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Geopolitical Maps: A Sketch History of a Neglected Trend in Cartography

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14650040801991522

1557-3028

Edoardo Boria,

Historical Geography and Cartography

Abstract Between the two world wars a new strain of cartography emerged in Europe, which disregarded the standards of precision of traditional geodesic, or scientific, cartography. Its scope was strictly political and its approach openly ideological. In Germany, cradle of this new genre, it was called 'geopolitische kartographie' or 'suggestive kartographie'. These terms were later borrowed from the languages of other countries where the allure of German cartography was felt. Elsewhere, in Great Britain and the United States, these maps were generally termed propaganda maps or persuasive maps. Despite a recent rise in studies on global geopolitics during Fascism and Nazism, little attention has been devoted to the cartographic innovations of the time. Studies that have touched on this topic, mostly monographic papers, do not allow for an evaluation of possible links between earlier and later cartographic developments, or between developments occurring in different countries. This approach, which separates the phenomenon from its historical context, gives the impression that geopolitical cartography between the two world wars appeared, like a comet, out of nowhere and then simply vanished; that it was an isolated phenomenon with neither precursors nor successors. Following World War II, geopolitical cartography was largely abandoned, presumably for the same reasons that had discredited geopolitical publications in general during the period in question: (1) the genre was considered a direct product of the propaganda machine of the dictatorial regimes; (2) it lacked scientific basis (on a par with traditional cartography); (3) it had no practical use, other than as a tool of propaganda. This paper intends to refute these three assumptions and to shed some light on this remarkable cartographical phenomenon. What were the origins of this new way of representing space? Who used it and why? ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on an earlier draft. Notes 1. F. W. Putzger, Putzgers Historischer Schul-Atlas. Grosse Ausgabe (Bielefeld and Leipzig: Velhagen & Klasing 1940). 2. Ibid., pp. 136–137. 3. A. Radó, Atlas für Politik Wirtschaft Arbeiterbewegung. Der Imperialismus (Vienna-Berlin: Verlag für Literatur und Politik 1930). 4. J. Bertin, Sémiologie graphique. Les diagrammes, les réseaux, les cartes (Paris-The Hague: Mouton/Gauthier-Villars 1967) pp. 408–411 5. G. H. Herb, 'Persuasive cartography in Geopolitik and national socialism', Political Geography Quarterly 8/3 (July 1989) pp. 289–303; G. H. Herb, Under the Map of Germany. Nationalism and Propaganda 1918–1945 (London: Routledge 1997); M. P. Correa Burrows, 'Propaganda cartográfica en la Alemania de Weimar', Revista Historia y Comunicación Social 9 (2004) pp. 71 et seq. 6. K. Haushofer, 'Die suggestive Karte', Grenzboten 1 (1922) pp. 17–19; reproduced in a book published in 1928 (K. Haushofer, E. Obst, H. Lautensach, O. Maull, Bausteine zur Geopolitik [Berlin-Grunewald: Kurt Vowinckel Verlag 1928]), which also included an article by Otto Maull on the same topic: 'Über politischgeographische-geopolitische Karten', pp. 325–342. 7. R. von Schumacher, 'Zur Theorie der geopolitischen Signatur', Zeitschrift für Geopolitik 12/4 (1935) pp. 247–265. 8. E. Letoschek, Geographischer Repetitions- und Zeichen-Atlas. Europa (Vienna: Im selbstverlage der Verfassers, k.k. Artillerie-Cadeten-Schule, Arsenal. Für den Buchhandel in Commission bei Ed. Hölzel 1888). 9. C. Sitte, 'Möglichkeiten für den Aufbau besserer Raumvorstellungen und eines globalen Abbilds der Erde', Geographie & Wirtschaftskunde-Unterricht 64 (1996) pp. 44–52. 10. E. Letoschek, Sammlung von Skizzen und Karten zur Wiederholung beim Studium der Matematischen, Physikalischen und Politischen Geographie (Vienna: Kartographischen Anstalt von G. Freytag & Berndt 1906). 11. Herb, Under the Map of Germany (note 5). 12. This article by Joseph März marks the beginning of the debate over the use of cartography as a means of propaganda: J. März, 'Die Landkarte als politisches Propagandamittel', Die Gartenlaube 16 (1921) pp. 261–262. 13. R. Strausz-Hupé, Geopolitics. The Struggle for Space and Power (New York: Putnam 1942) pp. 114–126 14. J. Thies, 'Geopolitik in der Volksschule II. Das Kartenbild', Zeitschrift für Geopolitik 9/12 (1932) pp. 629–634; K. Haushofer, 'Rückblick und Vorschau auf das geopolitische Kartenwesen', Zeitschrift für Geopolitik 9/12 (1932) pp. 735–745; R. von Schumacher, 'Zur Theorie der Raumdarstellung', Zeitschrift für Geopolitik 11/10 (1934) pp. 635–652; A. Hillen Ziegfeld, 'Kartengestaltung – ein Sport oder eine Waffe?', Zeitschrift für Geopolitik 12/4 (1935) pp. 243–247; von Schumacher, 'Zur Theorie' (note 7) pp. 247–265; W. Jantzen, 'Kartenplakate für Aufklärung und Werbung', Zeitschrift für Geopolitik 13/10 (1936) pp. 696–700; W. Jantzen, 'Geopolitik im Kartenbild', Zeitschrift für Geopolitik 19/8 (1942) pp. 353–358. 15. Maull (note 6) p. 325. 16. See for example the books authored by Walther Pahl (maps by Rudolf Heinisch), Kurt Trampler (maps by Arnold Hillen Ziegfeld, Rupert von Schumacher and Guido Gebhardt), Karl Springenschmid (maps by the author), Rupert von Schumacher and Hans Hummel (maps by Guido Gebhardt and G. Jedermann). 17. F. Braun and A. Hillen Ziegfeld, Geopolitischer Geschichtsatlas (Dresden: L. Ehlermann 1927). 18. R. Zu der Luth, Wehrwissenschaftlicher Atlas (Vienna, Josef Lenobel 1934); A. Pudelko and A. Hillen Ziegfeld, Kleiner deutscher Geschichtsatlas (Berlin/Tempelhof: Edwin Runge Verlag 1937). A series of small atlases Geopolitische Bildreihe by Karl Springenschmid published by Verlag Ernst Wunderlich as of 1933, comprised: Die Staaten als Lebewesen, Der Donauraum, Deutschlands kämpft für Europa, Deutschland und seine Nachbarn, Deutschland, geopolitisch gesehen. Another series of small atlases Geopolitik im Kartenbild by Walther Jantzen published by Kurt Vowinckel Verlag as of 1939, comprised: Seegeltung, Die Juden, Verrat an Europa, Japan, Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika, Mittelmeer. G. Wirsing, Der Krieg 1939/41 in Karten (Munich: Verlag Knorr & Hirth 1942). 19. In Spain the main promoter of geopolitical cartography was Jaime Vicens Vives, who attempted a classification of geopolitical symbols in his Tratado General de Geopolitica (Barcelona: Ed. Vicens Vives 1950) p 28. 20. H. Cairo, 'Portugal is not a Small Country: Maps and Propaganda in the Salazar Regime', Geopolitics 11 (2006) pp. 367–395. 21. In the second edition of his university textbook Appunti di Geografia Politica (Rome: Cremonese 1940). 22. As far as the circulation of Geopolitica, some say 1,000 copies a month (D. Atkinson, 'Geopolitical Imaginations in Modern Italy', in K. Dodds and D. Atkinson [eds.], Geopolitical Traditions: A Century of Geopolitical Thought [London: Routledge 2000] p. 106), some say 2,000, of which 1,600 for subscribers, mainly institutions (L. Romagnoli, 'La rivista "Geopolitica" (1939–1942) di Giorgio Roletto ed Ernesto Massi', in Atti del XXVIII Congresso Geografico Italiano [2003] p. 3329; D. Lopreno, 'La Géopolitique du fascisme italien: la revue mensuelle "Geopolitica"', Hérodote 63 [1991] p. 116). 23. Atkinson (note 22) p. 98; M. Antonsich, 'La rivista "Geopolitica" e la sua influenza sulla politica fascista', Limes. Rivista Italiana di geopolitica 4 (1994) p. 275–276. 24. For a detailed list see Romagnoli (note 22) p. 3341. 25. A. Vinci, '"Geopolitica" e Balcani: l'esperienza di un gruppo di intellettuali in un ateneo di confine', Società e storia 47 (1990) p. 127. 26. Appunti per una geopolitica degli Stati fennoscandinavi (Milan: Fratelli Magnani 1942); La comunità imperiale e l'Albania: prime esperienze (Rome: Istituto Nazionale di Cultura Fascista 1942); Saggi di geografia urbana (Milan: Magnani 1943), with no less than 35 maps. 27. Morandi authored the cartograms of Sui confini dell'Africa Orientale Italiana: studi geopolitici sulla costa dei somali, sul Somaliland, sul Sudan anglo-egiziano, sul Chenia e Uganda, by Paolo D'Agostino Orsini di Camerota published in November 1940. The same is true of Ernesto Massi's La partecipazione delle colonie alla produzione delle materie prime. 28. Cairo (note 20) p. 386. 29. Herb, Under the Map of Germany (note 5) pp. 95 et seq. 30. G. H. Herb, 'Before the Nazis. Maps as weapons in German Nationalist Propaganda', Mercator's World (May/June 1999) pp. 26–31. 31. E. Boria, Cartografia e potere (Torino: UTET 2007) p. 148. 32. The first edition of the textbook (1937) made no mention of geopolitical cartography. Criticism appears for the first time in the second edition (1940), and is later reaffirmed (cf. 6th ed. [Rome: Cremonese 1961] pp. 47–50). 33. S. Passarge, 'Politische Geographie und Geopolitik', Petermanns Mitteilungen (1935) pp. 185–189. 34. G. Parker, Western Geopolitical Thought in the Twentieth Century (London: Croom Helm 1985) pp. 79 et seq.; J. H. Paterson, 'German Geopolitics Reassessed', Political Geography Quarterly 6/2 (April 1987) pp. 107–114; M. Bassin, 'Race Contraspace: The Conflict between German Geopolitik and National Socialism', Political Geography Quarterly 6/2 (April 1987) pp. 115–134. 35. H. A. Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer. Leben und Werk, Schriften des Bunderarchivs 24 (Boppard am Rhein: Harald Boldt 1979); H. Heske, 'Karl Haushofer: His Role in German Geopolitics and in Nazi Politics', Political Geography Quarterly 6/2 (April 1987) pp. 135–144; W. Natter, 'Geopolitics in Germany, 1919–45'. 'Karl Haushofer, and the Zeitschrift für Geopolitik', in J. Agnew, K. Mitchell, and G. Toal (eds.), A Companion to Political Geography (London and New York: Blackwell 2003) pp. 187–203. 36. A. Vinci, (note 25) pp. 87–127; E. Bonetti and F. Micelli, 'Ancora sul concetto di geopolitica: le lezioni di Giorgio Roletto nell'anno accademico 1943–1944', in Ferro G. (ed.), Dalla geografia politica alla geopolitica (Roma: Società Geografica Italiana) pp. 69–75. 37. Beyond the well-researched analyses on the relationship between cartography and Nazism, Herb, Under the Map of Germany (note 5) pp. 84–89, demonstrated this also relative to the behaviour of the German political leadership during and after World War I. 38. Compare, for example, the maps of the Italian journal Geopolitica and those printed for the Ufficio Propaganda del Partito Nazionale Fascista ("I nostri fronti di guerra" series), or else those appearing in the "Soldaten-Atlas" of the Wehrmacht with those of the journal Zeitschrift für Geopolitik. 39. Herb, Under the Map of Germany (note 5) p. 160. 40. Ibid., pp. 161–162. 41. Ibid., pp. 165 et seq. 42. Ibid., pp. 97, 165. 43. This, at least, is the opinion expressed by Boria (note 31) p. 164–165 and Herb, Under the Map of Germany (note 5) p. 159 et seq. A different opinion is expressed by M. Monmonier, 'Mapping under the Third Reich: Nazi restrictions on Map Content and Distribution, Coordinates. Online Journal of the Map and Geography, series B/2 (2005). 44. Cairo (note 20) p. 390. 45. J. B. Harley, 'Deconstructing the Map', Cartographica 26 (1989) pp. 15–20. 46. H. H. Minor, 'Mapping Mussolini: Ritual and Cartography in Public Art during the Second Roman Empire', Imago Mundi 51 (1999) pp. 147–162; Cairo (note 20) pp. 367–395. 47. For an account of the circumstances surrounding the project: Minor (note 46). 48. W. Jantzen, volume Die Juden (Heidelberg-Berlin-Magdeburg: Kurt Vowinckel Verlag 1940 circa). 'Series Geopolitik im Kartenbild'. 49. See note 38. 50. Herb, Under the Map of Germany (note 5) p. 83. 51. von Schumacher, 'Zur Theorie' (note 7); Hillen Ziegfeld (note 14). 52. H. Haack and M. G. Schmidt, Geopolitischer Typen-Atlas (Gotha: Perthes 1929); the didactic objective of this work becomes clear already in the subtitle: Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Geopolitics. 53. Note also that intellectual debt is often expressly acknowledged. For example, in the introduction to the small atlas Deutsches Schicksal (Verlag von Julius Beltz, year of publication not mentioned) Karl Springenschmid's work is acknowledged. The contribution of the "fathers" of geopolitical cartography is often acknowledged in papers on the subject. 54. Wirsing (note 18). 55. The first in 'La Svizzera', Geopolitica (1941) pp. 257–261 and the others in 'La Svezia, la Norvegia, la Danimarca', Geopolitica (1941) pp. 587–593. 56. Geopolitica (Oct. 1941) p. 499. 57. D. Cosgrove, 'Maps, Mapping, Modernity: Art and Cartography in the Twentieth Century', Imago Mundi 57 (2005) pp. 35–54. 58. G. O'Tuathail, Critical Geopolitics (London: Routledge 1996) p. 31. 59. Harley (note 45) p. 6. 60. C. Jacob, L'Empire des cartes. Approche théorique de la cartographie à travers l'histoire (Paris: Albin Michel 1992).