Ontwerp voor een politieke spotprent: De Voorspelling voor 1917 1887 - 1919

Albert Hahn created this political cartoon, "The Prediction for 1917," using pen and ink. Seated at a table are the personifications of Germany and Austria-Hungary, as an old man and woman playing cards, while a cat watches them. Cards, since antiquity, have been associated with fate and hidden knowledge. The act of laying cards—like reading entrails or tea leaves—is an attempt to perceive future events, a longing deeply embedded in the human psyche. Here, it suggests a desperate effort to control or understand the tumultuous events of World War I. Consider how fortune-telling resurfaces across cultures, from the Tarot decks of Renaissance Europe to ancient oracles. The symbolism shifts, yet the core desire remains: to lift the veil of the unknown. The presence of the cat, historically ambiguous—sometimes a familiar, sometimes a harbinger of ill fortune—adds another layer of subconscious anxiety. The collective memory of such symbols evokes powerful emotions, engaging us in a timeless dialogue about destiny and control.