‘On the Schuman Plan. Right! — Now that we’ve got the right starting handle in the right place, it would be strange if neither of us managed to get this car going again!’ In May 1950, German cartoonist Roland Stigulinszky illustrates the efforts made by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman to restart the engine of European integration, with the encouragements of the crowd. Sat in the car with a European flag, we see the main European leaders and politicians, including General de Gaulle, Italian Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi, Belgian Paul-Henri Spaak and Luxembourg Foreign Minister Joseph Bech.

‘Franco-German discussions. And don’t come back to see me without Alsace and Lorraine!’ On 25 January 1950, one week after Robert Schuman’s trip to West Germany, French cartoonist Louis Mitelberg illustrates the somewhat strained discussions between the French Foreign Minister and the Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. The Federal German Government’s pleas for an end to the special status of the Saar and for the territory to be reincorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) are met with blunt refusal from France. The Saar question is the source of a great deal of tension between the two countries. The reference in the cartoon to Alsace and Lorraine also recalls previous territorial disputes with the German neighbour. On the steps we see French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman (on the left) being forcefully ejected by Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

On 24 January 1951, the Belgian daily newspaper La Libre Belgique outlines the positions adopted by the governments of the Six with regard to the extent of supranationality to be granted to the High Authority referred to in the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950.

‘Von Wendel. De Wendel. The Ruhr–Lorraine complex … or family (ef)fusion.’ On 15 May 1950, French cartoonist Louis Mitelberg criticises the proposal by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman to place Franco-German coal and steel production under a joint authority. The cartoonist is of the view that the Schuman Plan only serves the economic and financial interests of wealthy French and German ironmaster dynasties such as the de Wendel family. The two industrialists are wearing hats decorated with a swastika, the symbol used by Nazi Germany, and the ‘Francisque’, a medal awarded by the Vichy regime and the personal symbol of Marshal Pétain (featuring the baton and seven stars representing the military rank of Marshal). For some in French political circles, particularly the communists, Schuman’s proposals are not only a step further towards another war but a betrayal of France, its independence and its freedom.

In his diary, Herbert Blankenhorn, diplomatic adviser to the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, describes how the Chancellor was made aware of events on the eve of Robert Schuman’s declaration of 9 May 1950 on the European coal and steel pool.

On the day after the 9 May 1950 Declaration by Robert Schuman, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the implications of the future European single market.

On 10 May 1950, the German daily newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt welcomes Robert Schuman’s plan to pool the coal and steel industries in Western Europe and emphasises the political and economic advantages of the French proposal.

‘Judicious dismantling. French steel. German coal. The peace pipe. Steel. Coal. This is where the hatchet was buried.’ On 11 and 17 May 1950, German cartoonist Beuth illustrates the economic and political significance of the Schuman Plan, which is contributing to the establishment of closer relations between France and the Federal Republic of Germany within a European coal and steel pool. French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman and Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer are working together to dismantle all the obstacles (the barbed wire) in order to facilitate this new agreement based on French steel and German coal. The political aim is also to bury the hatchet and put an end to the age-old antagonism between France and Germany.

‘Love and coal’. On 13 May 1950, German cartoonist Mirko Szewczuk illustrates the impact of the Schuman Declaration of 9 May, which paves the way to closer cooperation between France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). From left to right: French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman (depicted as Marianne wearing a Phrygian cap) and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (as the German Michel) flirt together on a coal heap, while behind them the Kohlenklau continues his work. The Kohlenklau refers to a coal thief cartoon character created during the Second World War in Germany to urge people not to waste available energy resources. In the post-war context, the image of the coal thief is used to criticise the role played by French mining companies that mine coal in the Saar and send it to France.

‘Sit Europa in the saddle — she’ll know how to ride!’ On 13 May 1950, German cartoonist Fritz Meinhard highlights the historic nature of the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950 in bringing reconciliation to France and Germany and laying the foundations of a united Europe. Taking inspiration from the Greek myth of the abduction of the princess Europa by Zeus in the guise of a bull, Meinhard emphasises the combined efforts of French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman (on the right) and Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (on the left) to help Europa climb onto the bull, whose markings form a map of the European continent. The cartoonist also makes reference to the famous metaphor used on 11 March 1867 by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the main architect of the future North German Confederation, which would be subjected to Prussian hegemony: Setzen wir Deutschland in den Sattel, reiten wird es schon können.