The Rhetoric of Der Fueehrer’s Face
On January 1st, 1943, Disney released a short-animated film titled Der Fuehrer’s Face. The film follows Donald Duck as he works in a German factory making missiles for the Nazis. While this seems odd at first glance, the cartoon gives a subtle yet powerful impression of terror, fear, and overall absurdity in Nazi Germany. Der Fuehrer’s Face uses powerful rhetoric and elements of Kairos in order to reveal the hellish, fearful, and horrifying conditions of Nazi Germany in a frivolous way to propagandize the American public in supporting the United States against Germany in World War II. The use of a popular character, Donald Duck, not only makes it easier to undermine Nazi Germany’s image of strength, but also immortalizes it in the minds of the viewers. As a recipient of the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, Der Fuehrer’s Face surely impacts minds young and old alike with the standard cartoon flare, but also with a more subtle and important message.