Caricature of Angela Merkel the Chancellor of Germany and the leader of the Christian Democratic Union by DonkeyHotey on Flickr.
Historically Germany has not always welcomed refugees and asylum seekers. In fact, according to the article Changing Patterns of Immigration to Germany, 1945-1997 by Rainer Münz and Ralf E. Ulrich the German government has often sought to restrict the rising German population. In 2015 Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and leader of the Christian Democratic Union, shocked many European leaders, and the world, as she continuously encouraged and held steadfast to her policy of open borders.
This caricature of Merkel created by the Flickr user DonkeyHotey is just one of numerous artistic representations of Germany’s Chancellor that have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and online in 2015, and 2016 so far. This caricature is of interest to historians who wish to understand the extreme spotlight that illuminated Merkel and her every decision throughout the entirety of 2015, due mainly in the closing months to her immigration policies, which earned her the title of Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
The Flickr user DonkeyHotey seemingly regularly creates humorous political caricatures so this caricature’s intended audience would most likely be people who consume this specific genre of art as well as a generally politically minded population that also appreciates humor. For the purpose of this post though, this caricature, along with the many other artistic representations of its kind, together shape a statement about Merkel in the year 2015 – that she was continuously in the spotlight as Germany, and Europe, together tackled the difficulties of heightened immigration and the implementation of new immigration policy.
Bias in this caricature alone is undetectable, however, bias in the idea it represents of Merkel in 2015 is another story. Time called her, “Chancellor of the Free World,” Newsweek pronounced her, “Europe’s Conscience in the Face of a Refugee Crisis,” and The International Organization for Immigration‘s Director General, William Lacy Swing praised Merkel’s policies, calling her, “a visionary of open borders.”
These labels suggest that throughout 2015 Merkel was applauded and recognized by many popular global news outlets as well as numerous humanitarian organizations, but, growing concerns regarding the safety and security of her policies among Germans coupled with frustration in her party, prove that 2016 may be one of the most difficult years yet for Germany’s Chancellor.
– Maude Molesworth