“Anti-Semitism is among the most harrowing topics of 20th-century history,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, President and CEO, New-York Historical Society. “While it is painful to see artifacts from a culture of hatred, understanding how such a horrifying moment in history developed is fundamental to helping us better grasp current events. The moral questions raised by the rise of Nazism in Germany transcend geographical and temporal boundaries, and it is the responsibility of institutions like ours to educate and inspire contemporary audiences to reflect on the roles and responsibilities of individuals, organizations, and nations when confronted with injustice. In addition, anti-Semitism is essential to the history of our city, as New York was so drastically changed by the influx of Europeans escaping Nazism.”
Juden Verboten. Deutschland über alles (Jews forbidden. Germany above all), 1939. The Museum of World War II, Boston. Courtesy New-York Historical Society
Der Stürmer, a weekly tabloid published by Julius Streicher between 1923 and 1945, was the most vitriolic of all anti-Semitic Nazi newspapers in Germany. Photograph by Corrado Serra
Die Nürnberger Gesetz (The Nuremberg Laws), 1935. The Museum of World War II, Boston. Courtesy New-York Historical Society
Kennkarte (Identity card issued to Max Reinhold), March 1939. The Museum of World War II, Boston. Courtesy New-York Historical Society
Fips (Philipp Rupprecht), (German, 1900-75). Der Jude als Rasseschänder (The Jew as Destroyer of the Race), 1934. Publisher: Julius Streicher. The Museum of World War II, Boston. Courtesy New-York Historical Society
“But the Germans—they stand Foursquare. Look, children, and the two compare, The German and the Jew.” From Elvira Bauer’s book Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud auf seinem Eid (Never Trust a Fox on the Green Heath and Never Trust a Jew by His Oath), 1936. Nuremberg: Stürmer Verlag. The Museum of World War II, Boston. Courtesy New-York Historical Society
Unknown artist, Mander s’ischt Zeit! (It’s Time Folks!), 1938. Postcard. The Museum of World War II, Boston. Courtesy New-York Historical Society
The exhibition objects are from the collection of The Museum of World War II in Boston, Massachusetts.