As part of our 250th celebration, I’ll be posting selected historical cartoons from The Courant’s files every Thursday. Today’s is a cartoon by Reg Manning of the Arizona Republic. Henry McNulty, who is our informal historic authority on all things Courant, provides the explanation for the cartoons.

Today’s explanation:

1944: “Fortress Europe” was a propaganda slogan developed in late 1943 by Nazi Germany to try to assure Germans that any invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe couldn’t succeed because of the impregnable defenses Germany had built. In this cartoon, “Fortress Europe” is depicted as a meager defense, as shown by the tattered Nazi flag.  A cowardly Chancellor Adolf Hitler hides behind the “fortress” with a worried look on his face.  Less than two months later, on D-Day, Europe would indeed be successfully invaded by allied forces.