Life — January 11, 1917 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This appears to be a World War I-era satirical cartoon depicting the human cost of warfare. The central figure is a skeletal or death-like character standing in a cemetery marked "BERLIN," surrounded by numerous crosses indicating graves. Two grieving figures (likely representing bereaved women or civilians) kneel before the crosses in mourning. The cartoon serves as anti-war commentary, illustrating the devastating casualties and destruction resulting from the conflict. By personifying death itself presiding over a Berlin graveyard, the artist critiques the war's horrific toll on human life. The imagery suggests this was likely created for American audiences during WWI, when Life magazine regularly published satirical commentary on the European conflict and its consequences.