Antisemitic Der Stürmer advertising flier showing several Jewish people smiling
Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Antisemitic flier for the Der Stürmer newspaper showing photographic images of the “devilish grins” of Jews. The text claims that Jews are born criminals, who are incapable of laughter, and can only smile nefariously, which implies their untrustworthy nature. Two versions of the flier were published: this one with red lettering and an advertisement on the bottom, and one with black-and-white text without a bottom advertisement. The antisemitic newspaper was founded by Julius Streicher and published from 1923 to 1945. Striecher used the paper as a platform to foment public hatred of the Jewish race. The paper blamed Jews for the depression, unemployment, and inflation in Germany as well as rape and other crimes against the German people. Der Stürmer also accused Jews of "blood libel" or "Jewish ritual murder" antisemitic fabrications that were common in the Middle Ages. They claimed that Jews used Christian blood, usually from children, obtained from a torturous ritual sacrifice to perform religious ceremonies. The paper often featured crude and distasteful cartoons that showed Jewish people as ugly, with exaggerated features and misshapen bodies. The paper became very popular, eventually reaching a circulation of 800,000. After the war ended, Streicher was arrested by the US Army in May 1945. He was tried by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, convicted, and executed per the ruling that his repeated publication of articles calling for the annihilation of the Jewish race were a direct indictment to murder and a crime against humanity.
- Title
- Wenn Juden lachen
- Alternate Title
- When Jews Laugh
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
1937-1938
- Geography
-
publication:
Nuremberg (Germany)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Leslie John Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
- Markings
- front, center, printed, red ink : Wenn / Juden / lachen [When Jews laugh]
front, within image, bottom right, printed, black ink : Die Juden sind geborene Verbrecher. Sie können nicht frei und offen lachen, / Ihr Gesicht verzieht sich lediglich zu einem teuflischen Grinsen [The Jews are born criminals. They cannot laugh freely and openly, their face only grows in a devilish grin]
front, bottom, printed, red ink : Lesen Sie die neueste Ausgabe 11 des Stürmers [Read the latest issue 11 of the Attackers] - Contributor
-
Publisher:
Der Stu?rmer
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Classification
-
Information Forms
- Category
-
Fliers
- Object Type
-
Advertising fliers (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Posters.
- Physical Description
- Offset lithographic advertising flier printed on tan-colored paper. The flier has black-and-white photographic portrait images of ten men and one woman. The images are overlaid on top of one another and arranged around three, short lines of large, red, cursive font in the center of the page. They are well-dressed with collared shirts and jackets. Five of the men wear flat caps, while an older man wears a brimmed hat, and the largest, central figure wears a yarmulke. The figures are situated in different poses, though they are all depicted looking towards the front and smiling. There is a line of red text in the bottom border, and two lines of small, black text in the bottom right of the image. The left edge has a worn surface, and the back, right edge has a discolored patch at the center.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 17.000 inches (43.18 cm) | Width: 12.000 inches (30.48 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 flier was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by Mr. Leslie Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-05-24 16:13:04
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn8314
