12 Ambiguities in the fight waged by the socialist satirical review Der Wahre Jacob against militarism and imperialism
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Jean-Claude Gardes
Abstract
The German social democratic periodical Der Wahre Jacob waged a near-constant battle against the conservative establishment in the course of its five decades of existence. Opposing the Wilhelmine culture of militarism and Weltpolitik, and supportive of international labour, it nonetheless betrayed a number of ambiguous positions when it came to matters of race and gender. While Imperial Germany’s coercive and brutal tactics in colonial warfare were roundly condemned, it was the actions of the British and the French that came in for particular attention. Moreover, the very principle of colonialism and imperialism was not criticised effectively; merely the means by which the Great Powers exercised their – apparently rightful – imperial power. The chapter explores Der Wahre Jacob’s engagement with such issues between its foundation and the beginning of the First World War.
Abstract
The German social democratic periodical Der Wahre Jacob waged a near-constant battle against the conservative establishment in the course of its five decades of existence. Opposing the Wilhelmine culture of militarism and Weltpolitik, and supportive of international labour, it nonetheless betrayed a number of ambiguous positions when it came to matters of race and gender. While Imperial Germany’s coercive and brutal tactics in colonial warfare were roundly condemned, it was the actions of the British and the French that came in for particular attention. Moreover, the very principle of colonialism and imperialism was not criticised effectively; merely the means by which the Great Powers exercised their – apparently rightful – imperial power. The chapter explores Der Wahre Jacob’s engagement with such issues between its foundation and the beginning of the First World War.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- List of contributors xvi
- Acknowledgements xxi
- 1 Introduction 1
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PART I: High imperialism and colonialism
- 2 Courting the colonies 31
- 3 ‘Master Jonathan’ in Cuba 66
- 4 ‘The international Siamese twins’ 92
- 5 ‘“Every dog” (no distinction of color) “has his day”’ 134
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PART II: The critique of empire and the context of decolonisation
- 6 The making of harmony and war, from New Year Prints to propaganda cartoons during China’s Second Sino-Japanese War 161
- 7 David Low and India 192
- 8 Between imagined and ‘real’ 216
- 9 The iconography of decolonisation in the cartoons of the Suez Crisis, 1956 242
- 10 Punch and the Cyprus emergency, 1955–1959 277
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PART III: Ambiguities of empire
- 11 Outrage and imperialism, confusion and indifference 305
- 12 Ambiguities in the fight waged by the socialist satirical review Der Wahre Jacob against militarism and imperialism 334
- 13 The ‘confounded socialists’ and the ‘Commonwealth Co-operative Society’ 362
- 14 Australian cartoonists at the end of empire 393
- Index 426
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- List of contributors xvi
- Acknowledgements xxi
- 1 Introduction 1
-
PART I: High imperialism and colonialism
- 2 Courting the colonies 31
- 3 ‘Master Jonathan’ in Cuba 66
- 4 ‘The international Siamese twins’ 92
- 5 ‘“Every dog” (no distinction of color) “has his day”’ 134
-
PART II: The critique of empire and the context of decolonisation
- 6 The making of harmony and war, from New Year Prints to propaganda cartoons during China’s Second Sino-Japanese War 161
- 7 David Low and India 192
- 8 Between imagined and ‘real’ 216
- 9 The iconography of decolonisation in the cartoons of the Suez Crisis, 1956 242
- 10 Punch and the Cyprus emergency, 1955–1959 277
-
PART III: Ambiguities of empire
- 11 Outrage and imperialism, confusion and indifference 305
- 12 Ambiguities in the fight waged by the socialist satirical review Der Wahre Jacob against militarism and imperialism 334
- 13 The ‘confounded socialists’ and the ‘Commonwealth Co-operative Society’ 362
- 14 Australian cartoonists at the end of empire 393
- Index 426
