Abstract
This color postcard bears the message “Greetings from New Jerusalem
on the Franconian Jordan.” It was an advertisement for the “only
Jew-free hotel” in Frankfurt am Main, the Kölner Hof. Due to its
relatively large Jewish community, Frankfurt was nicknamed
“Neu-Jerusalem” by antisemites. The “Franconian Jordan” is a reference
to the river Main, which originates in and runs through large parts of
the Bavarian region of Franconia. The text—written in the broken German
that was associated with Jewish immigrants to Germany—reads as follows:
“God, how nice it is,/ to be able to go for a walk on the Zeil,/ on the
evening of the Shabbat,/ when the air is so fresh and delightful! /
Leading the way,/ are the young Jews,/ with a mustache on their face,/
and the shiksa in the middle,/ there’s not a more beautiful woman in
sight!/ A fine, sharply curved nose,/ and a slightly pale complexion,/
eyes like a young hare,/ God, how genuine is our race!”