Black and white photo of a large anti-aircraft cannon in peacetime with six uniformed men. It appears to be armored on all but the back side.

England lives in groundless fear of war. Their armaments are of monstrous proportions. Our picture shows the new English anti-aircraft [gun].1

Putin’s regime and its supporters would have us believe that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine is purely defensive. This 1939 propaganda image by Heinrich Hoffmann and its accompanying caption offered a similarly cynical story in the run-up to Germany’s invasion of Poland. In this tall tale, Britain appeared as the aggressor, arming for no good reason. The giant anti-aircraft cannon was meant to suggest “monstrous” bellicosity.

  1. NYPL Digital Collections, image ID 3946333, in the collection “Eye on the Reich: German propaganda photographs, 1939-1942.” ↩︎