In the 1928 elections in Germany, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) won 29.8% of the vote, the Communist Party (KPD) 10.6%, and the Nazi Party 2.6%. In 1932, the Nazis came first, and we all know what happened next. Of course, there were several factors that explain this change, including the crisis of 1929, as has been pointed out on numerous occasions. Another factor that has been analyzed is the radical attack that the KPD made on the SPD, especially after 1928. However, the role that mudslinging journalism played in these attacks, including cartoons depicting SPD leaders with attractive and servile young women, is often overlooked. The cartoon accompanying this article is an AI reproduction of one published in August 1930 by the communist satirical magazine Der Knüppel.
In the current situation in Europe and the world, it is important to bear in mind our history and the consequences of mistakes as serious as the one I am pointing out here. Mudslinging journalism has a very destructive effect on those it considers its enemies, but scientific evidence coincides with popular wisdom on the consequences of “slander something and something will stick” or “the end justifies the means.” During those years, the KPD considered the SPD, rather than the Nazi party, to be its main enemy. In its eagerness to destroy it, it launched all kinds of attacks, including mudslinging journalism.
Those who are unaware of the historical mistakes that were made and their consequences may even think that this mudslinging and these caricatures were democratic, left-wing, and even feminist. But feminists, ever since Sappho, have been defenders of truth, goodness, and beauty. We are concerned about the current rise, including among young people, of positions contrary to these values. Mudslinging journalism is always false, mediocre, and shabby; it is always anti-feminist.
PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the best school of education in the world