Life — December 28, 1916 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# U-Boat Captain This cartoon depicts a German U-boat (submarine) captain emerging from the water, addressing Uncle Sam with a recruitment pitch: "Good! Now come to one of my ports and I'll make a hero of you." The satire targets American neutrality during World War I. The U-boat captain's offer is sarcastic—he's essentially threatening that if Americans visit German-controlled ports, they'll be attacked and potentially killed, becoming "heroes" through wartime casualties. This reflects historical tensions: German submarines were sinking American merchant vessels and passenger ships (notably the Lusitania in 1915), killing American civilians. The cartoon mocks both German aggression and American reluctance to abandon official neutrality despite these provocations. It's propaganda urging American intervention or at least condemnation of German warfare tactics.