Sind wir die Barbaren? (Are We the Barbarians?)
A statistical chart comparing Germany, England and France, issued to rebut Allied 'German barbarism' atrocity propaganda. It answers a specific accusation with a different, selectively framed comparison rather than contesting the accusation's own evidence directly.
An Imperial German government poster of 1916 by Louis Oppenheim, addressed to a foreign public and meant to answer Allied accusations of German barbarism. It is a statistical chart comparing Germany, England and France on social-insurance benefits, illiteracy, schooling spending, book production, Nobel prizes and patents. Whataboutism is tagged because the accusation is met with a different comparison rather than a rebuttal of its evidence. Card stacking is tagged because the categories are chosen to favor Germany, and in the first row no figure is shown for England.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1916
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- Imperial German government counter-propaganda; artist Louis Oppenheim
Full record
Region, Country, Medium, Issuer type, Regime, Leader, Audience, Purpose, Themes, Event, Source, Rights
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- German Empire
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- German Empire
- Leader
- Wilhelm II
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Economy and finance, Media and information
- Event
- World War I
- Leader
- Wilhelm II
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart (via Wikimedia Commons), retrieved September 25, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (author died 1936; term expired)
Louis Oppenheim, 1916. Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, J 151 Nr 2243.
Text on the object
Original (German) · read from the image, not independently checked
Sind wir die Barbaren? Jährl. Leistungen der Sozial-Versicherung Deutschland 425,6 Millionen Mk — England [×, no figure shown] — Frankreich 24 Millionen Mk Analphabeten (auf je 10 000 Rekruten) Deutschland 2 — England 100 — Frankreich 320 Ausgaben für Schulwesen Deutschland 878 Millionen Mk — England 384 Millionen Mk — Frankreich 261 Millionen Mk Bücher-Erzeugung Deutschland (D) 34 800 — England (E) 12 100 — Frankreich (F) 9 600 Nobelpreise Deutschland (D) 14 — England (E) 3 — Frankreich (F) 3 Patente Deutschland 7194 — England 1681 — Frankreich 1196 Klischees und Druck von Dr. Selle & Co., G.m.b.H., Berlin SW 29.
Are we the barbarians? Annual social-insurance benefits Germany 425.6 million marks — England [×, no figure shown] — France 24 million marks Illiterates (per 10,000 recruits) Germany 2 — England 100 — France 320 Spending on schooling Germany 878 million marks — England 384 million marks — France 261 million marks Book production Germany (D) 34,800 — England (E) 12,100 — France (F) 9,600 Nobel prizes Germany (D) 14 — England (E) 3 — France (F) 3 Patents Germany 7,194 — England 1,681 — France 1,196 Plates and printing by Dr. Selle & Co., G.m.b.H., Berlin SW 29.
The England figure in the top row (social-insurance benefits) is shown only as a seated figure with a large X over it and no number printed, read here as 'no figure shown' rather than a stated zero. A handwritten archival annotation ('Jaffke') and a handwritten number ('114') appear in the margins of this particular copy; these are later archival marks, not part of the printed poster, and are not transcribed as originalText.
