Large collection of issues of the Hungarian antisemitic newspaper Herco-Pater - late 19th century

Large collection of issues of the Hungarian antisemitic newspaper Herco-Pater - late 19th century

A large collection of 52 issues of the year 1898 [January-December] of the rare Hungarian antisemitic weekly herko-pater - Budapest. The issues contain a very wide range of large cartoons that mock the Jew and warn of the danger of the Jews taking over the Hungarian economy and government, and convey the message that the Jew is the source of all the ills of Hungarian society - from the earliest rare venomous antisemitic publications known to us today.

The weekly, which is published every Sunday by Julius Markus, focused on presenting the stereotypical figure of the Jew in a ridiculous and blatant way. On the cover of each issue appears a large antisemitic cartoon mocking Eastern European Jews, and hateful words about his attempt to take over the Hungarian centers of power and rule. In many of the issues the middle pages were devoted to a large antisemitic cartoon over two pages. For example, in the issue of October 2, 1898, a particularly stinging antisemitic cartoon appears in which the President of the Republic is seen in a cage, surrounded by Jews with stereotypical faces and the antisemitic caption that accompanies: ISRAELITE ALLIANS, and "The unfortunate cat is trapped in the mousetrap! So many Jewish mice dancing around! But Orleans' cat comes from behind the mountain" (at the top of the cartoon the Hungarian army is seen emerging from behind and waving its sword on the Jews that threatening the republic for the salvation of the Hungarian nation from the Jewish takeover). Another cartoon shows two Jews mocking the Hungarian army's effort, with a flag flown over the soldier who was forced to bend under the control of the Jews, and writing the word "kosher" in Hebrew, threatening that in a short time the Jew would be the one to mourn. A cartoon in another issue depicts the power relations between the Jew and the local Hungarian, which changed in favor of the Jews between 1873 and 1898. In 1873 the rich and respectable Christian Hungarian distributes charity money to the begging and poor Jew, while in 1898, the Jew who became rich at the expense of the Hungarian society seemed relaxed and fat, In front of the local Hungarian who became thin and pleaded for the mercy of the Jew, and an antisemitic caption about the takeover of the Jews. Another cartoon shows a map of Europe with illustrations showing how the Jew is persecuted and pays a price for his deeds in each country, while only in Hungary he gets control and gets decent treatment - and the antisemitic caption: "Jews have a lot of trouble everywhere, while only here they swim in milk and butter" - and an illustration of a local feed the Jewish. (From the early maps that presented the antisemitic image in a worldwide spreading).

Likewise in all issues there are articles, poems, folk tales, and harsh antisemitic columnists dealing with the Jewish character in a racial way and the danger it poses to Hungarian society. The figure of the Jew shown in the cartoons appears in two ways - in long Eastern European attire and long peot, and otherwise in the form of the rich Westerner who threatens the economy.

The new Hungarian Kingdom, founded in 1867, first enacted the Emancipation Law, which gives Jews equal rights to all citizens of the country. In 1895 further progress was made and even the Jewish religion was recognized as one of the religions in the country, and gained equal status with the Catholic religion and the Protestant religion. As a result, the proportion of Jews among the leaders in economic, commercial, legal, and cultural life rose rapidly toward the end of the 19th century. While their share of the general population was about four percent, about half of the merchants, doctors and lawyers were Jews. As a result, a widespread antisemitic awakening began, whose flagship theme was MP Victor Ishtuzi. Against this background, the weekly before us was published. The purpose of the issues was to highlight the different and to emphasize the inferiority of the 'undeveloped' Eastern European Jew in the face of Hungarian 'contemporary' society, in order to fight the recognition that the Jews received in terms of consciousness. In the various issues, countless cartoons appear in the form of the backward Eastern European Jew, and his attempts to take over Hungarian society. In some of the issues the Jew was depicted in the form of various animals, a long time before Nazi anti-Semitism which made extensive use of this image. It was one of the first issues that so exaggerated the image of the Jew.

Due to the rarity of the issues, although they contain countless antisemitic cartoons, there is almost no mention of this weekly in the extensive literature dealing with the study of the phenomenon of antisemitism in the 19th century, nor an analysis of the many cartoons that appeared in it. No mention at all in "Die Juden in der Karikatur" which was published in 1921.

[52] Hardcover bound sheets. Some of the sheets are detached. general condition good.