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Media Essay

Antisemitism (Abridged Article) - Photograph

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antisemitism boycotts propaganda Aryanization press

The word antisemitism means prejudice against or hatred of Jews. The Holocaust is history’s most extreme example of antisemitism.

The Nazi Party spread antisemitic propaganda to help garner support for many anti-Jewish policies leading ultimately to genocide.

SA members post anti-Jewish boycott signs

An SA member instructs others where to post anti-Jewish boycott signs on a commercial street in Germany. [LCID: 73811]

An SA member instructs others where to post anti-Jewish boycott signs on a commercial street in Germany. A German civilian wearing a Nazi armband holds a sheaf of anti-Jewish boycott signs, while SA members paste them on a Jewish-owned business. Most of the signs read, "Germans defend yourselves against Jewish atrocity propaganda/Buy only at German stores." Germany, ca. April 1, 1933.

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Nazi-era Antisemitic Propaganda Poster

A light blue octopus with a caricature of Winston Churchill as a head hugs a sketched globe in its arms. A six-pointed star, the Star of David, is drawn above its head.

Nazi propaganda cartoon by Seppla (Josef Plank), a political cartoonist. Germany, date uncertain [probably during World War II].

Beginning in the 1920s, Nazi propagandists promoted the antisemitic myth that Jews were engaged in a massive conspiracy to take over the world. This false notion alleged that “international Jewry” used various people and groups as part of a plan for global conquest. At the time, an octopus extending its tentacles over the globe was a common visual metaphor for this myth. 

Seppla likely created this cartoon in the early 1940s, when Nazi Germany was at war with Great Britain. The cartoon shows British politician, Winston Churchill, as the octopus. Above the octopus's head is the Jewish Star of David. The tentacles seem to be losing their grip on the world. In the cartoon, Europe is shown as being free from under the octopus's control.

In Seppla’s cartoon, the octopus seems to symbolize both the antisemitic myth of "international Jewry" and Great Britain. The image suggests that Churchill is a tool of the alleged “conspiracy.” It also suggests that both Jews and Great Britain will be ultimately defeated.

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Cover of a German antisemitic children's book

Cover of a German antisemitic children's book, Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom), published in Germany by Der Stuermer-Verlag. [LCID: 4100a]

Cover of a German antisemitic book for children, Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom), published in Germany by Der Stuermer-Verlag.

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Antisemitic graffiti in Vienna, Austria

A Jewish cafe painted with antisemitic graffiti. Vienna, Austria, November 1938. [LCID: 65639a]

A Jewish-owned cafe in Vienna that was defaced with antisemitic graffiti. Vienna, Austria, November 1938.

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Antisemitic graffiti

Antisemitic graffiti painted on the wall of a Jewish cemetery reads "The death of the Jews will end the Saarland's distress." [LCID: 73939]

Antisemitic graffiti painted on the wall of a Jewish cemetery reads "The death of the Jews will end the Saarland's distress." Berlin, Germany, November 1938.

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Anti-Jewish sign displayed on a restaurant window in Vienna

Viennese pedestrians view a large Nazi sign posted on a restaurant window informing the public that this business is run by an organization ... [LCID: 73943]

Viennese pedestrians view a large Nazi sign posted on a restaurant window informing the public that this business is run by an organization of the Nazi Party and that Jews are not welcome. Vienna, Austria, March-April 1938.

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Park bench marked "Only for Jews"

A woman who is concealing her face sits on a park bench marked "Only for Jews." [LCID: 11195]

A woman who is concealing her face sits on a park bench marked "Only for Jews." Austria, ca. March 1938.

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Storm Troopers stand guard outside a defaced Jewish-owned business

Shortly after the German annexation of Austria, Nazi Storm Troopers stand guard outside a Jewish-owned business. [LCID: 29034]

Shortly after the German annexation of Austria, Nazi Storm Troopers stand guard outside a Jewish-owned business. Graffiti painted on the window states: "You Jewish pig may your hands rot off!" Vienna, Austria, March 1938.

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Poster for the antisemitic museum exhibition Der ewige Jude

A dark antisemtic character of a Jewish man stands in the center of a bright yellow background. In one hand, he holds coins. The other holds a whip. A broken piece of map with a hammer and sickle motif sits under his arm. Bright red and yellow German text scrolls along the bottom.

Poster for the antisemitic museum exhibition Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) characterizes Jews as Marxists, moneylenders, and enslavers. Munich, Germany, November 8, 1937.

Nazi propagandists also created a film of the same name. 

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German boys read an issue of Der Stuermer newspaper

German boys read an issue of Der Stuermer newspaper posted in a display box at the entrance to a Nazi party headquarters in the Dresden ... [LCID: 64415]

German boys read an issue of Der Stuermer newspaper posted in a display box at the entrance to a Nazi Party headquarters in the Dresden region. The German slogan (partially obscured) at the bottom of the display box reads, "The Jews are our misfortune."

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Page from The Poisonous Mushroom

A colored children’s book illustration of a classroom of children with light skin tone. The teacher stands at the head of the classroom behind a lectern looking towards a male child in front of a blackboard. The blackboard is covered in antisemitic sketches.

Page from Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom). This photograph shows a page from one of several antisemitic children's books published by Julius Streicher's Der Stürmer-Verlag, used for indoctrinating youth. The text reads, "The Jewish nose is crooked at its tip. It looks like the number 6."

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Antisemitic children's book illustration

Three children of various ages with light skin tone read several pages from a tabloid newspaper that have been displayed along a wall. Off to the left stand a group of three men in dark clothes and traditional Jewish attire. Each man has been given antisemtic features.

Illustration from a German antisemitic children's book titled Trust No Fox in the Green Meadow and No Jew on his Oath (translation from German). The headlines depicted in the image say "Jews are our misfortune" and "How the Jew cheats." Germany, 1936.

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Illustration from an antisemitic children's book

Illustration from an antisemitic children's primer. [LCID: 10640c]

Illustration from an antisemitic children's book. The sign reads "Jews are not wanted here." Books such as this one used antisemitic caricatures in an attempt to promote Nazi racial ideology. Germany, 1936.

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Anti-Jewish sign

A motorcyclist reads a sign stating "Jews are not welcomed here." [LCID: 97470]

A motorcyclist reads a sign stating "Jews are not welcomed here." Germany, ca. 1935.

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Antisemitic sign outside a town in northern Bavaria

A sign outside a town in northern Bavaria warns: "City of Hersbruck. [LCID: 86302]

A sign outside a town in northern Bavaria warns: "City of Hersbruck. This lovely city of Hersbruck, this glorious spot of earth, was created only for Germans and not for Jews. Jews are therefore not welcome." Hersbruck, Germany, May 4, 1935.

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Anti-Jewish sign on a telephone booth

Sign on a phone booth in Munich that prohibits Jews from using the public telephone. [LCID: 64098]

Sign on a phone booth in Munich that prohibits Jews from using the public telephone. Munich, Germany, 1942.

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