The Molotov–Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact was signed on August 23, 1939 (Moscow) between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It is named for the two foreign ministers, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyacheslav Molotov, who were involved with the negotiation. Germany was already aligned with Mussolini’s Italy, and by the late 1930s its intent toward expansionism was clear.

Stalin was playing both sides: the Soviets were negotiating with Germany at the same time they were in talks with Britain and France. What would not be known for years was that the German-Soviet agreement also included secret provisions for dividing up the Euro-Soviet borderlands (Finland, the Baltics, Poland, and Romania), setting up the nearly immediate German invasion on September 1.

In the first of these two editorial cartoons, which come from September-October 1939, Germany (in the form of Hitler) is portrayed as relying on some unreliable buffoons, the swigging Soviet water-boy (Stalin) and the assistant who is sniffing his own smelling salts (Mussolini). These are “the boys in his corner,” and the artist intends to communicate to the readership that he thinks Germany is placing its bet on support from some unreliable characters.

“The Boys in His Corner” (September 15, 1939)
by Paul Albert Plaschke (1880 – 1954)
24 x 36 in., ink and charcoal on paper
Coppola Collection

The message in October is pretty much the same: Hitler is taking a risk on this communist alliance (dubbed by Time Magazine as the “Communazi Pact”). Stalin is portrayed as the  croupier, and the game is played under the Soviet illumination. Pyramiding is a betting scheme used in roulette where you maintain your bet when you are winning but increase it by an increment when you lose, so there is a skepticism being communicated, here, about Hitler’s wisdom in this partnership – which is being cast as just another front is his battle (Kampf).

“Mein Kampf” (October 2, 1939)
by Paul Albert Plaschke (1880 – 1954)
24 x 36 in., ink and charcoal on paper
Coppola Collection