Life, 1918-06-06 · page 4 of 40
Life — June 6, 1918 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This WWI-era propaganda page attacks Germany's Kaiser and his six sons. The cartoon shows the Kaiser (left, with distinctive spiked helmet and military uniform) leading his six sons in military formation. The text argues that Germany's war effort, which has killed six million soldiers since 1914, amounts to one million casualties per Kaiser son—presented as an obscene "gift" to satisfy their ambitions. The satire sarcastically frames the enormous human cost of war as a personal benefit to the Kaiser's family. The page calls American soldiers and sailors to subscribe to *Life* magazine, framing support for the Allied cause as patriotic duty. This is anti-German wartime propaganda designed to rally American support against the Central Powers by personalizing the war's devastation as the fault of one family's imperial ambitions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Safety First! Do you know who these men are? Have you ever seen their pictures before? Do you realize that the present war, started by the Kaiser, is now being carried on by the German people in order that the world may be made safe for these six sons of the Kaiser? All the devastation and black misery forced upon the most thickly populated portions of the earth, the enslavement of women and children, the sacrifice of millions upon millions of men, the destruction of price- less treasures of art and beauty, the desecration and ruin of the most sacred things of life—all this is taking place in order that these six sons of the Kaiser may do what they please—may wreak their brutal ambitions unchecked. Six million Germans and Austrians have either been j , killed or wounded since 1914. That is one million for Sia tire cach one of the Kaiser’s sons. What a gift! for three montis toy American soldiers and sailors all like Lire. ur copy when you have read enter a subscription. ic rates are sufficient if subscriptions ‘9 ships whose mail goes in care of York Postmaster, or to soldiers if ed to them as members of the Amer- peditionary Forces. st Street, New Yo 3 7 i ‘ jist Street, New York. 43 N For the fleets and armies of our Allies, the One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.; rate is $6.04