Wrecker’s at Work [Poland and Russia]

Dismantling Germany’s empire in the East.

This graphic poster map shows how the torches of the industrious Red Army are cutting away the girded defense of ‘Fortress Europe’ in the East. The fortified line, badly burned, is braced by a large network of steel beams, anchored in East Berlin and stretching from Narva to Lviv. Minsk, Kovel, and Polotsk are among the cities recently liberated (i.e. in red territory) during Operation Bagration. To a Polish or Lithuanian audience (contemporary or modern), the image might be taken more literally, with the flames destroying the soon-to-be-occupied landscape. Also of interest is the assault on Viipuri (Russian Vyborg), part of the Continuation War.

The map was designed by James Cutter and originally published in the July 17, 1944 issue of TIME Magazine. Cutter was a member of the map department under the talented Robert Chapin, Jr., who introduced the distinctive design style with red and black hues. Chapin was a professionally trained architect who found jobs to be in low demand during the Great Depression. He took a job in the photo department at Newsweek in 1933, where he apparently picked up a knack for cartographic design. By 1937, he was hired by Time (a rival of Newsweek) as the head of the cartography department, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1970.

During his long tenure at Time, Chapin’s prolific output helped establish a pattern for 20th-century newsroom cartography. The use of bold colors, uncluttered design, and legible typography was immensely popular, and the maps were reprinted for distribution in classrooms and public spaces throughout the country. Despite their widespread appeal, the maps are uncommon on the market and often overlooked in institutional collections. This version is listed in only one example in WorldCat as of May 2024, at Franklin & Marshall College. OCLC# 320453704.