The period between the world wars is probably the best case study for the amazing power of cartoons. Some of them poke fun, some would offer criticism against anyone and others are chillingly accurate.
For those unfamiliar with the period, following the First World War, the world sat down and decided that war was not a good idea and vowed never to do it again (hence, the war to end all wars). 20 years later the Second World War broke out. The spooky thing about this cartoon (right) is the accuracy with which jokes predicted the future. The cartoonist is making the point that decision-makers at the Treaty of Versailles (the treaty which set out the terms for German defeat) were sowing the seeds for a future in which the 1940 class (only a few months off the reality) would be fighting. Whilst this is an interesting coincidence, it also ties into the academic debate, many historians trace the start of the Second World War to the poor decisions made at Versailles.
Other historians think that the war can be explained by the failures of the League of Nations (a forerunner to the UN). At the time, many people had great faith in the League and genuinely hoped that by co-operation and discussion world peace might be preserved. The next image, is openly critical of such optimism. It comments on the events surrounding the Manchuria crisis (a major disaster for the League). Whilst the decision makers are frantically trying to touch-up the League's make up, Japan simply walks right over her. In the setting up of the U.N., many of these weaknesses were recognised but the cartoonist (David Low), seems to have observed this perfectly well at the time.
My final example is one of my favourites. Other historians point to the aggression of Hitler and the failure of many politicians to stand up to him for the outbreak of the war. At the time, many people thought that their leaders were making sound decisions and few people showed serious opposition to efforts to reason with the Nazis over their foreign policy. However, in this cartoon the now well-accepted view that Hitler never intended to negotiate is shown loud and clear. I particularly like the na na na na na expression which he is pulling. In the same way, serious historians now follow the views which these satirical cartoonists made first.
Sometimes, you can't get a true look at the mood of ordinary people by looking in the memoirs of the great and the good. Good cartoons (and there are other amazing sources like them) seem to really capture the mood. They strike a chord with ordinary people which seems to reflect what many are thinking.
When studying the causes of the Second World War, very academic historians argue very eloquently about which cause is the most important. Was it the Treaty of Versailles, the policies of Hitler, the failures of democratic leaders or the weakness of the League of Nations? Did Hitler plan war from the beginning or did he (like many of the best lessons) make it up as he went along? Whilst these historians have access to a wealth of material on the matter, I think the cartoonist has an amazing perspective to give.
Indeed, if you want to know which headlines will be making history in your newspaper today, it may be good to skip the articles and go straight to the funny little doodles which go with them!
If you want to see more cartoons the University of Kent has an amazing collection online: http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/
