This cartoon of 14 July 1948 by EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch shows Stalin watching as storks fly coal and food into Berlin. 

What is the message of this cartoon?

To do this question, you need first to borrow two concepts from English:

Denotation(what you see)

Connotation(how it affects its audience)

This cartoon of 14 July 1948 by EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch shows Stalin watching as storks fly coal and food into Berlin. 

Storks are flying coal and food into Berlin.

A simple picture of the airlift.

Denotation

Connotation

MeaningOn 26 June 1948 the airlift (codenamed ‘Operation Vittles‘) had started flying essential supplies into West Berlin.

This cartoon of 14 July 1948 by EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch shows Stalin watching as storks fly coal and food into Berlin. 

Stalin watches with the gun.

This raises a question, rather than makes a point – will Stalin use the gun?

Denotation

Connotation

MeaningJust 18 days into the airlift, people were still very worried that Stalin would shoot down a supply plane, thereby provoking a ‘hot war’.

This cartoon of 14 July 1948 by EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch shows Stalin watching as storks fly coal and food into Berlin. 

Finally, always remember to look at:

Origin(who drew it)

Date(when it was published)

This cartoon of 14 July 1948 by EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch shows Stalin watching as storks fly coal and food into Berlin. 

This cartoon of 14 July 1948 by EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch shows Stalin watching as storks fly coal and food into Berlin. 

14 July 1948.

The Berlin Blockade was the FIRST clash between the superpowers which might have led to nuclear war.

Date

Details

SignificanceThis cartoon encapsulates the mixture of hope-for-success and fear-of-war that British people felt during the crisis.

This cartoon of 14 July 1948 by EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch shows Stalin watching as storks fly coal and food into Berlin. 

EH Shepard for the British magazine Punch.

EH Shepard was a very clever and perceptive cartoonist.

Origin

Details

SignificanceShepard brilliantly conveys the feeling of helplessness and uncertainty that people felt, aware that if a nuclear war broke out, it could lead to the end of humanity.