Insignificant Joke! Word of the Week German propaganda poster claiming Hitler and the Nazis are not against religion

Identifier
irn3766
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1990.333.53
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 33.250 inches (84.455 cm) | Width: 47.500 inches (120.65 cm)

Creator(s)

Archival History

The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection

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

German propaganda poster, issued the week of December 3 to December 9, 1941, from the Parole der Woche (Word of the Week) series. The poster shows an unflattering picture of United States President Franklin Roosevelt. The German text claims that Roosevelt is a Jewish puppet that said that the Nazis wish to destroy all religion. To refute this, the poster quotes a speech Adolf Hitler gave on November 8, 1941, at Löwenbräukeller in Munich, Germany, to commemorate the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch. In the speech, Hitler claims that he does not care what religion a person is. He goes on to falsely claim that religious leaders in the U.S. are barred from speaking out against the state, and that soldiers cannot attend religious ceremonies. The relationship between the Nazi party and religion was complex. Initially, the Party was not openly hostile to the Protestant and Catholic Churches; however, the Party believed that Christianity and Nazism were ideologically incompatible. The Nazi government signed a Concordat with the Vatican, stating it would recognize the Nazi regime, which would in turn would not interfere in the Catholic Church. However, the Concordat was broken by the Nazis with the passage of anti-religious policies to undermine the church’s influence in 1935. The first Word of the Week Series of posters (also referred to as Wandzeitung, or wall newspapers), were distributed on March 16, 1936. The series used colorful, often derogatory caricatures, and photorealistic images with vibrant language to target political adversaries, Jews, Communists, and Germany’s enemies during the war. The series was discontinued in 1943.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Conditions Governing Reproduction

No restrictions on use

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Offset lithographic poster printed on off-white paper adhered to a white linen backing. The left third of the poster has a teal colored background with two lines of German text in a large, cursive-style font at the top. Below, there is a black and white photographic image with a large, illustrated, black thumbtack in the top right corner pinning it in place. The image is a headshot of Franklin Roosevelt with an exaggerated frown on his face. In the top right corner of this section is a small logo consisting of a line of text arranged in a circle around three larger letters. The right two-thirds of the poster is filled by a black background with several paragraphs of teal, German text, punctuated with sections of white underlined text. The poster has a narrow white border, with discoloration and traces of printing ink throughout. There are small losses along the edges, and stains along the right side that are likely from liquid.

People

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.