The Anti-Fascist Cartoons Of Mexican Artist Antonio Arias-Bernal

Antonio Arias-Bernal waged his own private war on Hitler and Mussolini, using only his cartoons.

In recent years, the history of Mexico’s participation in World War II through the valiant pilots of Squadron 201 has acquired new interest. The Aztec Eagles fought in the Pacific under the command of legendary Douglas MacArthur.

Less known is the story of another Mexican combatant who never wore a soldier’s uniform, left the American continent, got on a war plane, or held a weapon. What’s more, Antonio Arias-Bernal couldn’t scare a mouse. A former funeral home employee, he was short, skinny, and good-humored.

It was common to find him in the cantina with a bottle in his hand, laughing and chit-chatting with his powerful friends from the Mexican cultural milieu. When he put down the bourbon, he took up his pencil and drew Hitler or Mussolini in laughable poses, kneeling before a Mexican charro, and aroused more emotions than all the Mexican soldiers together.

Most surprisingly, he started his support to the Allied cause before barely anyone in Mexico thought the German premier was a threat to world peace. Some media started to call him “The Führer’s Scourge.”