Treasure Chest was a monthly comic book published by the Catholic Guild from 1946 to 1972. Each issue featured several different stories intended to inspire citizenship, morality, and patriotism. In the 1961, volume 17 number 2 issue, the story "This Godless Communism" began. It continued in the even numbered issues through number 20. The entire story is presented here.
The first comic in the series, which I spent far too much time skimming, imagines what a communist America would look like. The series then plunges into a brief illustrated history of communism.
According to another site, the comics were distributed to parochial school students.
I especially enjoyed the last pages of the series, which include counsels to pray to Our Lady of Fatima. The above panel is taken from this page, which also has a special message from J. Edgar Hoover.
via The American Scene
3 comments:
I remember getting this comic regularly in Catholic grammar school in the late fifties and ealry sixties, and it was always welcomed as a treat. The story-line that I most clearly remember is one about the campaign of a fictional Catholic candidate for president (must have been before 1960), and all the vicissitudes he faced on the campaign trail. The odd thing was they never showed you his face throught the entire story until his victorious election night, and then the surprise is that he's African-American as well as Catholic. It was quite avante-garde for the Eisenhower era, I would imagine.
What a surprise! "Treasure Chest" of all things. I went to Catholic grammar school from 1947-55, and remember this little magazine quite well. I also remember just how anti-communist the Church in the U.S. was then and how patriotism was actually something held in esteem by much of the Democratic Party.
The 1960s will mark the beginning of the slippery slide down the hill of destruction for so much that had great sacred and human value.
While in the third grade at St. Rose of Lima School in York, Pennsylvania our nun gave out Treasure Chest each month. It was a treat. One issue really impressed me as it depicted the horrors of communism. Empty store shelves, summary imprisonment, closure of churches and other nast consequences awaited us if the commies succeeded. The Church presented Bishop Sheen and Cardinal Mindzenty as heros and true defenders of the faith. In the long run, the Church proved correct.
I value my 16 years of Catholic education warts and all...like getting whacked with those rubber ended pointers.
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