Pierre-Georges Jeanniot,, “La Heureuse Famille” (The Happy Family), Le Rire Rouge no. 525, April 7, 1917
During World War I, the French comic magazine Le Rire added Rouge to its name and became a patriotic organ celebrating the rank-and-file soldier and ridiculing the leaders responsible for war. The cover on the right, titled “The Happy Family,” grimly targets the callousness of the German ruling class. The image shows Kaiser Wilhelm II and his six sons, raising glasses filled with blood. They toast the docile people who have sent their own sons, “the last slaves of the civilized world,” to be butchered in battle in order to protect the interests of the Empire.

Return to Abusing Power introduction; return to exhibit home page