Philip Zec (25 December 1909 – 14 July 1983) was a British
political cartoonist
An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curre ...
and editor. Moving from the advertising industry to drawing political cartoons due to his abhorrence of the rise of
fascism
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
,
[ Donald Zec (journalist)]
"Zec, Philip (1909–1983)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004; accessed 16 September 2008. Zec complemented the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' editorial line with a series of venomous cartoons. He was on the Nazis list of persons to be arrested immediately if they had invaded Britain during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His cartoon on
VE-day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
was said to have been a key factor in the
Labour Party's
1945 general election campaign.
Early life
Zec was born in George Street (subsequently North
Gower Street),
central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
, one of eleven children of Simon Zecanovskya, a
Russian Jewish
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
tailor from
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
who, together with his family, had fled
oppression in Tsarist Russia.
[Mark Bryant, Simon Heneage (eds), ''Dictionary of British Cartoonists and Caricaturists, 1730-1980: 1730-1980'', Scolar Press, 1994, p. 247.]
At thirteen Zec won a scholarship to the
Saint Martin's School of Art
Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of t ...
and, upon graduating, initially joined Arks Publicity, an agency specialising in advertising for radio companies, before establishing his own commercial art studio at only 19 working for advertising agencies including
J. Walter Thompson
J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...
.
[Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p.617] While working there he drew an illustration of the ''
Flying Scotsman'' travelling at top speed at night.
''Daily Mirror''
In the early-1930s, the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' was relaunched along the lines of an American-style tabloid. Zec's former copy-editor at Arks Publicity,
William Connor
Sir William Neil Connor (26 April 1909 – 6 April 1967) was an English newspaper journalist for the ''Daily Mirror'' who wrote under the pen name of "Cassandra".
Biography
William Connor wrote a regular column for over 30 years between 1935D ...
, who was working for the paper, recommended Zec (who had been doing occasional work for the paper including on "Belinda Blue-Eyes", a copy of the ''
New York News
''New York News'' is an American newspaper drama television series created by Michelle Ashford, which was broadcast in the United States by CBS from September 28 to November 30, 1995 as part of its 1995 fall lineup.
Cast
* Gregory Harrison as ...
''’ cartoon strip “
Little Orphan Annie
''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on Aug ...
” and scripted by Connor) for the role of political cartoonist.
[British Cartoon Archive: Philip Zec]
University of Kent. Zec joined the staff of the ''Mirror'' in 1937.
Zec had no previous experience of drawing cartoons but was hired by H. G. Bartholomew and given complete creative freedom without editorial censorship. Working alongside Connor, who went under the pen-name "Cassandra", Zec was to provide cartoons to accompany "Cassandra’s" column. With Connor occasionally providing captions for Zec's drawings, the outbreak of war in 1939 provided the dominant influence in his work during this period.
[Robert Connor ''Cassandra: Reflections in a Mirror'', Cassell, 1969 ]
Unlike the early war time cartoons of
David Low and others, Zec depicted the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
as snakes and vultures, implying a sinister side in contrast to the "buffoons" drawn by his peers. Zec also extended his caricatures to the allies of Hitler, drawing
Pierre Laval
Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occu ...
as a toad at a time when the Frenchman was looking to associate more closely with Hitler. Commentators have since ascribed this approach to a strong anti-Nazi sentiment borne out of Zec's Jewish ancestry. It is said the feeling was mutual and that
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
had placed Zec on his "black list" of individuals to be arrested following an invasion of Britain.
In 1941, Zec designed the iconic propaganda poster "Women of Britain - Come Into the Factories."
"The price of petrol"
A cartoon by Zec published in 1942 caused a political furore that threatened the existence of the ''Daily Mirror'' and caused him to be labelled a traitor.
Appearing in the 6 March 1942 edition, the cartoon featured a
Merchant Navy seaman adrift in rough waters clinging to the remains of a ship, apparently torpedoed by a German submarine. Beneath the picture, the caption read: "The price of petrol has been increased by one penny – Official."
One of a series of pieces attacking profiteers,
the original caption penned by Zec was to have been "Petrol is Dearer Now."
According to Zec, the cartoon was intended to illustrate that wasting fuel had serious consequences in terms of the risks taken (and the lives lost) by seamen bringing it to the country. William Connor (pen name "Cassandra") suggested the revised caption, believing Zec's effort lacked impact.
Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and
Minister of Supply
The Minister of Supply was the minister in the British Government responsible for the Ministry of Supply, which existed to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. The position was campaigned for by many sceptics of the for ...
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minis ...
along with others in the government were outraged. They interpreted the cartoon as a comment that petrol companies were deliberately profiting at the expense of British lives - particularly those in the
merchant navy. The cartoon was resurrected some 40 years later by
Les Gibbard - with similar political consequences - as Great Britain again
found itself at war.
Morrison called Zec's piece a "wicked cartoon... worthy of
Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
at his best" and telling the ''Mirror''s editor,
Cecil Thomas, that "only a very unpatriotic editor could pass it for publication".
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in the years 1922–19 ...
,
Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
, argued that Zec's work lowered the morale of the armed forces and the general public.
[Joel Taylor]
"Strokes of Genius"
''Camden New Journal'', 6 May 2005.
Churchill called on
MI5
The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
to investigate Zec's background, which revealed nothing more sinister than the fact he had left-wing sympathies and found no evidence of him being involved in subversion. At the same time the ''Mirror''s register of shareholders was investigated to consider whether the paper should be shut down.
Chris Horrie
Chris Horrie is a journalist, author and lecturer specializing in investigative journalism, finance and profiles of major public figures.
As a freelance feature writer his work can be found in ''The Independent'', the ''Independent on Sunday'' ...
, ''Tabloid Nation: The Birth of the ''Daily Mirror'' to the Death of the Tabloid'', London: André Deutsch, 2003. The matter was debated in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
and, after MPs urged caution, the government settled on a severe reprimand.
[ Colin Seymour-Ure, ''Prime Ministers and the Media'', Blackwell, 2003, p. 262.]
"Don't lose it again"
Three years later, Zec's
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
contribution was widely appreciated. Depicting a wounded soldier handing over a laurel representing victory and peace in Europe, the caption read: "Here you are. Don't lose it again!"
The cartoon had sufficient impact for
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minis ...
to ask Zec to help with Labour publicity for the
1945 General Election with the politician dismissing his comments just three years previously on the premise that: "everybody makes mistakes", Zec obtained a belated apology and, as a result on the morning of the election "Don't lose it again!’" was reprinted taking up the entire front page of the ''Mirror''. The accompanying text suggested that the best way for the country to remain at peace was to vote for the
Labour Party.
Post-war
After the war Zec became a director of the ''Daily Mirror'' and eventually joined the board of the
Mirror Group. Between 1950 and 1952, he was employed as editor of the ''
Sunday Pictorial''
while continuing to draw for the ''Daily Mirror'' until he left in 1954, succeeded in the role of cartoonist by
Victor Weisz
Victor Weisz (25 April 1913 in Berlin, Germany – 23 February 1966 in London, England) was a German-British political cartoonist, drawing under the name of Vicky.
Biography
Weisz was born in Berlin, Germany, to Hungarian-Jewish parents. He stu ...
,
or 'Vicky' as he was better known. In 1958, Zec left the Mirror Group altogether, and moved to the ''
Daily Herald'', remaining there until 1961. Zec also worked as a director of ''
The Jewish Chronicle
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' for 25 years and was the editor of the ''New Europe'' newspaper.
Death and legacy
Becoming blind in later life, Philip Zec died in the
Middlesex Hospital
Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
, London, on 14 July 1983.
In 2005, a biography by his brother,
Donald Zec
Donald David Zec (12 March 1919 – 6 September 2021) was a British newspaper journalist and biographer who worked for the ''Daily Mirror'' in various departments for 40 years.
Biography
Zec's grandfather was a Jewish refugee from Odessa, in ...
, was published under the title ''"Don't Lose It Again!"'', recalling the caption to Philip Zec's VE Day cartoon.
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zec, Philip
1909 births
1983 deaths
Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art
British cartoonists
British Jews