Black-and-white, satirical, wanted poster printed on off-white paper adhered to a white linen backing. At the top is a large, bold title with slightly smaller, bold text divided into three sections just above it. Below and to the left, there are two mugshots of Adolf Hitler labeled with his “real” name, Adolf Schicklgruber, and “alias” Adolf Hitler. To the right, there are large blocks of text, which unflatteringly describe Hitler’s physical appearance, personality, and previous criminal record. Arranged in two rows beneath are 10 fingerprints, five from the left hand, and five from the right, each with a swastika in the middle. Along the bottom are two lines of large, bold text.
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The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009.
overall: Height: 41.500 inches (105.41 cm) | Width: 29.625 inches (75.248 cm)
Anti-Nazi propaganda poster distributed in the United States during World War II. The poster falsely claims that Adolf Hitler’s real name is Adolf Schicklgruber. An assertion which was originated by Hans Habe, a Viennese Jewish writer. The claim was based on the last name of Hitler’s father, who was born Alois Shicklgruber. Before Hitler was born, Alois changed his name and it became Alois Hitler. The motif of Hitler’s “real” name was likely an attempt to ridicule the leader and belittle him to the public. The Adolf Schicklgruber and Hitler “wanted for murder” motifs were also used on other ephemera, such as buttons. The poster was distributed by Fight for Freedom (FFF), an interventionist organization founded in April 1941. The FFF called for the United States to enter the war against Germany, and frequently coordinated with President Roosevelt’s aides, British propagandists, and other interventionist organizations to rally public support. The FFF told Americans the Axis powers were murdering civilians in the countries they occupied, and sponsored rallies to protest mass murders. After the United States entered the war, a wave of American patriotism and anti-Axis sentiment swept through the country. Much of this was manifested through pieces of ephemera such as posters, buttons, pins, cards, toys, and decals. This sentiment continued in America until the end of the war.
Satirical, Hitler wanted for murder poster