Wartime cartoons on show at Waiouru

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 15, Issue 690, 10 June 1997, Page 12

Wartime cartoons on show at Waiouru

A unique cartoon exhibition that has already attracted just over 50,000 visitors throughout New Zealand opens in Waiouru next week. The popular David Low Cartoon Exhibition will be on display at the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Museum from 17 June to 27 July 1997. The exhibition of Low's war time cartoons was officially opened by His Royal

Highness Prince Philip at the National Library, Wellington in November 1995. New Zealander (Sir) David Low became internationally famous during the 1930's and 1940's and is considered to be one of this century's greatest political cartoonists. While working for the Evening Standard in London his cartoons strongly criticised Nazi Germany. The criticism infuriated

Adolf Hitler and led to Low' s name being added to Hitler' s notorious death list. However, he made few compromises, bringing to life characters like Colonel Blimp, a mouthpiece for Low to criticise the muddled thinking and political stupidity of pre-war England. As Blimp said to Low, who often appeared in his own cartoons: "Hitler only needs arms so that he can declare peace on the rest of the world". Low - who accepted a knighthood for his work in 1 962 - was repeatedly asked by editors to tone down the pen-on-paper attack, for fear his onslaughts would do irreparable damage to diplomatic peace efforts not to mention in the loss of his own life.