Bidspirit auction | The Holy Plutocracy - An

The Holy Plutocracy - An antisemitic caricature booklet published in Nazi Germany - Churchill as the servant of Jewish interests. Weimar, 1941 - Die heilige Plutokrazia - ”The Holy Plutocracy - Political Satire in Verse and Pictures.” Written and illustrated by the German caricaturist Otto Schendel. Alexander Duncker Verlag, Weimar. Nazi Germany, 1941. Extremely rare. Rare antisemitic publication from the Third Reich period. The book's subtitle defines it as ”A Political Satire in Verse and Pictures” (Eine politische Satire in Versen und Bildern). The term ”plutocracy” (rule by the wealthy) was one of the key expressions directed against the Jews and employed by the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. The illustration on the cover depicts a ludicrous figure of a hypocritical clergyman holding a prayer book in one hand and a money bag bearing the British pound sterling symbol in the other. Nazi propaganda habitually attacked the Western powers (especially Great Britain and the United States) as corrupt ”plutocracies” in which money and capital governed the state under the guise of democracy, Christian morality, or humanitarian values. The pages of the book contain countless antisemitic and anti-Western caricatures in which Schendel directly links capitalist ”plutocracy” with Jewry, employing classic antisemitic stereotypes portraying exploitative Jews as those pulling the strings of Britain and America behind the scenes in order to profit from the war, and as money-grubbers. Financiers are depicted in grotesque fashion - fat figures with long noses - as the antithesis of the honest German worker devoted to his people and his state. Thus, the book presents stories in verse and simple illustrations (similar to classic German children's books such as Max and Moritz), yet here they are laden with the regime's crude and virulent antisemitic messages. One caricature, for example, depicts a Jewish figure wearing a top hat and fleeing while water is being poured on him from a window: ”With bowed (or crowned) head, the Jew flees away. As a consolation, he rather enjoys it...”. Another ludicrous character named ”Moses, ” representing the Jew, appears in various caricatures: ”Then Moses whispers with a smile: 'I!! What the press cannot achieve through print (pressure), the nimble tongue accomplishes with ease!״ Here Schendel presents the antisemitic stereotype according to which the Jews control the press, the media, and public consciousness, and are capable of manipulating the masses and politicians through intrigue, corruption, and behind-the-scenes influence. Likewise, the ludicrous figure of Winston Churchill accompanies the book in caricatures portraying him as a hypocritical and submissive leader acting at the behest of the Jews. Extremely rare. Not recorded in the WorldCat global library catalogue. 94, [2] pages. Ownership stamp on the front endpaper: ”Paul Schulz-Hildebrandt / HAMBURG / Höltystraße 17.” A complete copy with the illustrated dust jacket. Good condition.