The modern war god
Subject(s): Ethnicity, Ethnicity--Social aspects, Jews, Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Stereotype (Psychology), Stereotypes (Social psychology), Stores, Retail, War, Wars
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A Jewish man dressed as Mars, the Roman god of war, and decorated with symbols of money, stands in the doorway of a munitions store labeled “Marsheim Bellonaberg & Co.” and “Ordnance Dept.” A notice posted on the side states “War Loans a Speciality” and a sign reads “By Appointment to H.I.M. the Czar & Mikado – Cash Vobiscum.”
Comments and Context
Ehrhart’s cartoon smacks of anti-Semitism to contemporary eyes, but it uses the age-old stereotype of Jewish money-lenders as a stick with which to beat England and English banks. As Russia and Japan bled each other dry in their war, the English, as money-lenders to “the Czar and the Mikado” respectively, profited off both. The British made loans at high interest, and sold munitions similarly.
A dozen years later, the tables were turned when the United States and its banks of Morgan and other houses virtually financed the carnage of the Great War — all sides of the conflict, all parties. It was widely charged that such war profiteering, including windfalls of manufacturing, arms, and shipping, were reasons that American refrained from joining World War I as long as it did.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1905-01-25
Creator(s)
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
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 modern war god. [January 25, 1905]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278069. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. The modern war god. [25 Jan. 1905]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278069.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1905, January 25]. The modern war god.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278069.
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. March 5, 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.
