Overview
- Brief Narrative
- 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.
- 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
- exterior, top and bottom, printed, blue ink : Feinste Gummierung [The finest gumming]
exterior, front, upper edge, preprinted, blue ink, 2nd line shaded in red ink : Allerfeinstes Zigaretten ּ Papier / Efka [Ultra Fine Cigarette Paper]
exterior, front, upper left, printed, blue ink : 50
exterior, front, upper right, printed, blue ink : Blatt [Sheets]
exterior, front, center, lower edge, within banner, preprinted blue ink : Beste Gummierung! Brennt schneeweiss! [Best gumming! Burns white as snow!]
exterior, reverse flap, printed, blue ink : Ekfa - ,, Pyramiden ’’ / ALLERFEINSTES ZIGARETTEN – PAPIER [ Efka - ,, Pyramid ’’ / Ultra Fine Cigarette Paper]
interior, front, above and below opening, preprinted, blue ink : Vorzüglich brennend / Für jeden Tabak geeignet [Excellent burning/ Suitable for all tobacco] - 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 offwhite cardstock folded in thirds to create a packet to hold cigarette papers. The multicolored graphic design on the front presents a desert scene with 2 yellow men with 2 red camels loaded with a box labelled Efka on white sand in front of 2 red and white pyramids and a red sphinx againt a yellow background, flanked by green palm trees with a green leafy border above and below. In the upper left and right is product information: 50 Blatt. At the bottom is a white banner with a blue border and German text. The paper folds over the back to create a top and bottom flap with German text. The sides fold in to form a closed packet; all sides have German text. Inside the packet is German text and a central open slot to dispense the fifty thin, white rolling papers.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Width: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 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:
- 2024-11-07 13:56:17
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn516737
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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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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 green packaging sleeve made in Nazi Germany
Object
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.
