'Zine Banal Nightmare

“The Torpedoed ‘Lusitania’; Hundreds of Noncombatant Passengers, Women and Children, Assassinated By German Pirates.” Le Petit Journal, May 23, 1915.

It’s interesting to note how many of what we would consider the “big stories” of the day were relegated to the back cover of Le Petit Journal.  The Titanic sinking, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and here, with the attack on the Lusitania.  The reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions about whether this was done for propaganda purposes, or whether the journalists at the time simply thought them less significant events.  In either case, it reminds me of something Warren Ellis wrote recently: “The future is what happens when you’re not looking.”

For what it’s worth, the front cover of this issue is a commemoration of the Garibaldi family on the 55th anniversary of an inconclusive battle fought in Sicily.

“The Germans Burn Their Dead in the Blast Furnaces.” Le Petit Journal, April 16, 1916.

This might be a reference to one of the more bizarre propaganda stories of the First World War - Kadaververwertungsanstalt, “Corpse-Rendering Factories”.  Fats being scarce in the Central Powers due to a British naval blockade, it was rumored the Germans were operating factories behind the front lines to burn their war dead down for the fat to make candles, nitroglycerine, etc.  The source was a German newspaper story, wherein the Allies (perhaps deliberately) mistranslated the German word Kadaver - which refers to non-human corpses in all cases except medical dissection.

The accusations were false, though they naturally enjoyed some popularity in the Allied countries.  Nevertheless, the Nazi regime which was to take power in Germany several years later would turn a similar idea against its civillian population.

I would totally chill out and play army men with H.G. Wells.

“[The Kaiser asks] Is it my turn?…” Le Petit Journal, January 23, 1916.

“General Winter.” Le Petit Journal, January 9, 1916.

[Ed. Note: SANTA NOOOOOOOOOOO]

A Sarajevo Rose marking where an individual was killed by a mortar explosion.

The Dorr Rebellion (1841–1842) was a short-lived armed insurrection in the U.S. state of Rhode Island led by Thomas Wilson Dorr, who was agitating for changes to the state’s electoral system.

First picture is of the Burrington Anthony House at 138 Atwells Avenue in Providence (Courtesy of the State Archives).  The house served as the headquarters for Dorr and his freedom fighters terrorists conspirators.  Second picture is the house as it stands now on the corner of Atwells and Pequot (courtesy of Google Maps) amid some overpriced ethnic eateries.

Further reading.

BONUS IMAGE: Order from Rhode Island Governor Samuel W. King to destroy all bridges over the Blackstone River, if necessary to suppress the Dorr Rebellion.

Executive Department
Prov. June 28th 1842
You will destroy in any way you may think proper all the bridges over the Blackstone river if necessary in your opinion for the safety of the State
Sam W King

One for Rhode Islanders - The Battle of Point Judith:

On May 5, 1945, President (Reichspräsident) of Nazi Germany Karl Dönitz ordered all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases. U-853 was lying in wait off Point Judith, Rhode Island at the time. According to the US Coast Guard, U-853 did not receive that order, or less likely, ignored it.  Soon after, her torpedo blew off the stern of SS Black Point, a 368-foot collier underway from New York to Boston. Within 15 minutes Black Point had sunk in 100 feet of water less than 4 miles south of Point Judith.  She was the last US-flagged merchant ship lost in World War II. Twelve men died, while 34 crew members were rescued. One of the rescuing ships, Yugoslav freighter SS Kamen, sent a report of the torpedoing to authorities. The US Navy organized a “hunter-killer” group that included four American warships: Ericsson, Amick, Atherton, and Moberly.

The group discovered U-853 bottomed in 18 fathoms, and dropped depth charges and hedgehogs during a 16 hour attack. At first the U-boat attempted to flee, and then tried to hide by lying still. Both times it was found by sonar.  The morning of May 6, 1945 two K-Class blimps from Lakehurst, New Jersey, K-16 and K-58, joined the attack, locating oil slicks and marking suspected locations with smoke and dye markers. K-16 also attacked with 7.2-inch rocket bombs. Numerous depth charge and hedgehog attacks from Atherton and Moberly resulted in planking, life rafts, a chart tabletop, clothing, and an officer’s cap floating to the surface. With the loss of all 55 officers and men, U-853 was the second to last U-boat sunk during World War II.  Atherton and Moberly received credit for the kill.

U-853 lies seven miles east of Block Island in 130 feet of water. The US Coast Guard pinpoints the location of the wreck at 41.13 N 71.27 W.  U-853 sits upright with her periscope rising to a depth of 100 feet.  Most of the 55 crew member bodies remain within the hull, which is a war grave.  It is one of the more popular dive sites in Southern New England.  The hull has depth charge blast holes: one forward of the conning tower at the radio room and another in the starboard side of the engine room.   Entering the wreck is dangerous due to debris, sharp metal edges, and confined spaces.

On May 6 and 7, 1945, Navy divers attempted to enter the wreck to recover the captain’s safe and the papers within, but failed.  Recreational divers first visited the site in 1953.  In 1960 a recreational diver brought up a body from the wreck.  This provoked former navy admirals and clergy to petition the US government for restrictions on disturbing the dead.  The German crewman was buried with full military honors in Newport, Rhode Island.  At least two recreational divers have died from exploring the wreckage.  Renowned deep sea diver Stephen Hardick perished in 2005 while filming the U-boat. He surfaced unconscious and could not be revived.  Hardick, age 60, died as the result of saltwater drowning associated with poor health according to the Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s office.

Pictured: Moberly launches a hedgehog attack against U-853.

French reaction to the victory at the first Battle of the Marne. La Petit Journal, September 20, 1914.