Among the numerous items in the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear's collection is a wide array of political posters, several from World War One. While searching through the museum's storage rooms on the third floor of the building, I came across two posters that manage to be amusing, morbid, and far from subtle in their message all at once!

Anyone who lived in the United States during WWI could have told you that Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was far from being the most popular person on the face of the Earth. Given a choice, many Americans would have given their support to the Devil himself over befriending the Kaiser! These two posters give an example of just how unpopular of a man he was:

In this image, we see an imagined trial of the Kaiser before a judicial panel and jury of Entente leaders. President Woodrow Wilson is the Chief Justice, and King George V of the United Kingdom and French President Georges Clemenceau sit on either side of him. Leaders of nations such as Belgium, Italy, Japan, and other Entente allies make up the jury. (Note how Tsar Nicholas II or even Vladmir Lenin of Russia are conspicuously absent...) The Kaiser himself is locked behind a cage like a wild animal, guarded by soldiers from the U.S, Great Britain, France, and Italy. A woman with a sash embroidered with "Germany" has fallen to the floor, weeping over an assortment of munitions that Germany had used during the war: bombs, grenades, artillery shells, and even canisters of poison gas. The sentence against the Kaiser is clear: death.

Now the Entente revenge fantasy against Germany is complete, and boy, what a sight it is! The Kaiser is led before a firing squad consisted of Entente soldiers commanded by none other than Uncle Sam brandishing a sword. The soldiers all fire their rifles at the deposed and shamed Kaiser, who has his hands bound behind his back like a common criminal. His own sword lay broken at his feet, a symbol of a shamefully defeated foe. A crowd of women all representing the Entente nations watches the grim scene with glee, while Germania herself sits weeping off to the side. All of this takes place in the gardens of the Versailles Palace, home of the signing of the treaty that all but ended World War One in 1919.

Propaganda is not meant to be subtle by any means, but this goes above and beyond bluntly getting the point across that the Kaiser was a bad person! In reality, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated almost immediately before the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, and fled to the neutral Netherlands. He purchased some property in the small town of Doorn, where he lived the rest of his life in relative peace and quiet until his death on June 4, 1941. He was never put on trial for allegedly starting the war, authorizing supposed atrocities like unrestricted submarine warfare or the "Rape of Belgium," but these two posters serve as wish fulfillment for any fantasies vengeful Entente leaders or soldiers had against their sworn enemy. They show the lengths that people went to demonize the Kaiser and the hated "Hun" that they fought during the war. One cannot feel but a sense of shock and amusement upon seeing such a brazen display of hate and vengeance against one man and what he stood for. 

-Jordan

P.S: Interestingly enough, I was not able to find any information about who published these posters other than R.A of New York. If anyone is able to find out any more info behind these posters, send the Chudnow Museum an email; this would help us out a lot!

During World War One, soldiers enjoyed receiving mementos and baked goods from home just like during any other time in history. However, making baked goods was made a bit difficult during the war due to rationing of foodstuffs like eggs, sugar, and wheat. Some home bakers got around this by creating a "trench cake" that did not require much of these vital ingredients, if any!

Here is a recipe for such a "trench cake" that I have baked several times already. It has been updated somewhat for modern bakers and their kitchens, but it remains just as tasty. What makes this recipe unique is that it does not contain eggs to hold it together, nor yeast to make it rise. Just like making a "volcano" for a grade school science experiment, it uses baking soda and vinegar to rise!

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup flour
4 oz margarine/butter (one stick of butter should be enough)
1/2 cup of milk
1/3 cup of brown sugar
3 oz. dried currants (the only place I could find currants for sale in bulk was Whole Foods. Otherwise, raisins would make an acceptable substitute. Remember, we're talking about baking a cake during a time when simply having sweets was a luxury!)
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a pan and mix it in with the flour in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the milk, baking soda, and vinegar and mix into the dough. Transfer the dough into a greased baking pan, making sure that the dough reaches all corners of the pan. I have found that baking it in a pan meant for coffee cake or a similar sized loaf works well. Next, bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, let cool, slice and enjoy!

The recipe can easily be doubled of you want to make more for a party or gathering. While I was baking the cakes in my kitchen, it dawned on me that bakers from 100 years ago probably didn't have the convenience of being able to use an electric KitchenAid mixer, rubber spatulas, or even an electric oven! No matter how you prepare or bake the cake, it still tastes great! The texture is not unlike Irish soda bread, and the spices and currants give it a unique flavor.

I would recommend serving this cake with coffee during breakfast or for an after-dinner treat. It's a tasty way to remember what it was like living -and eating- during a time when baking your own cake was a special event all on its own. As I always say, one of the best ways to experience history is by eating it!

Happy baking,

​Jordan

​The events of World War One may be long behind us, but they have been commemorated through songs from a surprising number of genres. Here are some of my favorite songs whose subject matter deal with “The Great War” in one way or another:
 
“One” by Metallica
Unlike other heavy metal bands, Metallica has written a surprising number of songs inspired by literature. “The Thing That Should Not Be” was inspired by H.P Lovecraft’s series of novels about the monster Cthulhu, while “For Whom The Bell Tolls” was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s novel about the Spanish Civil War. One of the band’s most enduring hits, “One,” was inspired by Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun. This pacifist novel tells the fictional story of a young man who fights in the trenches of Europe, only to lose his limbs, face, and ability to talk after stepping on a landmine. Amazingly, he survives the ordeal and is kept alive on a life support system. As he reminisces about his life up to this point, he finds out he is able to communicate with the doctors and generals at his bedside through hitting his head on the pillow in Morse code. 

​After Metallica included “One” on their 1989 album And Justice For All, the music video for the song included clips from the 1970 film adaption of Johnny Got His Gun. Not wanting to pay the producers of the film royalty fees for years to come, the band decided to cut out the middleman and purchase the rights to the movie!
 
“1916” by Motörhead
Another surprising cut from a heavy metal band, “1916” shows off Motörhead’s more tender and reflective side. Former bassist and singer Lemmy Kilmister was an avid history buff with a keen interest on military history. The title track from their 1991 album of the same name tells the tale of a young British man who enlists in the army for the sense of adventure and comradeship with his mates. His idealism quickly fades as he experiences the horrors of war: “I heard my friend cry/And he sank to his knees/Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother/And I fell by his side, and that’s how he died/Clinging like kids to each other…And I called for my mother, and she never came/Though it wasn’t my fault and I wasn’t to blame/The day not half over and ten thousand slain/And now there’s nobody who remembers our names/And that’s how it is for a soldier.”

A far cry from Motörhead’s usual fare, “1916” features none of the overdriven guitars and rapid drums that were part of their signature sound. Lemmy’s elegiac lyrics are accompanied by a subdued martial drumbeat and a synthesized orchestra, along with cello solos after the verses. This touching song would not feel out of place in a First World War documentary—not a bad work for a band who was better known for writing songs about gambling, drinking, and rock ‘n roll!
 
“And The Band Played ‘Waltzing Matilda” by Eric Bogle
​Scottish-Australian folk musician Eric Bogle wrote this song in 1971 in response to what he perceived as a lack of knowledge and respect for the Australian soldiers who fought and died during the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915. This battle was fought mainly by the British Empire against the Ottoman Empire and their German military advisers. The plan was to launch an attack against the Dardanelles Strait in Turkey that joined the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, creating a safe passage to send reinforcements to the Russians in their southern Caucasus Front. The invasion did not go according to plan, as many British naval vessels were sunk by Ottoman mines and artillery, and most of the ground force was pinned at the beaches along the Dardanelles. For the first time in their military history, soldiers from Australia and New Zealand fought together under the banner of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZAC. They were joined by a strong sense of duty, camaraderie, and "matesmanship" that ceased to fade even as the ANZAC forces were forced to retreat.
The song alludes to "Waltzing Matilda,"a beloved Australian folk song that tells the story of a hobo or "swagman" on the run from the law. "Waltzing Matilda" occupies much the same space in Australian popular culture as "Yankee Doodle" does in America. Some Australians even see it as an unofficial national anthem for their country.

When Eric Bogle wrote "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" in 1971, Australia was involved in the Vietnam War, which proved to be unpopular with a portion of the population as it was in the United States. In a 2009 interview, he stated that "I wrote it as an oblique comment on the Vietnam War...while boys from Australia were dying there, people had hardly any idea where Vietnam was. Gallipoli was a lot closer to the Australian ethos--every schoolkid knew the story, so I set the song there." ANZAC Day remains as important of a holiday in Australia and New Zealand just as Remembrance Day is in the United Kingdom or Memorial Day in the United States. In recent years, "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" has become a fixture at ANZAC Day ceremonies and has been covered by numerous other musicians. 

​One of the more unsavory aspects of World War One was the loss of civil liberties by many American citizens. By law, the Constitution permits citizens to speak and publish freely in a public forum, as well as giving them the right to protest and petition against matters deemed important by them. But during WWI, the fear of subversion and sabotage by radical elements of the population forced the government to sign the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. The former, signed on June 12, 1917, forbade willful and intentional interference with war-related industry and commerce, as well as “any cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces”. Individuals or organizations convicted of making these statements could also lose their mailing privileges. Whereas the Espionage Act dealt with overt, physical acts of interference with the war effort, the Sedition Act, signed on May 18, 1918, penalized the very act of voicing an opinion against the war. The act forbade publicly announcing or printing “any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States,…the Constitution…the military or naval forces…the flag…, or the uniform of the Army or Navy” with the intent “to incite…resistance to the United States, or to promote the cause of its enemies,” or to bring “the United States into contempt, scorn, or disrepute.” Stories abounded of citizens being jailed over complaining about the design of military uniforms or making a passing remark about the Kaiser on a trolley full of soldiers! 

​Enter Victor Berger, a Wisconsinite who became one of the only two Socialists ever elected to the United States Congress. As a Socialist, he was opposed to the United States entering WWI, as it meant that working-class men would have to leave their jobs to fight overseas while war industry businessmen gained profits over the sales of weapons and munitions. Compared to the more radical forms of Socialism then and now, Berger would be considered a moderate Democratic Socialist. He believed that Socialism represented the best interests of like-minded individuals who did not want to become involved in a foreign war. However, Socialists in Europe as well as America had a reputation for being firebrands of subversive thought and activity, and many Americans saw no difference between their beliefs and those of the Communists who took control over Russia in late 1917.

On March 9th, 1918, Victor Berger and other leaders of the Socialist Party of America were indicted under the Espionage and Sedition Acts in the federal court in Chicago. This came as Berger was well underway with his campaign for the House of Representatives and after the Milwaukee Leader, the only English language Socialist newspaper published in America, was stripped of its ability to print and distribute its newspapers. Berger and his wife Meta both ran the newspaper and relied on it to spread the word of their cause. Berger would eventually be indicted two more times that year, on October 28th in Milwaukee and on December 3rd in La Crosse. Despite his indictments, he managed to secure enough votes to represent Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District in Congress. Berger would eventually gain his seat in the House, but not after a special committee was set up to decide whether convicted felons would be able to hold positions as Congressmen. He was stripped of his post in March 1919, but was amazingly reelected by his constituents and regained his seat.

Victor Berger was living proof that not all Americans were supportive of their country's entry into World War One. He managed to represent his state in Congress amidst accusations of disloyalty and treason; the fact that his beliefs were punishable by law seemed to not help his case. However, Berger's antiwar rhetoric was the exception, not the rule across the country. Perhaps President Woodrow Wilson foresaw this kind of reaction in his address to Congress upon the declaration of war against Germany:

"If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with with a firm hand of stern repression; but if it lifts its head at all, it will lift it only here and there without countenance except from a lawless and malignant few."
​--Woodrow Wilson's Address to Congress, April 2, 1917

​www.missourioverthere.org/explore/articles/the-espionage-and-sedition-acts

Berger, Meta. A Milwaukee Woman's Life on the Left​. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin Press, 2001

​With income tax season upon us, this is a good time to reflect on how taxes and tax laws have changed since World War One. In addition to having to deal with food rationing, the draft, and fuel shortages for the first time in history, Americans saw dynamic changes to how their taxes were collected and disbursed during the WWI era.
 
America has always had an uneasy history with taxes. Our revolution from the British Empire was inspired in part by the “No Taxation Without Representation” ethos, and citizens have always tried to keep their taxes as low as possible. However, the success of the government and its services depends on taxes, making them a necessity that people still grumble about. Abraham Lincoln created the first federal income tax law and the Internal Revenue Service in 1862 to help fund the Civil War. The federal income tax was repealed in 1872, only to be brought back in 1894…only to be repealed a year later. Finally, in 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, legalizing the federal income tax. In that year, the common income tax rate was 1% on net income above $3,000, with an additional 6% surtax on incomes above $500,000. With tax rates that low, it would have seemed that people would not have had much to complain about! 

During World War One, the government needed a bigger source of income to fund the military and support its allies in the conflict. The highest income tax rate jumped from 15 percent in 1916 to 67 percent in 1917 to 77 percent in 1918. This was on top of Americans being asked to contribute what little discretionary income they had left to purchase Liberty Bonds! People would have to wait until the Roaring Twenties for tax rates to lower significantly and have more income to purchase luxury goods or common household objects.
 
Americans also had to file their taxes before March 15th during the WWI era. After the passage of the 16th Amendment, the date for filing was originally March 1st. Following tax reform laws in 1954, the date was pushed back to April 15th, where it remains to this day. This was to allow government workers to collect, sort, and tabulate taxes all by hand—a necessity in the era before Turbotax and other computerized tax filing systems.
 
Admittedly, I am not an expert on tax laws or the ins and outs of finance. However, it is important to know the history behind how tax laws are formulated and passed, as they affect everyone in America. And it goes without saying, be sure to work on your taxes if you haven’t started them yet!
--Jordan 
 
https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Free_Resources/Federal-Income-Tax-Rates.aspx
 
http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/hottopic/irs_history.html
 
https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/brief-history-of-irs

​With the 100th Anniversary of World War One upon us, 100 years seems like an incredibly long time for some people to imagine. Most people can’t imagine anything 100 years old, much less anything that has existed since then. To give a sense of perspective on exactly how long 100 years is, here is a brief list of some things that had not existed in 1918:

• Sliced bread was first sold in stores in 1928. Otto Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa, had developed a prototype bread slicer in 1912, but it was destroyed in a fire. Until then, people had to make do with slicing whole loaves of bread to make toast or sandwiches!  

All of these things that we take for granted had not existed when the United States was involved in World War One. 100 years may seem like an incredibly long time to think about, but in the grand scheme of history, it's only the blink of an eye.
​--Jordan

As mentioned in my previous blog post, I have begun to cook some recipes from a cookbook published by the U.S Food Administration during World War 1. Because of food rationing and shortages of ingredients that most Americans were used to cooking with, the organization found it appropriate to publish a helpful cookbook to instruct them on how to make the most of their limited culinary resources. The introduction reminded housewives that:

With that in mind, I decided to try out some of these recipes myself. I find that one of the best ways of learning about history is through experiencing it yourself--even if that means eating it! You can find the entire cookbook and even more delicious recipes at the link below:
​http://exhibitions.theworldwar.org/war-fare/#/in-the-kitchen/book

The first recipe I attempted to make was Poultry With Peas. It calls for:

• 1 cup cold chicken, duck or turkey, leftover from a roast (I used chicken)
• 1 cup canned peas, or frozen
• 2 tablespoons fat (bacon fat, butter or drippings from poultry roast) (I used bacon fat)
• 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• salt and pepper, to taste

Once you have all the ingredients gathered,

1. Melt fat in a saucepan, add the flour and whisk until brown.
2. Whisk in the milk gradually, cook until thick.
3. Add the chicken, peas and seasoning.
4. Serve over savory rice or biscuits. (I used frozen biscuits)

One thing that struck me as I was making the recipe was that housewives and cooks in 1918 didn't have the luxury of using nonstick pans and plastic utensils to aid with their cooking!

Overall, the recipe was very simple to cook and doesn't require a lot of advanced knowledge of cooking to make. It took no more than 30 minutes to complete.

After baking the biscuits and letting the gravy sit, the time came to sample the finished product. It was quite tasty and made for a simple, if hearty, dinner. You can definitely taste the peas in the meal, so adding salt and pepper to taste is highly recommended. Since my dad and I enjoyed it for dinner, there was plenty left over for, well, leftovers! 

If you're in the mood for a simple dinner to cook, I would highly recommend this recipe. Uncle Sam and Herbert Hoover would thank you!

​--Jordan

We may think of World War One as having been exclusively fought by the "doughboys," sailors, and airmen over in the trenches of France and Belgium. However, civilians in the home front--especially housewives--were encouraged to do their part to ensure their support for the American war effort. In no place was this more evident than in grocery stores and kitchens across the country. For the first time in American history, civilians were encouraged to drastically change their eating habits in order to aid the military.

Shortly after declaring war on Germany in April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson realized that food was just as vital as munitions and fuel in aiding the American war effort. He established the U.S Food Administration in order to set guidelines for food production and rationing among the American populace. In addition to feeding its own army, America also had to provide food for its allies and refugees in Europe. Americans could no longer afford to be wasteful in their eating and grocery shopping habits. 

Seeking the perfect man to lead this new task, Wilson recruited mining magnate and foreign aid worker Herbert Hoover to head the Food Administration. Having earned a reputation for effectively distributing food and humanitarian aid to the refugees of France and Belgium early in the war, Hoover was well suited to the task of managing the culinary needs of Americans. Hoover's Food Administration successfully convinced Americans from all walks of life to do with less: eat less, buy only what is needed, and conserve food products whenever possible. He also encouraged Americans to observe "Meatless Mondays" and "Wheatless Wednesdays" to further drive his point home. So pervasive was this sense of voluntary thriftiness that making do with less came to be known as "Hooverizing!" 
​

For the remainder of the war, Americans tightened their belts and learned how to eat food that was not fancy by any means. Whether it was eating more chicken and fish instead of beef, substituting more vegetables in their diet, or using less wheat and sugar in baking, they did it with the satisfaction of knowing that their efforts made a difference to the men fighting "Over There."

For more information about the phenomenon of "Hooverizing" food during the war, I would highly recommend browsing the "War Fare: From The Home Front To The Frontlines" project published through the National WWI Museum's website. They have also reproduced some recipes from official U.S Food Administration cookbooks, with rationing and ingredient substitution in mind. From time to time, I will be cooking some of these recipes myself and sharing the results on this blog! I have included the link to the "War Fare" online project below:

 http://exhibitions.theworldwar.org/war-fare/#/

​-Jordan

Greetings Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear visitors!

My name is Jordan Heller and I am a student at UW-Milwaukee working on my Masters Degree in Public History. I graduated from UW-Green Bay in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in History and Arts Management. I have recently acquired an internship here at the Chudnow Museum and I am excited to be working with the staff and the museum's vast and eclectic collection.

For those of you who know me well, I have an immense passion for history in all shapes and sizes. In particular, I have been fascinated by the history of the First World War. I have considered myself more of a World War Two history buff, but in the months and years leading up to the Centenary of World War One in 2014, I have been even more interested in the history behind this conflict. Ever since the start of the centenary (in Europe) in July 2014, I have worked hard to read, view, and generally get my hands on anything involving WWI history. It has since become a new passion of mine and has guided and inspired my studies all throughout college and into graduate school.

To many, WWI seems like an incredibly distant memory. The United States was a combatant for only 19 months from April 1917 to November 1918--a blink of the eye in most history textbooks. Outside of history books, the only exposure some people have to WWI is through Snoopy's imagined career as a Royal Flying Corps pilot seeking a fight with the Red Baron in Charles Schulz's Peanuts comics or through movies such as The African Queen, Legends of the Fall, All Quiet on the Western Front, or more recently, Wonder Woman. We can also attribute this lack of perspective through the lack of surviving WWI veterans; the last American veteran who served in the war, Frank Buckles, died in 2011. Compared to the significant--but steadily decreasing--remaining population of WWII veterans, most people alive today do not have a personal connection to WWI through the stories of those who lived through it.

This is where my work as a prospective historian comes in. I feel that the best way for people to gain an appreciation of history is by understanding it through a highly personal perspectve. History is more than reading about dates and famous people in textbooks; the who, why, and how is more important than the what and when. Through this blog published by the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear, I hope to encourage people near and far to learn about World War One almost as if they are experiencing it as it happened. Utilizing pieces from the Chudnow Museum's collection and outside, I aim to provide a personalized and approachable history of "The Great War" through a series of posts throughout the year.

I look forward to writing this blog, and I hope that you all enjoy reading and learning from it.

​Jordan Heller

​The Reidel Company of Milwaukee began making and selling marshmallows early in the first decade of the 20th century. They were not alone in this pursuit as other confectioners like Ziegler, American Candy, Johnston and Eline’s took a piece of the marshmallow pie, as it were. However, Imperial Foods/Reidel struck upon the concept of making their brand synonymous with roasting the sweet treat while cooking outdoors.1 Campfire continued to be the market leader with ideas such as rounding the marshmallow to make them easier to stir and use for baking, packaging them in a wax-lined, cardboard box with exterior wrapper to keep them soft and fresh, and encouraging cooks to try them with foods such as hot chocolate and sweet potatoes or even in green salads or meatloaf.

n the middle of the 20th century, Borden Inc. went on a buying spree which in 1964 included the The Angelus Company brands of Campfire3 (and Cracker Jack). As a novelty collectible, the company made reproductions of the 1910s and 1920s which are easy to distinguish from more valuable originals as they include the Borden’s logo. Unfortunately for Borden, further spending sprees, the large variety of brands and debts incurred acquiring them, proved to be too unwieldy and the company lost brands and was acquired towards the end of the century. 
 
Since 2003, Campfire has been part of the Doumak, Inc which is headquartered just outside of Chicago.4 The company has again embraced the roots of innovation and multiple uses for this confection. 2017 is the hundredth anniversary of Campfire marshmallows and it is aiming to last for at least another century.

Thanks to Doumak, Inc. we can offer this vintage Campfire merchandise on Amazon:

​by Joel Willems, curator

        -All images used are in the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear collection-
1.http://www.campfiremarshmallows.com/campfire-history/
2.http://www.twisted-candy.com/crispies-treats-history.html
3.http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/businesses-and-occupations/borden-inc
4.http://www.campfiremarshmallows.com/campfire-history/