The master Valasek 18 - Public domain drawing

Drawing shows William II, Emperor of Germany, as a gigantic puppet master with two small figures sitting on his knees, one labeled "Austrian Germans" and the other labeled "Hungarians"; they hold numerous chains to which many men are shackled, who are labeled according to the ethnic groups representing the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on the "Austrian Germans" side are: "Italians", "Ruthenes", "Dalmatians", "Poles", "Moravians", "Silezians", "Bohemians", and "Slovenes"; and on the "Hungarians" side are: "Hrvats", "Serbians", "Slovaks", "Bosnians", "Ruthenes", and "Rumounians", along with two men who are unlabeled.
Caption label from exhibit "World War I ...": Otakar Valasek Depicts Austro-Hungarian Suffering. Otakar Valasek, a Chicago-based Czech cartoonist, used his experience living under Austro-Hungarian rule to illuminate the plight of those suffering during the war. Here he shows people of various ethnicities who lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire shackled to the oppressive Magyar masters who are themselves under the ultimate control of the giant, looming figure of Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II. In April 1918, Valasek left the Chicago Herald to join the staff of the Committee on Public Information for the duration of the War.

Signed in ink on lower right.
Stamped on verso: L.C. Division of Prints.
Inscribed in pencil on verso: 46328.
Probably drawn for the Chicago Herald-Examiner, where Valasek worked.
Transfer; Council of Defense, Washington, D.C.; 1921 June 27; (DLC/PP-1921:46328)
Exhibited: "World War I : American Artists View the Great War" in the Graphic Arts Gallery, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., October 2016 - May 2017.
Accession box no. DLC/PP-1921:46328 c3