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!”

Antisemitic Postcard: “Greetings from New Jerusalem” (1890s)

Source

Source: “Greetings from New Jerusalem on the Franconian Jordan.” Antisemitic postcard from the “Publishing House of the only Jew-Free Hotel, the Kölner Hof,” in Frankfurt am Main (1890s).
bpk-Bildagentur, Image-No.: 00013510. For rights inquiries, please contact Art Resource at requests@artres.com (North America) or bpk-Bildagentur at kontakt@bpk-bildagentur.de (for all other countries).

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