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Expired: Germany’s Peace Offer, Kladderadatsch (December 1917)

On December 12, 1916, the Central Powers issued the Allies a proposal on starting negotiations to end the war. The proposal, however, contained no concrete conditions for peace. On December 20, President Woodrow Wilson called upon the Central Powers to make the proposal more specific – but to no avail. On December 30, 1916, the Allies rejected the proposal, which they deemed unworthy of serious consideration.

The caricature from the December 1917 issue of the satirical journal Kladderadatsch refers to the peace offer by the Central Powers. It depicts Chronos, the god of time, as an old, frail, and thoroughly emaciated man. It includes the caption: “One year has already passed, and I am still running around as 'wartime'!” The German Reich is presented as the nation seeking peace.

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Expired: Germany’s Peace Offer, <i>Kladderadatsch</i> (December 1917)

Source: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Kladderadatsch (1848-1944) - digital. No. 49, December 9, 1917.