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Ágnes Tamás
became visible, and, if so, to what extent. The territories of the Hungarian Kingdom
bordered on the Serbian state and a great part of the Serbs of the monarchy lived on
the territory of the Hungarian Kingdom, so the messages of Hungarian caricatures
are interesting because of this aspect. The editor of Borsszem Janké also republished
drawings from European (Polish, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Croatian, and
German) satirical magazines that he wanted to show to his readers, with Hungarian
translations of the captions. Even though the publication of these caricatures—in
great numbers—was the decision of the Hungarian editor, it is worth analyzing the
symbolism of these images, too. These caricatures with translated captions usually
occupied the front page of the advertisement supplement of the magazine, and the
number of countries from which Borsszem Janké reprinted drawings shows that Eu¬
ropean states were also concerned with the Balkan wars.’
My analysis also relies on two Serbian satirical weeklies, Vrac Pogada¢ published
October 1912 to August 1913 in Novi Sad, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian
monarchy, and Brka published October 1912 to August 1913 in Belgrade, in order to
demonstrate the differences and similarities in the visual representations of the con¬
flicts. Both of the Serbian satirical magazines had a Serbian nationalistic orientation,
but the editors of Brka were able to write and draw more directly and independently
than those of Vrac Pogada¢ who lived within the territory of the monarchy.
I use the concept of caricature in a wider sense, understanding not only portraits
but humorous and satirical drawings in general, with ironic or humorous depic¬
tions of everyday life, politics, and wars (Langemeyer 1984: 7). In a caricature, the
illustrator breaks the natural harmony and balance of the parts and uses exaggera¬
tion to create a satirical or humorous effect. The symbols of a caricature are simpler,
more understandable, and more effective for the audience than a text of a scientific
or literary essay (Fuchs, Kraemer 1901: 2-3). In addition, at the beginning of the
twentieth century, not everyone could read. As a contemporary Hungarian eth¬
nographer put it, the illustrations of calendars and satirical magazines “were often
looked through also by those who could not read” (Kiss 1956: 39). The caricatures
contained stereotypes and were instruments of propaganda as well, providing a
good source from which to investigate stereotypes of groups about each other, the
symbols of territorial losses, gains, and demands; the animal symbols referring to
presumed human behavior; and changes in these symbols. It is also worth analyzing
the depiction of the role that the leading European powers played in the conflict
beside the representation of the Balkan nations and the Ottoman Empire. The dif¬
ferences can be noteworthy, not only with regard to the depictions of the periods,
but also with regard to the two Serbian satirical magazines (even if not all issues of
Brka are available), since one of them was published in the territory of the monarchy,
and the other, in Serbia. In my paper I categorize the symbols of satirical weeklies
3 In case of these translated caricatures I will give in brackets the following data: name of the original
newspaper, date of appearance in Borsszem Janké.