This cartoon by the British cartoonist David Low was published in the Evening Standard newspaper on 21 October 1939. Having destroyed Poland, Hitler and Stalin stroll down their now-shared frontier.

1. This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

2. What is the message of this cartoon?

3. To do this question, you
need first to borrow two
concepts from English:
Denotation
(what you see)
Connotation
(how it affects its audience)
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

4. Hitler and Stalin are tied at the
ankle, as in a three-legged race.
Tied = allied/ bound to each other/
co-workers/ friends.
Denotation
Connotation
Meaning
Germany and Russia are allied
by the Nazi-Soviet Pact of
August 1939.
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

5. The relationship is all smiles,
hugs and flowers.
‘Everything in the garden is rosy’.
Denotation
Connotation
Meaning
Hitler and Stalin are giving the
impression that they are very
happy with their alliance.
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

6. Hitler and Stalin stroll down the
‘Eastern Frontier’.
Since the conquest and division
of Poland, Germany and Russia
shared a frontier.
Denotation
Connotation
Meaning
They got what they wanted
… but now they have to live
next-door to each other.
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

7. They both carry a gun behind their
back.
Guns = war, attack.
Denotation
Connotation
Meaning
Although they are pretending to
be allies, BOTH are merely
waiting the chance to attack
and destroy the other.
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

8. The title reads: ‘Someone is
taking someone for a walk’.
This has overtones of deceit –
today we would say: ‘taking them
for a ride’.
Denotation
Connotation
Meaning
Low invites the reader to decide
who is deceiving whom; the answer
is that they are both equally evil
(though it was Hitler who broke the
pact and invaded Russia in 1941).
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

9. Finally, always remember
to look at:
Origin
(who drew it)
Date
(when it was published)
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.

10. This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.
21 October 1938.
On 30 September 1939, Germany
and Russia had signed a treaty
dividing Poland between them.
Date
Details
Significance
Low is reacting to the
successful conquest of Poland.

11. The British cartoonist David
Low.
Low hated Hitler.
Origin
Details
Significance
Low gets gleeful delight from the
fact that – though Hitler and Stalin
had taken Poland – they now lived
next to a treacherous neighbour,
who one day would try to kill them.
This cartoon by the British cartoonist David
Low was published in the Evening Standard
newspaper on 21 October 1939.