http://www.bytwerk. com/gpa/images/lb/lb42-18.jpg (Copy this into your location bar and remove the space between the “bytwerk.” and “com”.)

Calvin College has a very extensive online exhibition of Nazi propaganda: posters, postcards, color photos, articles from German boy’s, girl’s and women’s magazines, cartons, articles and speeches. The purpose, I suppose, is to expose the evils of the Nazis. And while there is some evil there — the most egregious being their attempt to remove Christianity from the religious holidays — there is also much that is valuable for understanding the German perspective. Bookmark the Calvin site and come back to it when you have a good hour or so to browse around.

I found the articles on America particularly interesting. Much of the comments and criticisms are insightful, but are written in a cartoonish manner. I guess I should not have expected more, seeing that it was meant for mass consumption.

The collection contains the Goebbels article I mentioned above. It is a fascinating read at many levels.

In the cartoon, Churchill tries to assure Britain that her recent alliance with the Soviets should not give rise to fear. The caption reads: “You have to trust him, Britannia. He only wants to protect you!”

Less than one year after the war was over, Churchill spoke about an “Iron Curtain” descending across Europe. The fraud, thus, was made obvious, but the irony is often missed. Winny cribbed this line from Nazi Propaganda Minister, Goebbels. Goebbels published an article in February, 1945 that warned of what would happen if Germany lost the war.

Goebbels was right about the Bolsheviks when being right actually mattered. Churchill was right when it was too late. (Of course, for Churchill this was well before 1946, but I will wait for my colleague tell that story.)

It’s interesting how the smallest phrase can betray a man’s true feelings or beliefs. But sonorous words rattle by like so many empty box cars, so a man does not even hear himself speak.