One of the complexities of the rise of Nazi antisemitism and propaganda is that it developed in a generation and country where, perhaps more than any other time in history, the Jews were less visible, more assimilated and immersed in the local gentile culture than anywhere else in recorded history. German Jews as a whole were nationalistic, proud Germans, and their religion was for the most part a private affair.
A rare original poster I acquired recently was the result of one group of Jews’ response to the rise of Hitler to power. Published by The Association of German National Jews (German: Verband nationaldeutscher Juden), this organization’s stated goal was the total assimilation of German Jewry, the forced removal of Eastern European Jews from Germany and self-eradication of Jewish identity. They believed that this would be the final solution to antisemitism.
In this poster, the organization expresses the idea that the majority of German Jews identify more with their German identity than with their Judaism, and that Zionists, who are not willing to assimilate, should be ousted. The poster was printed most likely in the early 1930s. In this era, after Hitler’s rise to power, this organization put out the following statement: “We have always held the well-being of the German people and the fatherland, to which we feel inextricably linked, above our own well-being. Thus, we greeted the results of January 1933, even though it has brought hardship for us personally.” The irony of their supporting Hitler was not lost on their brethren, who joked that the Association ended their meetings with the slogan “Down With Us!” and a Nazi Salute.
Despite their loyalty to Germany and Hitler, the organization did not sit well with the Nazi Party and was forcibly disbanded in 1935. The founder of the group, Max Naumann, was arrested by the Gestapo on Nov 18 1835 and sent to the infamous Columbia concentration camp. He eventually died from sickness in May of 1939.
