Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Unused package of fifty Efka cigarette rolling papers manufactured in Nazi Germany. These packets may have been supplied for observers during the war crimes trials held in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1945-46. This brand was very popular in the 1930-1940s and was distributed to German troops. The package has a green graphic design featuring camels and pyramids. Around March 1943, the British psychological warfare unit used Efka Pyramiden packets to distribute propaganda that encouraged German soldiers to malinger, feign illness, or avoid reporting for duty. They reproduced the package sleeve and, in place of cigarette papers, inserted ten thin papers with suggestions for how to avoid work. The small packet could be distributed without notice by placing them in coat pockets or leaving in cafes and could be air dropped.
- Date
-
manufacture:
approximately 1940
- Geography
-
manufacture:
Trossingen (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Estate of Robert L. White
- Markings
- front, upper left, within rectangle, preprinted, green ink : 50
front, upper right, within rectangle, preprinted, green ink : Blatt [Sheets]
front, upper edge, uninked paper on green background : Allerfeinstes Zigaretten Papier / Efka [Ultra Fine Cigarette Paper]
front, center, near lower edge, within banner, printed, green ink : Beste Rohstoffe! Schneeweisser Brand! [The Best Raw Materials! Burns White!]
reverse, top flap, within oval, preprinted, green ink : Efka / Allerfeinstes Zigaretten - Papier / ungummiert [Efka Ultra Fine Cigarette Paper without gum]
reverse, bottom flap, preprinted, green ink : Alleiniger Hersteller : / Efka - Werl Trossingen / (Württbg.) [Sole Manufacturer : Efka-Factory Trossingen (Württbg.)] - Contributor
-
Manufacturer:
Efka Werke Fritz Kiehn Gmbh
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Category
-
Smoking paraphernalia
- Object Type
-
Cigarette paper (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Rectangular light brown cardstock folded in thirds to create a sleeve, open on the short ends, to hold cigarette papers. The graphic design on the front presents a desert scene: in the center are 2 men with 2 camels loaded with a box labelled Efka; on the right are 2 pyramids and a sphinx, flanked by green palm trees. In the upper left and right are 2 rectangles with product information: 50 Blatt. At the bottom is a banner with German text. The paper folds over the back to create a top and bottom flap with horizontal green lines and German text. Inside is a packet of fifty thin, white sheets of rolling paper bound by adhesive on one edge.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 1.625 inches (4.128 cm) | Width: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) | Depth: 0.125 inches (0.318 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
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The cigarette papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by the Estate of Robert L. White.
- 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:
- 2023-02-27 08:46:27
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn516736
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The collection consists of artifacts, documents, and copy prints of photographs relating to the history of the Holocaust.
Date: 1940
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Łódź (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 20 mark note
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Robert L. White papers
Document
The papers contain documents and copy prints of photographs relating to the Holocaust. These items were acquired by Robert L. White over an extended period of time.
Efka Pyramiden cigarette papers in a colorful packet with camels and pyramids made in Nazi Germany
Object
Unused package of fifty Efka cigarette rolling papers manufactured in Nazi Germany. This brand was very popular in the 1930-1940s and was distributed to German troops. The package has a graphic design featuring red camels in front of a red sphinx and and pyramids against white sand and a yellow sky. Around March 1943, the British psychological warfare unit used Efka Pyramiden packets to distribute propaganda that encouraged German soldiers to malinger, feign illness, or avoid reporting for duty. They reproduced the package sleeve and, in place of cigarette papers, inserted ten thin papers with suggestions for how to avoid work. The small packet could be distributed without notice by placing them in coat pockets or leaving in cafes and could be air dropped.
