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Primary sourcePainting16 May 1875

Zwischen Berlin und Rom

Wilhelm Scholz · 16 May 1875

A satirical 1875 cartoon from Kladderadatsch showing Bismarck playing chess against Pope Pius IX, a classic image of the Kulturkampf conflict.

The cartoon depicts Bismarck as a calculating opponent of the Pope during the Kulturkampf, a defining struggle of his chancellorship.

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Engraved caricature titled 'Zwischen Berlin und Rom'. A bald, stern man in a high-collared coat leans on a chessboard, hand to his face, across from a hooded cleric in robes who studies the board. Chess pieces are labeled with words like Klostergesetz, Jesuit, and Zentrum. A box labeled Jntelligenz sits at the corner. German caption text runs below.
Wilhelm Scholz, 'Zwischen Berlin und Rom', Kladderadatsch, 16 May 1875.

About this source

What it is

This engraved caricature, titled 'Zwischen Berlin und Rom' ('Between Berlin and Rome'), was published in the German satirical magazine Kladderadatsch on 16 May 1875, drawn by Wilhelm Scholz. It shows a stern man in a high-collared coat representing Bismarck playing chess against a hooded cleric representing Pope Pius IX.

Why it matters

The chess pieces are labelled with terms from the Kulturkampf, the conflict between the German Empire and the Catholic Church over control of religious and civil institutions, including laws against religious orders and references to bishops being imprisoned. The cartoon captures how contemporaries saw the struggle as a calculated battle of wits between Bismarck and the Pope, with Bismarck predicting checkmate for Germany.

Look closer

  • What do the labelled chess pieces tell you about the real issues being fought over?
  • Why might a satirical magazine choose chess as a way to show this conflict?
  • What does Bismarck's confident pose suggest about how the cartoonist wanted him to be seen?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Otto von Bismarck on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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