The gospel according to St. William
Subject(s): Ammunition, Gatling guns, William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941
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William II, Emperor of Germany, with a Bible propped up on a Gatling gun, reads aloud from the gospels. There is a box of ammunition at his feet.
Comments and Context
In 1900, Kaiser Wilhelm delivered a speech to German troops embarking to China to help suppress the Boxer rebellion. It is notable for two reasons. He ordered the troops to invoke the fighting spirit of Atilla the Hun, which invited a long-standing epithet used against Germans ever since. The other theme was addressed by cartoonist Keppler: the Kaiser resurrected the mantle of the Holy Roman Empire. Implicitly he, a Lutheran, inherited the legacy of the ancient religious and political confederation, hence the Bible and bullets in Keppler’s commentary.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1900-09-26
Creator(s)
Period
Governor of New York (October 1898-1900)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
The gospel according to St. William. [September 26, 1900]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o275636. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The gospel according to St. William. [26 Sep. 1900]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. April 2, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o275636.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1900, September 26]. The gospel according to St. William.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o275636.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. April 2, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
