Louis Raemaekers

Who was Louis Raemaekers?

Louis Raemaekers was a Dutch painter and cartoonist for the Amsterdam Telegraaf during World War I, noted for his anti-German stance.

He was born in Roermond, Netherlands in 1869 as the son of an ethnically German newspaper editor. He worked for the Algemeen Handelsblad from 1906 to 1909. His graphic cartoons depicted the rule of the German military in Belgium, portrayed the Germans as barbarians and Kaiser Wilhelm II as an ally of Satan. The German government offered a reward of 12,000 guilders for Raemaekers, dead or alive. The German government forced the Dutch government to place Raemaekers on trial for 'endangering Dutch neutrality', but a jury acquitted him.

He later left for England because of the bounty on his head. There, his work was published in The Times and he released a collection, Raemaekers Cartoon History of the War, in 1919. 150 of his works toured the United Kingdom and France in an exhibit.