Judge, 1918-09-21 · page 3 of 32
Judge — September 21, 1918 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Swan Song of the Pewter Gods" This September 1918 cartoon satirizes Germany's military collapse near WWI's end. The illustration shows German military and political leaders—identified as "Von Tirpitz, Ludendorff, Hindenburg and the be-medalled thug of Potsdam"—depicted as mythological figures singing a "death-chant entitled 'Peace at any Price.'" The text references Wagner's *Ring* cycle and the Rhine legend, comparing German leaders to doomed gods. The "old Rhine-swan" (Germany) is "sick," and the "Wotans of Germany" face defeat as Allied armies advance. The "pewter gods" mockingly suggests these military leaders are now powerless artifacts. Published as the Central Powers approached surrender, the cartoon celebrates their imminent defeat.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
3EP 21 1918 ~ Y COetIyaas ¢é JUDG E . Number 1927 10 Cents a Copy Drawn Oy Coan HE swan sings just before it goes into its Swanhalla. And the German swan, captained by Lohengrin Ho- henzollern, has begun its melodious death-chant entitled “ Peace at any Price.” The River Rhine is a stream of endless legend. It was in its depths that Richard Wagner laid the prelude to his Trilogy of the Ring, “Das Rheingold.” Along its banks rise, like antiquated fortresses, its castles, old homes of the Rhine-barons, the super-gunmen of the Middle Ages, the ancestors of the Gang The Swan Song ai the Pewter Gods —Von ‘Tirpitz, Ludendorff, Hindenburg and the be-medalled thug of Potsdam. But the crew today on the old Rhine- swan is sick, and in their eyes are mirrored the bannered and bayonet-shimmering hosts from France, England, America, Italy and Belgium. With the Lorelei enticing onward these tin Wotans of Germany, and with the implacable armies of the Allies sweeping on behind them, begin the doom of the sinister Rhine-gods, and the rise of Man! ER 14 SS ee or comicbooks.com