Life, 1917-10-25 · page 30 of 44
Life — October 25, 1917 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from Life magazine satirizes German war aims during World War I. The top cartoon mocks what New York's Tammany Hall political machine dreams of—electing their preferred mayor (likely John F. Hylan) over the reform candidate. The main content attacks Germany's peace negotiation demands. Through absurdist "menaces," Life ridicules Germany's justifications for invading Belgium in 1914. Germany claimed Belgium threatened them—a fabrication Life exposes by listing laughable "threats": Belgian babies resisting Prussian officers, King Albert refusing Bavarian beer, and canary birds whistling British songs. The satirical "resolutions" propose equally grotesque German "solutions": exterminating Belgian babies, deporting King Albert, and banning all singing. This reductio ad absurdum reveals the hypocrisy and brutality of Germany's actual demands for Belgian subjugation. The bottom illustration depicts a man coercing a woman into suicide—visualizing Germany's ultimatum tactics during peace negotiations, where refusal meant continued warfare and destruction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Bill: The Tammany Dream INCE John Purroy Mitchel has been mayor MA of New York Tammany has had pretty poor pickings. It is possible that in New York there are enough criminals, Hearstites, pro-Ger- CA: mans and hide-bound Tammany supporters to elect Hylan mayor. This is Tammany’s dream and the decent citizen’s nightmare. Here's hop- ing that the morning after election we'll all wake up and find it isn't so. Before Peace Can Come Belgium must give guarantees that any such menace as that which threatened Germany in 1914 will in future be excluded. —Michaelis on peace terms. HEREAS: The Imperial German Government has discovered through secret diplomatic channels that Germany, in 1914, was menaced by Belgium in the follow- ing manner: Menace No. 1: Belgium babies, on being confronted by Prussian military officers, closed their eyes and doubled up their fists, showing plainly the anti-German feeling in- stilled in Belgian babies by their parents. Menace No. 2: King Albert of Belgium, at a court din- ner early in 1914, refused to allow Munich beer to be served, thus proving conclusively that he planned to plunge Europe into war by attacking Germany without warning. Menace No. 3: A piece of torn red paper covered with Chinese ideographs, found in the laundry of an English- man traveling in Belgium in 1914, obviously showed that the English and the Chinese had planned to assist Belgium in overthrowing Germany. Menace . Belgian canary birds were taught to whistle “ Rule, Britannia,” and were then sold to English spies in Germany so that the morale of the German people might be weakened by English songs. BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Imperial German Gov- ernment will state no peace terms until the aforementioned menaces are excluded in the following manner: WONDER WHAT THEY'RE UP TO OVER THERE 1. By the extermination of all Belgian babies. 2. By the deportation of King Albert of Belgium to the island of St. Helena for the remainder of his life, and by the abolition of the Belgian army and the substitution of a German army in its place. 3. By the exclusion of all nationalities except Germans and Belgians from Belgium, and the abolition of all laundry work, 4. By the cessation of all bird-life, and by the making of any form of singing or whistling an offense punishable with death, After Three Years -heap: German Zeppelins, German hopes. ithout a trace: German submarines, German Camouflage: German attacks on Russia, German peace- terms. “1 SUPPOSE YOU WILL COMMIT SUICIDE IF I REFUSE YoU.” comicbooks Baim ny