Blue, green, and brown beer stein with images of the expulsion of the Jews
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 9.250 inches (23.495 cm) | Width: 4.250 inches (10.795 cm) | Depth: 5.500 inches (13.97 cm)
Creator(s)
- Dümler & Breiden (Manufacturer)
- Peter Dümler (Designer)
- Peter Ehrenthal (Compiler)
Biographical History
The Katz Ehrenthal Collection is a collection of more than 900 objects depicting Jews and antisemitic and anti-Jewish propaganda from the medieval to the modern era, in Europe, Russia, and the United States. The collection was amassed by Peter Ehrenthal, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, to document the pervasive history of anti-Jewish hatred in Western art, politics and popular culture. It includes crude folk art as well as pieces created by Europe's finest craftsmen, prints and periodical illustrations, posters, paintings, decorative art, and toys and everyday household items decorated with depictions of stereotypical Jewish figures.
Peter Dümler was born on November 7, 1860, in Höhr, Prussia, which became Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany. Peter married Bertha Breiden. The couple had five children, including a son, Paul. They lived in a double house with Bertha’s brother and Peter’s childhood friend, Albert Breiden (1860-1926). Peter and Albert became potters and were trained by Simon Peter Gerz (1830-1893), Albert’s uncle. Peter was also trained by Reinhold Hanke (1839-1886). In approximately 1883, Peter and Albert formed a ceramics manufacturing company, Dümler and Breiden. Peter was the designer and modeler and Albert ran the factory. They initially made practical crockery and won first place prizes in exhibits in Antwerp and Koblenz in 1885. In about 1890, they began producing steins. Peter, age 46, died on April 19, 1907, in Germany.
Archival History
The beer stein was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by the Katz Family.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Katz Family
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Blue, brown, and black ceramic beer stein with antisemitic scenes depicting Jews being expelled from Germany and back to their kosher nation. Steins with anti-Jewish images were very popular in late 19th century Germany. The constitution of the newly unified Germany, adopted in 1871, emancipated all Jews. The following decades saw a surge in anti-semitism. It was more vicious and openly expressed, and became a popular cause for several political parties. This beer stein is one of more than 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic visual materials.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Cylindrical, offwhite glazed ceramic stein with a bas-relief design with red-brown and gray coloring, a curved handle with geometric decoration, and a lid with a pewter rim, flat ceramic disc inlay, pewter thumblift, and pewter mountings. The inlay relief has a German text circling the top border and depicts a Jewish man in left profile with a grim expression and a very large hooked nose marching on barren, uneven ground. He has a walking stick in his right hand and carries his belongings in a sack tied to a stick held on his left shoulder. The stein has a plain offwhite rim, then several bands decorated and glazed light purple with molded geometric and floral patterns. The body of the stein has a top panel with red-brown glaze decorated with 5 medallions with captioned portraits of Jewish men, a black medallion with German text, and 2 reliefs of a majestic domed temple. Covering most of the body is a large panel with with 2 scenes showing the expulsion of Jews from Germany, with blue skies and black accents. The Jews have large, hooked noses and wear hats and long coats or dresses. In the left image, a German man stands on the left, pointing forward. He is surrounded by a crowned German eagle, flowers, and a townscape. In front of him is a crowd of Jewish men with walking sticks and sacks, fronted by 2 dogs with large nosed, human faces. The right image depicts the Jews arriving into the harbor in Israel on a large boat with human faces with large noses. On the shore are several tents and Jews dancing around a golden calf statue. Both panels have German text. The flared base has a green, geometric patterned band and a mold number.
Subjects
- Folk art--Germany.
- Jews in art.
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons--19th century.
- Antisemitism--Germany--19th century--Art.
- Antisemitism in art.
- Anti-Jewish propaganda.
Genre
- Household Utensils
- Object