You Have People Who Do This to You, too. But It Wasn't Meant to Be That Way! Antisemitic poster by Fips depicting a German shop being cheated by Jewish businessmen
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 26.250 inches (66.675 cm) | Width: 38.875 inches (98.743 cm)
Creator(s)
- Fips (Artist)
- Fips (Subject)
- Waldheim und Eberle (Publisher)
Biographical History
Phillipp Rupprecht (1900-1975) was born in Nuremberg, Germany. He served in the German Navy during World War I. In 1920, he left Germany for Argentina, where he worked as a waiter and cowboy for several years. In the mid-1920s, he returned to Germany and worked as a cartoonist for the Fränkischen Tagespost, a Socialist newspaper. After drawing a cartoon of the Lord Mayor of Nuremberg, Hermann Luppe, Rupprecht was hired as an illustrator for the antisemitic newspaper Der Stürmer, by Julius Streicher, publisher of the paper and a regional leader of the Nazi party. While there, Rupprecht worked under the pen name Fips and became known for his variations on the antisemitic stereotype of the bearded, bulging eyed, large-nosed Jew. In 1938, he illustrated the antisemitic children's book, Der Giftpilz (The Poison Mushroom), published by the Stürmer publishing house. He joined the German Navy in 1939, but was released to create propaganda for the Nazi party. Rupprecht stayed at the paper until the last issue was published on February 22, 1945, and his career ended with the defeat of Germany in May. After the war, Rupprecht was captured by the United States Army and held in the 7th Army Internee Camp #74 in Ludwigsburg, Germany. He was put on trial as part of the de-Nazification process and sentenced to six years hard labor. Rupprecht was released from Eichstätt prison on October 23, 1950. He married twice, had four children, and worked in Munich as a painter and decorator until his death.
Archival History
The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 by Alex Kertesz.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Alex and Boots Kertesz Family
Scope and Content
German antisemitic propaganda poster encouraging Germans to fight against unfair Jewish business practices, by Philipp Rupprecht (Fips). The poster features two heavyset Jewish businessmen at the entrance of a German store. As one enters, the other one exits, in an apparent attempt to swindle money or goods from the store. The image implies the antisemitic trope of the fraudulent, parasitic, Jewish businessman who worships money, and uses it to push the narrative that Jewish greed was a burden to society and German (Aryan) business. Nazi propaganda was used to win the support of millions of Germans, affirm Nazi ideas of racial superiority, and create an atmosphere that tolerated violence against Jews. They communicated their propaganda through art, music, film, radio, books, posters, and other published materials. Philipp Rupprecht, who used the penname Fips, was one of the Nazi’s preeminent propaganda creators. Rupprecht was an artist for Julius Streicher’s Der Stürmer, an antisemitic newspaper that prominently displayed Rupprecht’s work. His illustrations portrayed Jews as heartless and cruel, and featured discriminatory images of Jews with exaggerated facial features, and misshapen bodies. Rupprecht also illustrated the antisemitic children’s book Der Giftpilz (The Poisonous Mushroom).
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Color, offset lithographic poster printed on off-white paper and adhered to a white linen backing. The poster depicts two caricatured, heavyset, Jewish businessmen, wearing trench coats with hats and smoking cigars at the revolving door entrance of a store. One exits, while one simultaneously enters, with a large red arrow with interior white text pointing to each one. The storefront and display windows are filled with a mannequin and objects covered by sheets. There is a line of large black text above and below the image.
People
- Fips, 1900-1975.
Subjects
- Germany.
- Antisemitism--Economic aspects.
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Lithography, German--20th century.
- Anti-Jewish propaganda--Germany.
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Nazi Propaganda--Germany.
Genre
- Posters.
- Posters
- Object