Life, 1918-11-28 · page 27 of 34
Life — November 28, 1918 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1920s Life magazine page satirizes Prohibition and German-American identity during the post-WWI era. **Top cartoon:** A man realizes he's been absent-mindedly whistling "Die Wacht am Rhein" (a German patriotic song). The joke targets German-Americans who, despite Prohibition's passage and post-war anti-German sentiment, unconsciously retain German cultural habits—presenting them as absurdly un-American. **"Future" essay:** Dark satire imagining future archaeologists discovering hidden whiskey caches from Prohibition warehouses. The final illustration labeled "Fritz's Thanksgiving" appears to show a German character celebrating with the discovery, reinforcing the stereotype. The essay sarcastically suggests future civilization might worship recovered whiskey as sacred—mocking both Prohibition's "barbaric" suppression of alcohol and the era's German-American othering by naming the character "Fritz," a common German name stereotype. The page reflects 1920s anxieties about immigrant assimilation and the ongoing cultural suspicion of German-Americans following World War I.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A PERFECTLY GOOD AMERICAN SUDDENLY REALIZES HE HAS BEEN ABSENT-MINDEDLY WHISTLING “DIE WACHT AM RHINE” Future WING to certain prohibitive laws the details of which are highly uninteresting, about two hundred million dollars’ worth of good whiskey and kindred spirits is locked up and cannot be had for love or money. It is growing older and richer and more beautiful by the hour, Are we going to become so good in the future that this wonderful reservoir of enthusiasm will be forgotten and in the march of time be overlooked? Who knows but that some catastrophe may overcome this civilization and leave us, like Babylon and Tyre and Sidon, only a weak memory. And think of the travelers of the future—say, two thou- sand years hence—suddenly digging into the roof of one of these whiskey bond warehouses! Think of how mellow that whiskey will be then! One of these highly advanced gentleman, perhaps more courageous than his brother, might easily take a sip from the hitherto buried cask, at the risk of an unknown death. Perhaps half an hour later, with enraptured face and a soul lifted up into new regions of joy hitherto undreamed, who knows but what he might exclaim: “Brother, in the scroll of the past preserved from the wreck of those American barbarians, there’s a reference made to an ideal that will make the world safe for democ- racy. Betcher this is it!” FRITZ’S THANKSGIVING comicbooks.com