Biography by R. Roger Remington  March 01. “1992 AIGA Medalist: Lester Beall.” AIGA | the Professional Association for Design, 1992, www.aiga.org/medalist-lesterbeall.

One piece that I believed to be a highlight of Lester Beall’s work was “Hitler’s Nightmare.”  Beall was commissioned by the Crowell Publishing Company to create Hitler’ Nightmare. The piece later appeared on Collier’s magazine in 1939. This poster also showcases Beall’s love for arrows; a Dada-inspired symbol. Hitler’s Nightmare shows off a giant red arrow on the top of the screen with a box of text inside. It is hard to make out due to the quality, but I believe it says,

“In spite of the Gestapo- despite the crushing censorship and ruthless police work, the spirit of revolt sparks through Nazi Germany. Here is the inside story of the underground activities of the bravest men on earth. Discovery is a death warrant! And these men now have the courage to take Queniln (?) Reynolds into their confidence so that “the active American will know lovers of freedom still fight on in the flesh.”

This appears to be a warning about what is to come later on, and how America is ready to fight that threat! That same arrow with the text is also pointing down towards Hitler himself, and not only that but the soldiers that surround him have arrows for heads that also point directly at Hitler. The use of red in this picture does a great job of alerting the viewer about what the most import aspects of the picture are. I also found that spot of red Hitler is standing in front of to be quite interesting. Personally, I am not too sure why that is there, but if I had to guess it is to further direct the viewer at Hitler. As for his troops, I believe the reason why they have arrows directing to Hitler is to show their undying allegiance to the tyrant. In addition to that, I also believe that the saturated red is supposed to symbolize the bloodshed that he inflicts upon Europe. But what makes this piece truly outstanding is that it perfectly foreshadows the horror of Hitler.

The poster was released on June 24, 1939, which was roughly four months before Hitler invaded Poland. Not many people were aware of how threatening Hitler was before the invasion, so this poster does a phenomenal job predicting this monster’s carnage. It is a shame that not that many people are aware of this poster today and how it showed the true colors of Adolf Hitler.

Biography by R. Roger Remington  March 01. “1992 AIGA Medalist: Lester Beall.” AIGA | the Professional Association for Design, 1992, www.aiga.org/medalist-lesterbeall.