"Bravo, Herr von Papen!"

"Bravo, Herr von Papen!"

Anti-Bolshevik propaganda poster that depicts a skeleton wearing Red Army attire looming menacingly. "Bravo, Herr von Papen! Keep up those emergency decrees, and the pension and pay cuts. That will give us communists our last chance.’ Is that to be what happens? No! Only one man can rescue us from Bolshevism: Adolf Hitler!”

NSDAP

https://www.bytwerk.com/gpa/posters/papen2.jpg

Calvin College, German Propaganda Archive

November 1932

Courtesy of the University of Minnesota Library

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German

Nazi Propaganda

This poster was produced by the NSDAP for the November 1932 election, which would ultimately be the last fair election held by Germany until after the war. In order to best understand the underlying message the piece is conveying, first the historical context in which it was produced must be examined. The Nazi Party was, at the time, riding a wave of momentum from the summer of 1932. They had just secured their largest percentage in a German election with 37% (Lecture 6) and Franz von Papen’s grip on Germany was loosening: he was now employing a “permissive attitude” (Allen 125) with the Sturmabteilung. This progress was not, however, without setback. Franz von Papen was consolidating power in Prussia with a coup d’état on July 20 (Allen 117), and the KPD would see increased support as the fall drew on. (Lecture 6)
Thus, during the November 1932 elections, the Nazi Party faced opposition from two sources— the KPD, the German Communist party, and Franz von Papen, who sought to secure a majority in the Reichstag. This instance of Nazi propaganda highlights von Papen’s weakness— he had been until this point unable to amass a significant base of support. He was, therefore, according to the NSDAP, incapable of culling the rising Bolshevik threat. The poster addresses these weaknesses directly: "Bravo, Herr von Papen! Keep up those emergency decrees, and the pension and pay cuts” Papen is here harshly criticized for tending to his own constituency— an emergency decree to seize power in Prussia, and the use of Article 48 to cut pensions and wages (Bergen 144)— instead of addressing the greater threat to Germany: the rise of Bolshevism.
The function of the text, therefore, is simple— it appeals to working-class Germans, unconcerned with tax cuts nor the political sovereignty of Prussia. Von Papen is depicted as ignoring a problem that is not only festering in his own country, but he is doing so at the expense of the common man. Given his urgency to draw wider support, his portrayal as an incompetent elitist by the NSDAP clearly hindered his goal and drew popular support to Hitler. “In short, the NSDAP succeeded in being all things to all men. This was even reflected in the use of the name in advertisements, which were signed “National Soc. German Wkrs. Party,” “Nat. Socialist Germ. Workers Party,” or other variations according to the needs of the moment.” (Allen 142) The Nazis worked tirelessly to portray themselves in this light— as the party of the working man— representing Franz von Papen as hopelessly out-of-touch with the common man was simply another way to achieve this aim.
In contrast with the more subdued text, the rise of Bolshevism is personified quite clearly by the looming skeleton in Red Army fatigues. This may perhaps be an homage to Marx’s line, “A specter is haunting Europe…” (Marx & Engels 1) Regardless, the figure’s menacing pose and outstretched arms imply a sense of immediacy to the Bolshevik situation. The poster is also printed entirely in shades of red, a fitting color, and furthering the message that Bolshevism is an immediate threat to Germany. Just as the NSDAP positioned itself as a party for the workers of Germany, so too did the KPD. Thus, a more forceful tactic is employed by the NSDAP for swaying working class German Voters: Bolshevism is not characterized by its policies, nor even its successes and failures in the fledgling Soviet Union. Instead, it is characterized only as both foreign and menacing. The skeleton is not wearing a German Stahlhelm, nor German army fatigues— his outfit is notedly foreign— Russian. He is dressed in military garb; almost akin to an invader. And perhaps least subtly, Bolshevism is depicted as a skeleton. These are not appeals to German logic and intellect— they are appeals to emotion. The NSDAP has equated Bolshevism with a physical manifestation of a foreign invader, someone or something that would never have Germany’s best interest at heart. In defining Bolshevism, the Nazi party often avoids specifics; instead, routinely mentioning what it is not: “[Bolshevism opposes] the Nazi goal: ‘the folkish, organic, God-fearing man.’” (Allen 90) The only remaining choice for Working Class German Voters would be the NSDAP. This is related as such by the poster, “Only one man can rescue us from Bolshevism: Adolf Hitler!”
The poster also provides insight into the future of how the NSDAP would view and treat the KPD. The next election— March 1933— was held immediately after the Reichstag fire; which was attributed to Communist conspirators. The Reichstag Fire decree would further cement Hitler’s control over Germany. By November of that same year, all parties save for the NSDAP would be banned. (Lecture 7) Although propaganda always deals partially in hyperbole, there is still some truth in how the “Bolshevik threat” was viewed by the Nazis. It was certainly seen as not something to be taken lightly, and when their opportunity arose, the NSDAP quickly dispatched the KPD.


Allen, William Sheridan. Thalburg: the Nazi Seizure of Power in a Single German Town, 1930 to 1935. 1962.

Bergen, Doris L. War & Genocide: a Concise History of the Holocaust. University of British Columbia Crane Library, 2017.

Lecture 6, History 1049, Brandon Bloch

Lecture 7, History 1049, Brandon Bloch

Marx, Karl, et al. The Communist Manifesto. Monthly Review Press, 1998.


Gordon Goodwin