Szauer S. Ferencz World War I cartoon collection

The term “caricature”, is derived from the Old Italian word “caricare” which means “to exaggerate” and “to attack vehemently”. Thus the normal task of a caricaturist is to attack and to ridicule society and government, usually in an exaggerated or distorted way.

The popularity of caricatures and cartoons surged during World War I, in magazines, posters and postcards. At the beginning of World War I political cartoons became propaganda to show support for the country, to make fun of the enemies of their country, as well as to criticize their society.

In Germany the eight cartoon magazines had a total circulation of 986,000 copies, just a little less than the Berliner llustrirte Zeitung (1,000,000) and can thus rightly be considered a mass medium. The contemporary German publicist Maximilian Harden (1861-1927) claimed that “no other sort of publication can have such an effect on public opinion as the illustrated satirical magazine”.

The most influential magazine in Germany was the Simplicissimus, which especially attacked the Junkers, the Catholic Church and the military.The editor-in-chief of Simplicissimus, Ludwig Thoma proposed that the paper should cease publication, because, while Germany was fighting for its existence, all satirical opposition to the government should stop. But Thomas Theodor Heine (1867-1948) refused and said that satirists now had a new task: to behave as good patriots and to support Germany’s war policy at home and abroad. His point of view was accepted, and the other cartoon magazines took the same decision. On 8 August 1914 Paul Warncke (1866-1933), the editor-in-chief of the Kladderadatsch, explained to readers that his magazine would renounce all political satire and would instead fight against the disturbers of peace: and he put his trust in the victory of the German arms.[10]

The cut out cartoons were from periodicals such as Előre,and possibly Simplicissimus, Die Jugend, and the Narrenschift. Előre (Forward) was a Hungarian-language socialist magazine published in the United States by activists of the Hungarian Socialist Federation of the Socialist Party of America. Launched in September 1905, Előre was published for 16 years before going bankrupt in October 1921.

Cartoonists included are Rudolf Kristen (1889-1946), and H. Zahl. Many of the cartoons do not show the signature and it is hard to detemine the creator.

Sources Demm, Eberhard. Caricatures. 1914-1918 Online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. 19 December 2016. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/caricatures

Houston-Waesch, Monica. Cartoons. 100 Years, 100 Legacies.World War I Centenary. https://graphics.wsj.com/100-legacies-from-world-war-1/cartoons

"Előre" Wikipedia. Accessed 10/3/23 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El%C5%91re