Here comes the first of many COVID-19-related caricatures from the past few months - a sadly unavoidable theme for 2020-2021. This image (titled 'The Berlin choir boy') addresses a universal theme of the summer of 2020: holidays at home as opposed to abroad. The 'choir boy' from Berlin sings 'oh why is the Rhein so beautiful...' while a man attempts to pack for a holiday abroad.
The choir boy's attire identifies him as the voice of government policy discouraging and restricting foreign travel. The caricaturist appears to view this as a persistent and powerful voice, as the man has intruded on another man's personal life. At the same time, the voice is persuasive as it romanticises the idea of a traditional German holiday, poeticising and idealising the Rhein.
This clearly has some effect on the public, as the would-be traveller appears confused and disconcerted as a result of this message. Thus the government's policy is shown to have some level of influence over the decisions of the population. Certainly, 2020 did see many Germans remain in their home country and go on holidays on the North coast or the Black Forest (for more details on recommended popular destinations in Germany, see: https://www.mdr.de/brisant/urlaub-deutschland-geheimtipp-100.html )
However, it is unclear whether the man decides to go ahead with his planned holiday abroad, or whether he takes the choir boy's advice. This rightly suggests that government's word is by no means taken as law. Although the policy did dissuade many people from foreign travel, many others went ahead with their plans and were not prepared to compromise on having a holiday abroad.
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