Rare vintage WW II cartoons showing at Vonnegut Memorial Library

16mm training films poked fun while training soldiers with ‘’

INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 19, 2013) – These films are intended for mature audiences only – that is, mature audiences who like irreverent humor about Nazis, getting blown to bits (literally) and what happens if you don’t take your malaria medicine.

The Private Snafu films – with SNAFU standing for “Situation Normal, All Fouled (or F-d) Up” among the military men of the day – were created to teach World War II soldiers with low literacy skills what happens if you fail to follow military protocol.

The films were never intended to be seen by the general public, and in fact weren’t until they were released on DVD in 2006, more than 60 years after they were created. But on March 1, 2013, you can see them in their original 16mm format at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library’s IDADA First Friday event in downtown Indianapolis.

Local historian Eric Grayson has won acclaim for his digital restorations of Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances from 1925 and the serial King of the Kongo from 1929. He has provided films, articles and lectures from New York to Finland. Now, he’ll share his Private Snafu films as a tribute to another WW II veteran and humorist, Kurt Vonnegut.

The character was created by and voiced by , and many episodes were written by Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel.

Date: Friday, March 1, 2013 Time: 6-9 p.m. Event: IDADA First Friday gallery tour Location: Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library 340 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis www.vonnegutlibrary.org

Media contact: Cindy Dashnaw, [email protected], 317.432.2456