We Workers have awakened Pro-Nazi election poster featuring an oversized Aryan man towering over Germany’s enemies
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 35.430 inches (89.992 cm) | Width: 24.490 inches (62.205 cm)
Creator(s)
- Felix Albrecht (Artist)
- Hermann Müller (Subject)
- Eckert (Printer)
- Heinrich Brüning (Subject)
- Heinz Franke (Publisher)
Biographical History
Felix Albrecht was born on July 6, 1900, in Darmstadt, Germany. He served in World War I as an operating engineer from 1917 through 1918, and was discharged with the rank of sergeant. Beginning in 1925, he studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für bildende Künste in Berlin. After finishing his art studies in 1927, Albrecht found work as a freelance artist, illustrator, book decorator and writer. On May 27, he became a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party), member number 62,499. He worked as a poster designer for the Nazi Party and in 1930 joined the Schutzstaffel (SS). By the end of 1931, Albrecht was working for the Reich Propaganda Directorate, designing graphic posters, postcards, and illustrations for books. Throughout the 1930s, Albrecht worked in various internal Nazi Party agencies as a graphic artist and reached the rank of Hauptsturmführer (head assault leader) in the SS. In 1941, he was part of the Officers Corps of the SS-Kraftfahrschule (driving school) in Vienna. After World War II, Albrecht was captured and held by the Soviets until 1949. After his release he returned to Berlin. Felix Albrecht, aged 80, died on July 27 1980.
Herman Müller was born on May 18, 1876 in Mannheim Germany. In 1893, he joined the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) and worked as the editor of the SDP newspaper Görlitzer Volkszeitung. In July 1914, he was sent to France by his party to coordinate Socialist opposition to World War I. Müller was first elected to the Reichstag in 1916. Following the conclusion of World War I, the German November Revolution dissolved the monarchy and established the Weimar Republic. In 1919 Müller was appointed foreign minister and as such, he signed the Treaty of Versailles for Germany. He was briefly appointed Chancellor in March 1920 until the June elections. In the 1928 elections the SDP became the majority party and Müller was again appointed Chancellor. Shortly after, the Great Depression struck Germany and Müller and the government were unable to effectively mitigate its effects. Müller was forced to resign on March 27, 1929. On March 20, 1931, aged 54, Herman Müller died in Berlin, Germany.
Heinrich Brüning was born on March 30, 1885, in Münster, Germany. He received his doctorate in economics from the University of Bonn in 1915, and afterwards fought and was wounded twice in World War I as a machine gun captain. Following the conclusion of World War I, the German November Revolution dissolved the monarchy and established the Weimar Republic. After the war he was employed in social work for a short time, then as personal assistant to the Prussian minister of welfare, and as director of the Federation of German Trade Unions. In 1924 Brüning was elected to the Reichstag and in 1930 he was appointed Chancellor of Germany. However, without an effective coalition he was unable to govern effectively and resorted to emergency decrees which invoked the president’s emergency powers to dissolve the Reichstag and call for new elections. In 1932, he was forced to resign after losing President Hindenburg’s support. After Hitler and the Nazis gained power Brüning fled Germany and went to the United States in 1935 where he became a professor at Harvard University. After World War II, he returned to Germany and taught at the University of Cologne for a brief period but later returned to the United States. Heinrich Brüning, aged 84, died in Norwich, Vermont on March 30, 1970.
Archival History
The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
German poster for the 1932 Reichstag election showing a giant, muscular Aryan man looking down on dwarfish caricatures of the opposition candidates and German enemies. The poster features caricatures of former German chancellors Hermann Müller and Heinrich Brüning, as well as a figure wielding a bloody knife representing the threat of communism. A figure with stereotypical Jewish features and a newspaper in his pocket, denoting that the press is in the pocket of the Jews, is whispering in Müller’s ear, influencing his actions. Heinrich Brüning is holding a sign that references his use of emergency decrees and reliance on Section 48 of the Weimar Constitution during his term as chancellor from 1930-1932. The sign that the communist is holding shows their party’s interests are decidedly non-German, aligning with Russia and China. Müller’s sign implies that he and his Social Democratic Party work for the interest of the rich while the common man suffers.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Offset lithograph poster printed on faded white paper adhered to a white linen backing with an image of a tall, muscular, blond, Aryan man looking down at the perceived enemies of the German people. He is wearing blue pants and a white shirt and his left arm is at his side with his hand formed into a fist. At the man’s feet are four caricatured dwarfish figures. Between his legs is a bald man in glasses and a brown coat and in front of him are three men in a tight line. The first man is plump with a red hat, glasses and brown suit jacket. The second is a stereotypical Jewish figure with a newspaper in his pocket and he is whispering in the ear of the first man. The third man has red hair underneath a cap and is wearing a red tie and holding a bloody knife in one hand. Three of the figures are holding up signs with gray text. In the background is a monolithic swastika towering over an industrial cityscape against a red sky. The poster has a white, weighted border. A line of alternating black and white text is at the top and two lines of red text in sütterlin and fraktur fonts are at the bottom.
front, bottom left on liner, handwritten, pencil : 16/G front, bottom right on liner, handwritten, pencil : PII 461
People
- Brüning, Heinrich, 1885-1970.
- Müller, Hermann, 1876-1931.
- Albrecht, Felix.
Subjects
- Nazi propaganda--Germany.
- Caricature--Germany.
- Germany. Reichstag--Elections.
- Political campaigns--Germany--History--20th century.
- Caricature--History--20th century.
- Germany--Politics and government--20th century--Posters.
Genre
- Posters
- Object