Propaganda

World War II in Europe began September 1, 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland, followed by Great Britain and France’s response declaring war on Germany. However, as the “Hossback memorandum” indicates, plans had been proposed at least since 1937 to begin the process of placing Germany on a war footing in Europe (2019.2.8). Hitler began early in his administration with propaganda campaigns to influence German minds so that everyone would be “working toward the Fuhrer.” This included propaganda rationale for invading Poland (2014.1.439). Joseph Goebbels was minister of the agency that managed propaganda and promoted Nazi messaging through the diverse media outlets of the day: art, music, theatre, films, pamphlets, journals, radio, etc., all the while silencing the opposition and bolstering Hitler’s self-image as a messianic figure bent on saving Germany and building a thousand-year Reich. Goebbels promoted a fierce nationalism on one hand and an ardent racial hatred of Jews and other perceived defectives: the Slavs, Communists, the mentally ill or anyone with abnormalities; all were seen as sub-human Untermenschen, or "Lebensunwertes Leben" (life unworthy of life) (2019.2.194) and subject to sterilization, slavery, or death. Blond, blue-eyed, muscular (from performing “real” work) aryan men (vide Riefenstahl’s Olympia) were contrasted in every medium with the hook-nosed, deformed grotesques of the Jewish “race” who belonged nowhere and owed allegiance to themselves alone. The Eternal Jew exhibitions (2012.1.478) depicted Jews in unimaginably negative and unfavorable ways.

The movie Jud Suss (2012.1.492), the pornographic caricatures of Julius Streicher’s tabloids (2012.1.494) portraying Jews as sexual perverts and the antisemitic cartoon books for children (2012.1.546) are merely a few examples of this form of propagandizing where Nazi memes become truth and reality (especially, as Goebbels remarked, if they are repeated often enough), thus facilitating and rationalizing the Nazi “solution to the Jewish problem.” Degenerate “Jewish” art would be contrasted in public exhibitions with, for example, Arno Breker’s, neo-classical, monumental, but ultimately unimaginative forms. Likewise, “Jewish” science or “Jewish” literature had to be expunged from aryan paradise. Hans Schweitzer’s “Mjolnir” cartoons and Goebbels own writings and speeches blamed Jews for Germany’s economic problems (2019.2.217). The “Parole der Woche” was a weekly poster or propaganda card focusing on issues or individuals the Nazis wanted to dwell on to heighten their messaging. Subversive propaganda came as well in the form of postal forgeries of enemy stamps often with antisemitic messages; for example, the head of Britain’s King George VI surmounted with a Jewish star and the hammer and sickle, symbols in the Nazi worldview of the connection between Jews and Communism (2015.2.154). Stamps would also “predict” the end of the British empire (2015.2.155). Parody postcards with caricatures of Churchill (2019.2.132) and Chamberlain (2019.2.135) were not meant to be amusing.

Winston Churchill created the British Political Executive at the beginning of the war to produce propaganda that, to the Germans to whom it was disseminated, seemed authentic but was in fact aimed at damaging morale. Most memorable were Churchill’s broadcasts to rally the British against the Nazi scourge. His very presence in walking among the British civilians who would gather around him in throngs was an important boost to British morale. What came to be known as black propaganda entailed sending subversive, at times subliminal, messages to the Germans, including leaflets, postcards (2019.2.133), and other forms of propaganda dropped from airplanes (2019.2.149).

In America, Roosevelt created the Office of War Information in 1942 to boost production and undermine enemy morale. OWI used available media - especially newsreels and film, posters (e.g., “Rosie the Riveter”) and radio broadcasts - to help mobilize Americans to buy into the war and make them feel they were an important part of the war effort.

The darker arts of espionage - “spywar”- were managed by “Wild Bill” Donovan, head of the OSS, the precursor agency of the CIA. One of his efforts - “Operation Snowflake”- was a parody of the Hitler 12 Pfennig postage stamp - known as the Skull or Death’s Head stamp - wherein the words Deutches Reich (German Empire) were replaced by “Futches Reich” meaning “Lost Empire.” These parody stamps and postcards - while amusing - had a deadly serious purpose and taken together with other forms of propaganda were also intended to demoralize the German public (2012.1.443).

In the realm of American wartime propaganda, mention must be made of the work of Arthur Szyk, a Polish-born artist who thoroughly embraced the promise of democracy and human rights of his adopted country and expressed through his art his commitment to religious and racial tolerance for Jews and blacks. His political commitments, especially his concern over the persecution of European Jews by the Nazis, were expressed in his anti-Axis art as well (2012.1.417e, 2012.1.417a-d), but his patriotism and reverence for America were best displayed in his “Four Freedoms” stamps. Like Norman Rockwell’s posters, these stamps were also inspired by FDR’s 1941 speech before Congress (2012.1.418).

There is a counter-narrative to Szyk’s adoration of America, one that has been proffered as a partial explanation for FDR’s hesitation about entering the war before 1941. Opinion polls taken from the mid-30s to the late 40s in the United States found that at least 60 per cent or more of respondents held a low opinion of Jews. Many felt they had too much power, that they were greedy or dishonest and ultimately a threat to the welfare of America; indeed, more so than any other ethnic or religious group. Some 10 per cent of those polled were even in favor of deporting them. The State Department under FDR was teeming with antisemites, including Breckenridge Long (2016.1.18), a friend of the President who endeavored to keep immigration quotas for Jews artificially low during a time when European Jews were attempting to escape Nazi persecution. The Wagner-Rogers Bill of 1938 would at least have increased the quota of immigrants by allowing entry to 20,000 Jewish children under the age of 14. It never came to a vote, opposed by nationalist organizations and blocked by a Senator from North Carolina. Within a year, most of the refugees of the SS St. Louis were themselves denied visas to enter Cuba and the United States and were forced to return to Europe and the attendant danger of falling into Nazi hands (2016.1.15, 2019.2.198).

The America First Committee, founded in 1940, was opposed to America’s entry into another European war (2019.2.33-.58). Like the British Union of Fascists headed by Britain’s Oswald Mosely (2012.1.64), they believed that such a war would ultimately be instigated by Jews. Among this group were Catholic priest Charles Coughlin, known for his virulent antisemitic rants on radio. His magazine Social Justice (2019.2.59) contained writing indistinguishable from the fevered screeds of Joseph Goebbels, reporting that Jews were behind Communism; that they corrupted culture and politics; and that they were ultimately interested in world domination. The primary source for these beliefs was the discredited forgery Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Joseph P. Kennedy, father of the future president and ambassador to the Court of St. James, urged - as did Britain’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (2014.1.180) - appeasement with Hitler. Charles Lindberg, important spokesperson for America First and an avid admirer of Hitler, downplayed his own antisemitic views but believed nevertheless that Jews exerted too much influence over American culture, and that a European war would ultimately be instigated by them and redound to their benefit.

--Michael D. Bulmash, K1966

Browse the Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection.

Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.

Switch View to Grid View Slideshow

German Antisemitic Postcard

2014.1.20

Front: Black and white rendering of the busts of four Jewish men with pencil writing on the right third of the card. 'Ein Vierblatteriges Kleeblatt' [A four leaf clover] Back: Message handwritten in pencil with green postal stamp and several black hand stamps.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

19th century postally used postcard from Berlin to Zittau, Germany with caricatured drawings of four Jewish men called “a four leaf clover.”
Antisemitic Propaganda Label Antedating Existence of Nazi Party

2019.2.192

Green label with ridged edges and black rectangular border, “Otto Glagau” printed in lower left corner.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Antisemitic propaganda label from around the time of the Weimar Republic and the founding of the Nazi party. The espousal of anti-Jewish sentiment did not have to wait for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Includes a quote from Otto Glagau, a major antisemitic writer of the 19th century: "We can learn something from the Jews. From the baptized minister to the Polish Scrounger, they comprise a single chain.”

[Related item: 2019.2.193]
Antisemitic Propaganda Label Antedating Existence of Nazi Party

2019.2.193

Green label with ridged edges and black rectangular border, “Franz Lizst” printed in lower left corner.

[Related item: 2019.2.192]

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Antisemitic propaganda label from around the time of the Weimar Republic and the founding of the Nazi party. The espousal of anti-Jewish sentiment did not have to wait for Hitler and the Nazi Party. Includes a quote by Franz Liszt, the composer and pianist: “The day will come when all nations amidst which the Jews are dwelling will have to raise the question of their wholesale expulsion, a question which will be one of life or death, good health or chronic disease, peaceful existence or perpetual social fever.”

[Related item: 2019.2.192]
Statement by Henry Ford Pamphlet

2012.1.533

Tan pamphlet in English with title, "Statement by Henry Ford." Interior includes statements by Ford regarding Jews.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Henry Ford’s The International Jew resurrected the canard that a cabal of Jews conspire to achieve power and wealth, and ultimately world domination. Through four volumes of articles originally published in the Dearborn Independent - a newspaper owned by Ford - he mined the discredited forgery The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion to justify his own private prejudices. First published in Russia in 1903, Protocols has been weaponized by antisemites ever since. Hitler himself was familiar with the work and it helped justify his world view. So pleased was he to find in Ford a fellow traveler, he gave him an award.
German Propaganda Postcard Depicting Caricature of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Inscription "WERT KEINEN PFENNING" (Not Worth a Penny)

2019.2.135

Postcard with green postage stamp labelled “Deutsches Reich” in the center and red postage stamp of man in top hat marked “Wert Keinen Pfennig” in the top right corner.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: The denomination “1” has been crossed out. Since the propaganda stamp has no value, a regular stamp was affixed to the postcard.
Elect Hitler Political Flier

2012.1.543

Tan sign with red text. Titled, "Bis zum Weissbluten."

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Flyer related to elections on July 31, 1932. The sign described the economic crisis of joblessness, corruption, and break down of the middle class and so on in Germany. Translation in part:…”The nation woke up and recognized that Hitler predicted correctly as the nation will discover together, and millions will settle up with the guilty ones and those responsible. And now, the betrayers lie in their fear. They hope that the nation is too stupid to see the swindle. They hope they can distract from 13 years mismanagement. They hope they can shake the belief in Hitler. But it's no use! The nation will unite with the largest German party and settle up with the betrayers and will vote on July 31 for the NSDAP.”
Boycott Against Jews in Berlin

2012.1.402

A black and white photograph of a man in Nazi uniform standing outside of a store with a sign telling citizens not to shop at Jewish shops.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

German government-inspired boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933. A member of the SA stands outside a store (possibly Kaufhaus Nathan Israel) with placards reading "Germans! Defend Yourselves! Don't Buy From the Jews."
Label Warning Supporters of Jews

2021.1.41

Circular red and white sticker with anti-semitic depiction of Jewish man on front

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Rare circular label applied to doors of non-Jews who patronized Jewish-owned businesses, part of the overall Nazi effort to persecute Jews by intimidating non-Jewish Germans who do not boycott Jewish places of business. This label reads, “He who buys from Jews is a traitor to the people.”
Label Warning Supporters of Jews

2021.1.42

Circular red and white sticker with the text “Wir wachen” in center

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Rare circular label applied to doors of non-Jews who patronized Jewish-owned businesses, part of the overall Nazi effort to persecute Jews by intimidating non-Jewish Germans who do not boycott Jewish places of business. This label reads, “You bought from the Jew! We are watching.”
German Anti-Soviet Propaganda Stamp

2015.2.149

Green stamp on white serrated paper depicting Stalin in profile facing left. To the left of Stalin is the British crown, and on the right is a hammer and sickle. Titled "This is Jewish War" with Stars of David in the upper corners, and hammer and sickles in the lower corners.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
Third Reich Racial Purity Real Photo Postcard of Women with Disabilities

2019.2.194

Photo of three women standing outside in dresses, back marked with “Schwachsinn Rasse Krankes Volk 14” and 2 Nazi party stamps in blue ink.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

These cards were sent from the German Leadership Office for Officials (police, etc.) perhaps for educational purposes. Handstamps of the organization - Hauptamt fuer Beamte, Reichsleitung - are verso, along with a title “Race-Sick People.” Schwachsinn refers to their mental disability. In the Third Reich, these women would be considered Lebensunwertes Leben (“life unworthy of life”), a blight on the Reich notion of racial purity and an economic burden on the state. Consequently, they would be subject to “mercy killing.” Patients selected for death would be transported to euthanasia centers - six in all - in Germany or Austria.
Antisemitic Essays by German Students

2021.1.39a-d

Four typewritten pages, each filled halfway with text and with the header “Aufsatz.”

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

These short paragraphs were written by German students in the late summer of 1935. It had been two years since Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in Germany, and the indoctrination of children and the citizens was well underway. These students were given a prompt by their teacher: “Why should we be warned about the Jews?” Of course, these paragraphs reflect little originality, which would have been discouraged in any case since the task was to mechanically regurgitate the antisemitic teachings from lectures and the abundant written material available. Some of the students reference Julius Streicher or his grotesque and pornographic Der Stürmer, doubtless taken with the cartoons and Streicher’s concrete depiction of Jews. They describe the typical Jew’s physical characteristics - swarthy, frizzy hair, flat feet, crooked nose, thick head - as though they were describing Streicher’s cartoon characters approaching them on Unter den Linden. So we know Jews fall short in comparison with the ideal Aryan type, but as bad as he looks on the outside he is worse on the inside. Jews want to take over the government, in which case there would be no work, they have bankrupted the factories in Germany, creating a state of unemployment; they sell cheap, “trashy” goods; they have incited the communists against the Germans; they are cowardly as well. Of course, the negative descriptions are unremitting. Evidence to the contrary is not adduced. Jews are referred to as enemies of the people - here again they channel Streicher - and what they have learned in the classroom. As one student concludes, the Jew is not one of us, and he should go back from whence he came.
Antisemitic Envelope

2012.1.467

Green envelope addressed to "An den Reichsverband Deutscher Darm- und Fleischereibedarfsartikel-Händler E.V." Includes red sticker on back.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

The Nazis' use of labels and slogans was an early method to promote antisemitic hatred through the mail system. The following label reads "Kauft Nicht, etc." meaning "Do not shop at department stores. Do not trade with the Jews."
Antisemitic Children’s Book Published by Julius Streicher: Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud auf seinem [Trust No Fox on his Green Heath and No Jew on his Oath]

2012.1.549

A hardcover book with a red cover. Cover includes illustrations of a red fox and a caricature of a Jewish man. Interior includes German text and colorful illustrations.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Translated as "Trust No Fox on The Green Meadow and No Jew on His Oath," this viciously antisemitic children’s cartoon book, published in 1936, was the first of three racist children’s books published by Julius Streicher’s Stürmer firm. It was written by Elvira Bauer, an eighteen-year-old art student and kindergarten teacher. Illustrations were provided by Philipp Rupprecht, also known by his nom de plume as Fips. Children as young as six would be propagandized to recognize the Jew - as distinct from the aryan German - as crafty and exploitative, untrustworthy, greedy, money hoarding, physically repulsive and sexually predatory. The school child would be indoctrinated with old antisemitic tropes and canards from an early age. German youth would learn not only to recognize these repulsive descriptions of Jews, but as well the importance of standing together as a nation to remove the Jew as a threat. Der Stürmer constantly reminded Germans that “the Jews are our misfortune,” and Jewry and its malignant influence had to be destroyed.
Der Schulingsbrief [The Training Letter]

2015.2.177a

Tan cover with brown ink. Stylized Nazi eagle and Swastika in upper left. Brown printed text to the right of it. Title in brown and alternating to white on brown background. Middle shows two swords with a flaming Swastika between them. More brown text on bottom.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Example of a primer on German history, race and so forth published by Robert Ley circa 1934-36. This edition is an example of the official monthly educational publication of the Nazi Party.
Letter from Joseph Goebbels

2012.1.383

Typewritten letter on "Der Reichsminister für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda" stationery. Includes signature on back.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945) was the Nazi minister of propaganda. He worked with Hitler from the earliest days of the Reich, a master of manipulation of the masses who took the lives of his wife and family members in the last days of the war. In this letter, Goebbels, as minister of propaganda, wrote to all Gauleiters. The letter reads, in part: "This year, major events have frequently occurred on the same day or that important public ceremonies could not be carried out because all available dates had already been filled. To avoid this in the future, I would like to have an overview now of the important events in 1937. To that end, in consultation with the Fuhrer's deputy and with reference to the Fuhrer's and Reich Chancellor's decree - RK 13096 B - of Nov. 13, 1936, I am asking you to communicate to me whether there are plans for events of the following nature... 1. Events in which participants are able to be drawn from a circle that extends beyond a single political district [gau] of the NSDAP and in which it is projected that more than 3,000 persons will take part. 2. Events which are planned to invite members of the Reich leadership of the NSDAP or members of the Reich government as guests of honor... would be grateful if I could get your reports by December 31, 1936..."
German Anti-Soviet Propaganda Stamp

2015.2.150

Maroon stamp on white serrated paper depicting the King of England on the left and Joseph Stalin on the right with the British crown between them. Includes the Soverign's Orb, hammer and sickle, Stars of David and a black hand stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
Hitler Stamp

2015.2.151

Purple stamp on white serrated paper depicting Adolf Hitler in profile facing right.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
American Anti-Hitler Propaganda Stamp

2015.2.152

Red stamp on white serrated paper depicting a skeletal Hitler in profile facing right. .

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp: King George with Crown Surmounted by Star of David

2015.2.153

Blue stamp on white serrated paper depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp: King George with Crown Surmounted by Star of David

2015.2.154

Purple stamp on white serrated paper depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head, with a purple hand stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp

2015.2.155

Orange stamp depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head, with a black rectangular stamp promising the liquidation of empire, and a purple hand stamp.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
German Anti-British Propaganda Stamp: King George with Crown Surmounted by Star of David

2015.2.156

Orange stamp depicting King George of England in profile facing left with a crown hovering above his head, with a black rectangular stamp promising the liquidation of empire. Forged stamps like these were common during the war, with enemies hoping to defraud their opponents' postal service, and to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Both the Allies and Axis powers produced forgeries of their enemies' postage stamps. Among these were postal forgeries, which were intended to cause economic disruption by defrauding the adversaries' postal services, and propaganda forgeries, clandestinely distributed to increase dissent and weaken the morale of the enemy population. Propaganda forgeries created by the Nazis included stamps with antisemitic messages. Notable forgeries include spoofs of Great Britain's 1935 Silver Jubilee stamp, with the slogan "This War is a Jewish War," and the 1937 Coronation issue, noting the alliance between Stalin's USSR and Great Britain. Equating Stalinism with Judaism and claiming Nazism was a bulwark against Communism was a major theme of Nazi ideology. The Nazis also issued a set with overprints proclaiming the liquidation of the British Empire. The OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the forerunner of the CIA, ran a mission from Switzerland called "Operation Cornflakes" which involved bombing German mail trains and air-dropping bags of false but properly addressed mail containing Allied propaganda, including propaganda forgeries. The intent was that the false mail would be mixed in with the real mail and delivered by the German postal service. The most striking OSS forgeries mock German Hitler-head stamps, and picture Hitler's face as a partly exposed skull. (from Stampselector).
Antisemitic Exhibition – Munich 1937

2012.1.477

Yellow postcard with an illustration of a stereotyped Jewish man, holding a cane and map with the Communist hammer and sickle in one hand and coins in the other. Includes caption, "Der Ewige Jude" (The Eternal Jew) in type that mirrors Hebrew. Back is addressed to Beita Schniler in blue ink.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

To further promote Nazi antisemitic objectives, a travelling exhibition named “Der Ewige Jude” ("The Eternal Jew") was created in 1937. It appeared in five cities during the following eighteen months. The exhibition depicted Jews - their clothes, facial characteristics, cultural items and art - in every conceivable negative and unfavorable way, and markedly “degenerate” in contrast to the Nazi aryan ideal. This postcard advertising the exhibition - in this case in Munich - depicts a caricatured, unattractive image of a disheveled Jewish man against a yellow background clutching a knotted whip in his left hand with an inset map of the Soviet Union with red Communist hammer and sickle. In his outstretched right hand are gold coins. His eyes are closed against a secret he is hiding: the composite image represents a putative Jewish conspiracy for world domination. The two special cancellations on the back of the postcard commemorate the event.
Postcard for “The Eternal Jew” Antisemitic Exhibition, Vienna, 1938

2012.1.479

White postcard with an illustration of a fat man in pinstripe pants leaning on a desk with a book. Behind him a woman in a blue dress and black apron types.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

To further antisemitic objectives, an exhibition named "Der Ewige Jude” (The Eternal Jew) was established in 1937, three years before the film of the same name. The exhibition depicted Jews in every imaginable negative and unfavorable way. It was to appear in five cities over the course of eighteen months. This postcard is from Vienna. It was later to receive a "favor cancel" in 1943, shown in red.