Then and Now

Title

Then and Now

Subject

Nazi Cartoon

Description

A picture contrasting "then," a Jew taking a German farm, and "now," a Nazi stopping the Jew from doing so.

Creator

Die Brennessel (Nazi Humor Magazine)

Source

Calvin University German Propaganda Archive
https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/images/slides/011634.jpg

Publisher

Calvin University German Propaganda Archive

Date

January 16 1934

Contributor

Michael Gul

Rights

© 2015 by Randall Bytwerk

Format

.jpg image

Language

German

Type

Cartoon

Analysis

In “Then and Now,” a Nazi propaganda cartoon published in Die Brennessel on January 16, 1934, two images draw a sharp contrast between the Weimar and Nazi governments. In the top image, labeled Einst, or “then,” a Jew with a big nose and devilish smile stretches his massive hand over a German farm, while the residents, tiny in comparison to the Jew, are seen running away in fright. By contrast, the bottom image, labeled Jetzt, or “now,” shows a stern Nazi policeman slapping the Jew’s hand with a baton. The Jew is furious, while the German residents happily tend to their farm.
The variety of messages conveyed by this cartoon reflect many key facets of how the Nazis appealed to German voters in late Weimar Germany. The Nazis viewed Communism as a Jewish plot, and one of the core ideologies of Communism is the abolition of private property. Thus, the image of a Nazi protecting people’s property from the Jews is meant to show how Nazis will protect the Germans from Communism. Similarly, the Nazis felt that the Social Democrats and the rest of the Weimar government were too weak to protect the German people, and thus the strong Nazi policeman in this image reminds a voter which party will really protect them. Overall, “Then and Now” serves as a microcosm of the way the Nazi party attracted voters in the early 1930’s.
One of the most striking features of “Then and Now” is the depiction of the greedy Jew, with his diabolical smile, seizing the German farm. At first glance, this portrayal seems to be a rehash of a classic anti-semitic trope — Jews had been stereotyped as money-hungry for centuries in Europe (Lecture 2), and this cartoon is undoubtedly playing off of that stereotype. Yet, the particular form of greed displayed here — land theft — indicates that the cartoon is truly about another hatred of Hitler’s: Communism. Hitler believed that Jews had created Communism “as part of a plot to destroy Germany” (Bergen 56), and connecting Jewish greed with Communist land-theft was an effective way of uniting these issues in people’s minds.
Furthermore, this idea of “Judeo-Bolshevism” served as a strategy to convince otherwise-apathetic Germans to adopt Nazi antisemitism. For example, one man interviewed by Allen said that he was not especially antisemitic, but he “saw the Communist danger, the Communist terror” (Allen 85). Indeed, after the Russian Revolution, and the rise of the German Communist Party, many Germans were concerned about a Communist takeover. Thus, linking these two issues allowed Hitler to capitalize on the fear of Communism to push his antisemitic agenda to the German public.
The second aspect of “Then and Now” that highlights a Nazi electoral strategy is the use of force by the policeman to stop the Judeo-Bolshevist from taking the German house. After the humiliating loss of World War I, many Germans thought that the Social Democratic leadership of the Weimar Republic “symbolized the civilian weaklings who had supposedly betrayed Germany’s fighting heroes” (Bergen 64). Thus, the Nazis portrayed themselves as strong protectors of the German people; the Social Democrats may let the Jew steal your land, but the Nazis will stop him. Indeed, the German family in the “then” picture is portrayed as running away, whereas the “now” family is living happily under Nazi protection.
However, there is a more sinister side to the Nazi use of force highlighted in “Then and Now.” A key Nazi strategy was the constant threat of physical violence, with the omnipresent SA reminding Germans that opposition to the Nazis was not the best idea (Lecture 7). The SA would constantly incite violence in German towns, and “the violence … was another step toward bringing the town’s troubled burghers over to Hitler’s side.” (Allen 68). Thus, viewers of “Then and Now” are reminded that the baton-wielding policeman who is stopping the Jew could just as easily be stopping them.
Overall, the cartoon “Then and Now” is an excellent example of the Nazi’s electoral strategies as they rose to power in the early 1930’s. The Jew depicted as stealing German property reminded voters of both traditional antisemitic tropes and the new threat of Communism. By uniting these two issues, the cartoon expands the reach of each individual ideology. Furthermore, the presence of the Nazi policeman reminds Germans that only the Nazis can protect them from the evil Judeo-Bolshevists, while at the same time sending the message that the Nazis are more than willing to use violence against their enemies. Looking at this cartoon, it is easy to see how effectively Nazis were able to sell their fascist ideology to voters during this critical time in their rise to power.

Works Cited:

Allen, William Sheridan. The Nazi Seizure of Power: the Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945. Echo Point Books & Media, LLC, 2014.

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

Then and Now. Die Brennessel, 16 January 1934. From Calvin University German Propaganda Archive: https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/images/slides/011634.jpg

Collection

Citation

Die Brennessel (Nazi Humor Magazine), “Then and Now,” HIST 1049, accessed March 29, 2024, https://hist1049-20.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/items/show/27.

Output Formats