Sipsey Street Awards Clay Bennett the First Annual Phillipp "Fips" Rupprecht Prize for Collectivist Hate Cartoon Excellence.

Meet Julius Streicher.

Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a prominent Nazi prior to World War II. He was the founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine. His publishing firm also released three anti-Semitic books for children, including the 1938 Der Giftpilz ("The Toadstool" or "The Poison-Mushroom"), one of the most widespread pieces of propaganda, which purported to warn about insidious dangers Jews posed by using the metaphor of an attractive yet deadly mushroom. After the war, he was convicted of crimes against humanity and executed. -- Wikipedia

This is a copy of Der Sturmer, featuring a cartoon by Streicher's favorite political cartoonist:

"Der Stürmer front page, January 1939. Der Stürmer was the most notorious newspaper in Germany. It published not only vulgar antisemitic articles, but also loathsome anti-Jewish caricatures created by Philipp Rupprecht, known professionally as Fips. This image depicts the "Jew" as a warmonger who looks on approvingly as the non-Jewish world is crucified on a cross marked "war" (Krieg)."

Meet Philipp "Fips" Rupprecht

Philipp Rupprecht (4 September 1900 – 4 April 1975) was a German cartoonist best known for his antisemitic caricatures in the Nazi publication Der Stürmer, under the pen-name Fips. Born in Nuremberg, Rupprecht emigrated to Argentina in 1920 after World War I, where he worked as a waiter and a cowboy on a cattle ranch. He returned to Nuremberg around 1924, and was hired by the Fränkische Tagespost, a newspaper linked to the German Social Democrats. When he was dispatched to cover the second Luppe-Streicher trial with instructions to draw a caricature of Julius Streicher, he instead drew caricatures of Nuremberg's Mayor, Hermann Luppe, and a prominent Nuremberg Jew also involved in the trial. The cartoons were published by Der Stürmer in December 1925, and Rupprecht was hired by the paper. With the exception of 1927, he was the Stürmer's sole regular cartoonist under the pen-name of "Fips" until February 2, 1945, when the last edition of Der Stürmer appeared, drawing thousands of antisemitic caricatures. His style changed during the course of his career, but his caricatures always depicted Jews as short, fat, ugly, unshaven, drooling, sexually perverted, bent-nosed, and with piglike eyes.

Among his best-known works were illustrations for two antisemitic children's books published by Stürmer Verlag: Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud auf seinem Eid ("Don't Trust a Fox in a Green Pasture Or a Jew Upon His Oath") (1936), and "Der Giftpilz" ("The Poisonous Mushroom") (1938). At the beginning of World War II, Rupprecht served in the Kriegsmarine, but was released from service because of his value to wartime Nazi propaganda. Rupprecht’s career came to an end with the defeat of the Nazis in World War II. He was put on trial in 1945 and sentenced to six years hard labour. On 23 October 1950 he was released from the prison in Eichstätt. Until his death he lived and worked in Munich and Starnberg as a painter and decorator. He died on 4 April 1975 in Munich, aged 74. -- Wikipedia.

Meet Clay Bennett, modern collectivist cartoonist in the same well-traveled sewer as Julius Streicher and Fips Rupprecht. You can find his bio here.

Mr. Bennett recently did this cartoon:



It is entitled "Hitchhikers" and may be found here.

Not surprisingly, this portrayal of Tea Partiers as mass murderers has pissed off some people. For example, this letter to the editor of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

Letters / April 6, 2010

Shame on cartoonist

Clay Bennett’s despicable editorial page cartoon (March 28) gives new meaning to the term “yellow journalism.”

Bennett, a propagandist for Stalinist liberalism and the Democratic Party, depicted the Tea Party as a ghoulish monster holding a bloody knife. It’s altogether reminiscent of the cartoons Hitler’s thugs churned out to stir up hatred for the Jews.

Because the various tea parties have had the audacity to confront the radical left’s malignant agenda, they’ve become objects of hatred.

While attempting to destroy America, its freedom and traditional values, the Marxist left keeps running into speedbumps. These obstacles include a resurgent Republican Party, a reinvigorated Second Amendment, the tea parties and millions of patriots who want to take their country back from the treacherous left and the vile, corrupt Democratic Party.

Curtis E. Stone
Colville

Mr. Stone's observation that this is reminiscent of the Nazi propaganda against the Jews is, I think, quite right. Observe these two examples, one a cartoon, the other a film.

"One eats the other and the Jew devours them all..." The cartoon promotes the Nazi claim that the Jews were behind World War II, having orchestrated it to destroy Nazi Germany.

This poster advertises the Nazi film “Der Ewige Jude,” which served to dehumanize the German Jews. The film -- “The Eternal Jew” -- compares the Jewish people to rats. By dehumanizing Jews, the Nazi leaders began to prepare for Hitler’s “Final Solution.” The Nazi leaders knew that when the deportations began it would be much easier for the German people to watch friends and neighbors shipped away if they associated them with rats.

It may be well for cartoonist Bennett to remember that Julius Streicher was put in the dock at Nuremberg and later executed for crimes against humanity and "Fips" Rupprecht did five and a half years of hard labor for his inked hate.

In any case, we at Sipsey Street would like to award Bennett our First Annual Phillipp "Fips" Rupprecht Prize for Collectivist Hate Cartoon Excellence. Don't be bashful, Clay, you've earned it.

Sipsey Streeters may email Clay to congratulate him on his new award by emailing him here: cbennett@timesfreepress.com. Go ahead. I did. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from you.

Mike Vanderboegh
The alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters.