A 1914 German cartoon shows Europe through national stereotypes

Europe in 1914 through a German cartoon: stereotypes that never age

A German cartoon from 1914 has been circulating again in recent days, summing up on a map the stereotypes with which Europe saw itself on the eve of the Great War. It is no masterpiece, but the reactions it has provoked lead to two conclusions: national clichés are still alive and historical grudges never expire.

Spain with bullfighters and dancers; Japan on the map

Spain appears as a bullfighter flanked by flamenco dancers, with Don Quixote in the background. It is the cliché everyone derides yet instantly recognises. Stranger still is seeing Japan on a European map, pointing to the imperial expansion that already worried the great powers. Portugal and Sweden get the crudest strokes; Ireland, in the midst of its struggle, is shown shaking off the English. The cartoon captures the obsessions of its time.

A century of distrust towards Germany

The most striking thing, however, is the persistence of antipathy towards Germany in central Europe, fuelled by the two world wars and the crimes associated with them. Even in northern Italy there is a lingering historical tension towards the Teutons, softened only by a shared rejection of the Soviet Union. And there is no shortage of irony: the same cartoon boasts of the "historic affection" between Germany and Russia, months before they would plunge into what its critics call the most senseless war in history.

The fact that a piece of paper from a century ago still provokes a mix of humour and resentment says more about the present than about the drawing. The map depicts a Europe which, emotionally, has not quite healed its wounds.