
TJV: The subtitle of Cartoonists Against Racism is “The Secret Jewish War on Bigotry.” What about that war was secret—and why?
Medoff: The American Jewish Committee, which financed the cartoonists’ anti-racism campaign in the 1940s and 1950s, felt it would be more effective to hide its Jewish sponsorship and emphasize that it was a nonpartisan effort. So the comics and cartoons appeared in the name of the individual writers and artists or in the name of general-interest groups such as labor unions.
TJV: Can cartoons and comics really be effective in fighting against something as serious as anti-Semitism or racism?
Yoe: Many people respond more strongly to visuals than to the printed word. A skilled editorial cartoonist can sometimes pierce a racist myth or ridicule a bigot in a more memorable way than a book or an op-ed. Think about the impact on racism of a television show such as “All in the Family” as compared to the impact of your average newspaper editorial.
TJV: Many of the artists represented in Cartoonists Against Racism were Jewish. Is it just a coincidence that Jews have been so prominent in the world of comics and cartoons?
Medoff: During the early years of the comic book industry, the 1930s and 1940s, Jews faced discrimination in the literary world. That pushed many Jewish publishers, editors, writers and artists toward alternative media such as comics.
Yoe: Many of the comics pioneers felt they had to hide their Jewish identity. For example, Stanley Lieber became Stan Lee, Jacob Kurtzberg became Jack Kirby, Eli Katz became Gil Kane. Not all Jewish comics creators did that—but it gives you some sense of the environment in which they found themselves in those days.
TJV: Looking back at the anti-racism campaign in the 1940s and 1950s, would you say it had a significant impact?
Medoff: Richard Rothschild, the advertising executive who was hired by the American Jewish Committee to run the campaign, felt the campaign was successful. There was a noticeable decrease in anti-Semitism in America in the late 1940s and 1950s, and he believed the millions of cartoons and comic books carrying their message contributed to that.
Yoe: As for the broader issue of racism, America has made significant progress in combating bigotry in the years since World War II, and the cartoonist community can take pride in having played a role in that. Recent developments make it urgent to fight racism and anti-Semitism today with every creative weapon we can devise—including cartoons like those featured in Cartoonists Against Racism: The Secret Jewish War on Bigotry.
TJV: In the years since the anti-racism campaign, America has made a lot of progress in marginalizing racism. But in the wake of October 7, can we say that there has been real progress in combating anti-Semitism?
Yoe: The election and re-election of an African-American president, and the election of an African-American vice president, were major milestones. But of course there is much to be done against bigotry from all sides.
Medoff: As for anti-Semitism, significant progress has been made in welcoming Jews into American society and eliminating official discrimination. But the aftermath of October 7 demonstrates that anti-Semitism can come roaring back, in unexpected ways and from unexpected sources.
TJV: Aside from the fact that it recounts a very interesting chapter of history, what do you want Cartoonists Against Racism: The Secret Jewish War on Bigotry to accomplish?
Yoe: We want it to promote a recognition that so long as anti-Semitism and other types of racism persist, good people need to set aside political and religious differences to try to build a more tolerant world. And hopefully, when people read Cartoonists Against Racism, they will be inspired by these remarkable artists who used both humorous and poignant approaches to advance a noble cause.
TJV: These Medoff/Yoe team-up books seem to be resonating both with the Jewish community and the comics world. Will we see more from this dynamic duo in the future?
Medoff: There’s more coming—it’s just a little too early to go into details.
Yoe: We have much more to say on these subjects. So stay tooned!
