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Poster of a Jewish man whipping tops with faces of Allied leaders

Object | Accession Number: 1998.139.2

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    Poster of a Jewish man whipping tops with faces of Allied leaders
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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Antisemitic, anti-Allies poster acquired by Raymond Rocca in 1945 when he was a United States soldier serving in Rome, Italy. The poster depicts a Jewish man using a whip to spin dreidels with caricatures of the Allied leaders, Franklin Roosevelt, Alcide De Gasperi, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. Italy, under the Fascist dictatorship of Mussolini, was an Axis member and entered World War II (1939-1945) as an ally of Germany. In May 1943, the Axis campaign in North Africa collapsed and they surrendered to the Allies. That July, Allied forces invaded Sicily. Mussolini was arrested by his own government and, in September, Italy unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. Germany then occupied north and central Italy. They launched an offensive that confined Allied troops to the south for 20 months marked by the most ferocious battles of the war. The German SS launched systematic deportations of Jews and engaged in severe reprisals against Italian partisans and civilians. The Allies broke the stalemate in late spring 1944, but never won a decisive victory. The war ended with Germany's surrender in May 1945.
    Artwork Title
    Israele Si Diverte
    Alternate Title
    The Jew Having Fun
    Date
    publication/distribution:  approximately 1944-1945
    Geography
    publication: Italy
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mary Rocca
    Markings
    front, bottom center, red ink : ISRAELE SI DIVERTE [Israel has fun]

    Physical Details

    Language
    Italian
    Classification
    Posters
    Category
    War propaganda
    Physical Description
    Poster in black ink on paper with a caricature of an oversized man, standing with rolled up shirtsleeves, brandishing a long whip labeled Giudaismo [Judaism] in his raised right hand. He wears a checked shirt, high waisted cuffed pants, and oxfords. He has pronounced Jewish features: curly hair, thick eyebrows, a short forked beard with a trim mustache, an extremely long, hooked nose, and open, fleshy lips. The tops have caricatured faces: on the left is a man with a long face, pince nez, and teeth gritted in a smile, Roosevelt; the next face is smaller, bald with a set mouth and circular glasses, Gaspari; then a round, bald face, frowning and clenching a cigar, Churchill, and finally, a stern looking man with thick black hair, unibrow, and mustache, Stalin. The title is in Italian across the bottom. See 2016.184.357 for another version of this poster.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 18.375 inches (46.673 cm) | Width: 13.750 inches (34.925 cm)
    Materials
    overall : paper, ink

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1998 by Mary Rocca, wife of Raymond Rocca.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2024-04-29 07:55:58
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn515267

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