Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Nazi propaganda broadside issued for the March 5, 1933, Reichstag election in Germany. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933, he called for a new election. On February 27, six days before the election, the Reichstag, the German Parliament, was set on fire. The Nazis blamed the Communists for the fire and the regime was given the authority to jail political opponents without charges and to suspend civil liberties, which included banning newspapers and meetings of opponents or any groups. In this first election under Nazi Party rule, the Nazis received the largest vote percentage, 44%, but still not a majority. On March 23, Hitler was able to have the Reichstag pass the Enabling Act, which gave him dictatorial powers.
- Artwork Title
- Der Reichstag in Flammen!
- Alternate Title
- The Reichstag in Flames!
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
1933 February
- Geography
-
publication:
Berlin (Germany)
distribution: Munich (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, The Abraham and Ruth Goldfarb Family Acquisition Fund
- Markings
- front, title, upper center, black ink : Der Reichstag / in Flammen! [The Reichstag in Flames!]
front, center, black ink : Von Kommunisten in Brand gesteckt! / So würde das ganze Land aussehen, wenn der / Kommunismus und die mit ihm verbündete / Sozialdemokratie auch nur auf ein paar / Monate an die Macht kämen! / Brave Bürger als Geiseln an die Wand gestellt! / Den Bauern der roten Hahn aufs Dach gesetzt! / Wie ein Ausschrei muß es durch Deutschland gehen: / Zerstampft den Kommunismus! / Zersch[mette]rt die Sozialdemokratie! [Set on fire by the Communists! Thus the whole country would look, if Communism allied with Social Democracy came to power for only a few months! Good citizens made hostages to the wall! The farmers of the red rooster on the rooftop! Like a scream, it must go through Germany: Stomp Communism! Shatter Social Democracy!]
front, lower center, black ink : Wählt Hitler Liste 1 [Vote Hitler List 1]
front, lower left edge, black ink : Verantwortlich: Hans Weidemann, München / F. Lück, Berlin [Responsible: Hans Weidemann, Munich / F. Lück, Berlin] - Contributor
-
Publisher:
Franz Lück
Distributor: Hans Weidemann
- Biography
-
Hans Weidemann was born in Essen, Germany on May 22, 1904. He studied at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf and was a trained painter by profession. He joined the Nazi Party in 1927 and was given party number 97,362. In 1933, Weidemann was appointed as a speaker in the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and while there he became a close associate of Joseph Goebbels. On May 25, 1933 Weidemann traveled to the United States to attend the Chicago World’s Fair as a representative of Germany. He was the first member of the Nazi government to enter the U.S. In June 1935, Weidemann was appointed director of Newsreels to influence the public and spread propaganda. He also directed the propaganda film Festliches Nürnberg which chronicled the Nazi Party rallies in Nuremberg in 1936 and 1937. In April 1938, Weidemann joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) number 293,074. After the war he went into hiding and later through the denazification process and worked as a painter. Hans Weidemann, aged 71 died in November 1975.
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Posters
- Category
-
Nazi propaganda
- Object Type
-
Posters, German (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Large, text only, white paper broadside with German text in bold, Fraktur typeface printed in black ink. The title is at the top in large font. The center section has 6 lines of text flanked on the left by a vertical, black rectangle with lines of text above and below. The lower section has Hitler in large font with a large swastika on the left and a large numerical 1 on the right. The typeface varies in size with a few lines and phrases underlined for emphasis. Publication information is near the lower left edge. The poster is creased and discolored with age.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 48.000 inches (121.92 cm) | Width: 33.500 inches (85.09 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 poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004.
- Funding Note
- The acquisition of this collection was made possible by The Abraham and Ruth Goldfarb Family Acquisition Fund.
The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-10-03 13:05:16
- This page:
- http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn522529
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- By Appointment
- Request 21 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
- Request to See This Object
Contact Us
Also in German political and military propaganda collection
The collection consists of artifacts relating to the political and propaganda activities of the Nazi Party in Germany before and during World War II.
Date: 1932-1942
Pattern sheet for an SA uniform jacket with 6 diagrams and a size chart
Object
Sturmabteilung (SA) uniform coat or jacket pattern sheet produced in Munich, Germany, in approximately 1935. The SA was a Nazi paramilitary organization established by Adolf Hitler in Munich in 1921. Commonly known as Brownshirts or Storm Troopers, the SA protected Nazi leaders, marched in Nazi rallies, and terrorized political opponents during Hitler’s rise to power in Weimar Germany. By 1933, SA membership had expanded to nearly two million men. On June 30, 1934, the Night of the Long Knives, SS forces assassinated the head of the SA, Ernst Rohm, and most of the leadership, disempowering the SA.
Pattern sheet for SA uniform trousers with 4 diagrams and a size chart
Object
Sturmabteilung (SA) uniform breeches pattern sheet produced in Munich, Germany, in approximately 1935. The SA was a Nazi paramilitary organization established by Adolf Hitler in Munich in 1921. Known as Brownshirts or Storm Troopers, the SA protected Nazi leaders, marched in Nazi rallies, and terrorized political opponents during Hitler’s rise to power. By 1933, SA membership had expanded to nearly three million men. On June 30, 1934, the Night of the Long Knives, SS forces assassinated the SA head, Ernst Rohm, and most of the leadership, disempowering the SA.
Unused ballot for the referendum to dissolve the Prussian state parliament
Object
Ballot distributed for the August 9, 1931, referendum on the dissolution of the Prussian Landtag [state parliament]. The Prussian state was the largest and most powerful in Germany and the most resistant to Nazi Party candidates. There was a saying that whoever controls Prussia, controls the Reich, and the state became a battleground as the Nazis sought power over all Germany. By allying with the Communists, the Nazis forced this vote to dissolve the Prussian government. The Hitlerites lost, receiving only 37% of the vote. But the violence and riots perpetrated by the Nazis against their opponents in Prussia became an excuse for an attack on the last bulwark of German democracy. On July 17, 1932, Chancellor von Papen issued a decree deposing the Prussian government. The Chancellor was made the Reich Commissioner with full powers over the Prussian state. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany.
Unused ballot with 5 candidates, including Hindenburg and Hitler, for the first 1932 German presidential election
Object
Unused ballot distributed for the first round of the 1932 Presidential election in Germany held March 12. The last election had been held in 1925. By the 1930s, the skilled propaganda campaigns of the Nazi Party had transformed Adolf Hitler from a little known extremist to a leading candidate for President. The first ballot had five candidates with the incumbent President, Paul von Hindenburg, receiving 49.6% of the vote - just short of the majority. A second run-off election between Hindenburg, Hitler, and Thalmann, the Communist candidate, was held on April 10. Hindenburg obtained the largest vote percentage, 53%, and was re-elected to a second seven-year term of office. Hitler received 37% of the vote. On January 30, 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany.
Unused 1932 Reichstag election ballot with 10 political parties
Object
Ballot distributed for the November 6, 1932, Reichstag [Parliament] election in Germany. No political party won a majority in this second election of 1932, but the Nazis received the largest vote percentage, 33%. By the 1930s, the skilled propaganda campaigns of the Nazi Party had transformed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party from a little known extremist group to popular candidates in national elections. In an April 1932 presidential run-off election, Hitler had received 37% of the vote. This November vote was the last democratic national election held in prewar Germany. On January 30, 1933, the recently re-elected President, Paul von Hindenburg, appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany
Handbill with commentary on wartime food ration reductions in Germany
Object
Circular commenting on the April 6, 1942, cuts by the Reich Ministry of Food and Agriculture to the food rations of the German population. It compares the food restrictions introduced by the Nazi regime to those experienced during World War I (1914-1918). That April, weekly bread, fat, and meat rations were significantly reduced. The cuts were explained as due to shortages in the harvests and the increased need to feed the German Army and forced laborers.
