American Recrutiment Poster: "Destroy This Mad Brute--Enlist" by H. R. Hopps.



In H. R. Hopps' recruiting poster, a King Kong-type gorilla wears a German World War I helmet and holds a bloody club with the word "Kultur" inscribed on its shaft. The ape carries a fainting young maiden in its arms as it steps onto the American shore. The ruins of Europe in the background suggest that the same fate awaits the United States if no action is taken. This dehumanized figure left a lasting impression on the German public. The ape image would reappear later in a Nazi poster as a symbol of Allied intolerance.