us-005578-irn96810-irn12205
type: RecordSet
archival history: The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1997.
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Miniature propaganda poster printed on off-white paper adhered to a white linen backing. The poster has a teal colored background with two lines of German text in a large, cursive-style font at the top left. 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. The right side of the poster is filled by several paragraphs of black, German text. The poster has a narrow white border, with publication information along the bottom.
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
conditions of use: No restrictions on use
date: 1941 December 03-1941 December 09
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn12205
is or was included in: us-005578-irn96810
record resource extent: overall: Height: 2.800 inches (7.112 cm) | Width: 3.940 inches (10.008 cm) | Depth: 10.000 inches (25.4 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Miniature 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.
title: Insignificant Joke! Word of the Week Miniature German propaganda poster claiming Hitler and the Nazis are not against religion