SIMPLICISSIMUS Verlag Knorr & Hirth Kommanditgesellschaft - Issue of the weekly newspaper Simplicissimus - "Very Simple" - published by Knorr & Hirth. Munich, September 3, 1941 - Title page with antisemitic propaganda guided by the Nazi authorities during World War II.
The cover features a colorful caricature of US President Roosevelt (who along with Churchill led the Allied forces against Nazi Germany) performing acrobatics on a circus stage while juggling skulls, wearing a Star of David on his shirt to imply he represents Jewish interests. Along the edges it says "Roosevelt juggles his eight points", with the British flag next to a standing figure. One inside page has a large additional caricature spanning a whole page, depicting a sick patient in bed next to doctors saying "This is a severe case of madness, Doctor, he believes in Anglo-American aid". The captions appear in German and parallel Italian text.
SIMPLICISSIMUS was a German satirical weekly newspaper founded in April 1896 by Albert Langen in Munich, published continuously until 1944 when it ceased, and reappeared between 1954-1967. The newspaper adopted a bold and daring tone accompanied by impressive graphic style. Writers such as Thomas Mann and Rainer Maria Rilke contributed to it. The newspaper covered German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Eretz Israel in 1898, and this issue was banned by the German government - the publisher spent 5 years in exile in Switzerland and was fined 30,000 German gold marks. The caricaturist Heine, was sentenced to 6 months in prison, and the writer Frank Wedekind was sentenced to 7 months. All defendants were accused of "insulting His Majesty." This only served to increase the circulation, which peaked at around 85,000 copies.
During the Weimar period the magazine continued to be published and took a firm stance against extremists on the left and right. With the Nazis' rise to power, the newspaper was attacked and one of its editors, Thomas Theodor Heine - a Jew, was forced to resign and go into exile. In these years the newspaper effectively began serving the antisemitic line led by the Nazi Party by adopting the caricature style of the Nazi magazine Die Brennessel. The writers Karl Arnold, Olaf Gulbransson, Eduard Thöny, Erich Schilling and Wilhelm Schulz were responsible for publishing issues with a prominent and distinct antisemitic character, and were rewarded for this by the Nazis.
Complete issue. 16 p. Very good condition.
