Two-sided antisemitic poster of Jews gathered in a town square
The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by the Katz Family.
No restrictions on use
overall: Height: 19.625 inches (49.848 cm) | Width: 25.250 inches (64.135 cm)
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Two sided offset lithograph poster in black ink on paper. It presents a scene of a large crowd of people standing in semicircle a town square. In the center is a man in a cap and ankle-length robe, with a halo and the name Hirsch Hildesheimer. He is addressing an official looking man in a suit who stands above him on the right at the balustrade of an elevated terrace of an imposing building. He is addressed as Furst [Prince] by a uniformed man ascending the terrace stairs. Hildesheimer points at a dead man on the left, in an open coffin, labelled Laskert, ringed by wreaths, flags, and 2 attendants. Near the terrace is a cloaked, crying woman bathed in light, evoking a Madonna, holding a child with a slit throat. The crowd consists of Jews from different classes and professions, including bankers, journalists, criminals, and musicians. Many have stereotyped features, such as large noses. Some historical figures are depicted and identified by name. In the background is a line of pine and oak trees beneath clouds. A thick ray of sun shines through the trees and spotlights the man on the terrace. The scene is framed by bars with oak leaves at the corners and text at the top and bottom. The back has 8 panels of letterpress German text: 1 panel has the title, a 3 leaved stem, a list of other posters in the series, and publication information; 7 panels have a total of 16 paragraphs of closely spaced text.
The Katz Ehrenthal Collection is a collection of more than 900 objects depicting Jews and antisemitic and anti-Jewish propaganda from the medieval to the modern era, in Europe, Russia, and the United States. The collection was amassed by Peter Ehrenthal, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, to document the pervasive history of anti-Jewish hatred in Western art, politics and popular culture. It includes crude folk art as well as pieces created by Europe's finest craftsmen, prints and periodical illustrations, posters, paintings, decorative art, and toys and everyday household items decorated with depictions of stereotypical Jewish figures.
This poster is one of more than 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic visual materials.