“The dollar bill has no smell, the Jew does” – Antisemitic dollar-shaped leaflet that unfolds, containing slanderous statements against Jews allegedly controlling the American economy. France, 1942.
On the inside of the “bill, ” which was printed as part of antisemitic propaganda, appear inscriptions targeting the Jewish U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau: “The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is a petty Jew.” In the center of the bill, within a yellow Star of David, is written: “This bill is not valid without Morgenthau’s signature, ” along with accusations blaming Jews for the outbreak of the war: “Is this dollar, which the Anglo-Americans are sending us, enough to compensate us for the misery of the Jewish war? The dollar bill has no smell, the Jew does, ” and more.
These “bills” were dropped from airplanes flying over Paris as part of a German propaganda campaign linking the Jewish conspiracy to the United States’ growing role in the war against Germany. The streets filled with what appeared at first glance to be real dollar bills, and crowds rushed to collect them. Upon inspection, it became clear they were antisemitic leaflets targeting the Jew said to control American currency, through which the war against the Axis powers was being waged.
See also: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, catalog no. 2006.96.1.
here
Unfolded – 31×7 cm. Stains and minor tears (a vertical tear along part of the fold line on the back of the bill). Good-moderate condition.
