Armia europejska czy nowy Wehrmacht? Plany utworzenia Europejskiej Wspólnoty Obronnej w karykaturze polskiej na przykładzie czasopisma satyrycznego „Szpilki” 1950-1954

Abstract

The paper presented a vision of the plan to form a European Defence Community created by Polish caricatures and recounted over political considerations which affected the way the EDC was presented. The main source was caricatures which were published in Polish satirical magazine “Szpilki” from 1950 to 1954 – from when Pleven’s plan was announced to its rejection by France. The author used quantitative analysis which allowed the demonstration of the artists’ range of interests in EDC and to catch plots. The paper is composed of three parts which contain content analysis of the particular caricatures. It allowed for the discovery that the pictures showed the main Polish external enemies: the USA and West Germany. EDC was presented as their common plan to bring the Wehrmacht back to life. The way EDC was drawn resulted from the fact that Poland was a member of the socialist block.