This map, published by Richard Edes Harrison for Fortune magazine in 1941, shows the world divided in the midst of the Second World War.
The American cartographer uses different colours to group all the powers according to their alignment with the two existing sides:
- Black: Axis territories.
- Red: Territories against the Axis.
- Red and yellow bars: Neutral territories, but opposed to the Axis.
- Red with thin black lines: Potentially disruptive areas between allies.
- Red with thick black lines: Potentially disruptive territories between the Axis forces.
- Yellow with black lines: Neutral territories, but aligned with the Axis.
- Yellow: Neutral territories, awaiting the determination of a winner.
The map, clearly designed for propaganda purposes, contains some non-random errors:
- It shows the Soviet Union in black, as part of the Axis. Although the map has a small explanatory note that says, “Count this territory as black if the Nazis achieve a quick victory,” the Soviet Union had already broken its non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany by the time this map was published (August 1941).
- It shows the United States in red, even though it had not yet officially entered the war. This shows the intention to support the narrative that sought to pressure the Allied forces to intervene in the war.
The map also has another interesting detail in the upper left corner. The map has a polar projection, more specifically an equidistant azimuthal projection. To explain the nature of this way of representing the earth, the author draws an analogy with centrifugal force and how it lifts a dancer's skirt when she spins.
In this article You can find more information about how these types of maps were used in the United States as part of a persuasive discourse to convince the population of the need to participate in the war.
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