Those who chose to speak out against the Nazi regime often did so at a grave risk. Penalties for dissension often included prison sentences, intimidation by the Gestapo, and time spent in a concentration camp. As the tide of war turned against Germany, dissent was punished with summary execution in some cases. And yet, people did criticize Hitler and his government over the course of the twelve years of Nazi dictatorship. These two images, anti-Nazi stickers posted in public spaces, are good examples of how some people voiced their opposition to the Nazis and their policies. The first sticker, pasted in an elevator in the Hamburg-America line offices in 1935, plays on the famous Nazi phrase, “The Jews are our misfortune,” by replacing “Jews” with “Nazis.” It also appeared in bathrooms, telephone booths, and other public places throughout Hamburg. The company’s management apparently reported the stickers in the letter seen here in order to avoid negative consequences.  

The second sticker, posted on public pillars, light posts, and shopping display cases in 1942, reveals a frustration with the conditions of wartime. It was a protest against the Nazi propaganda exhibit “The Soviet Paradise” of that year. The sticker points to Germans’ irritation with the decreasing options and availability of food, consumer goods, and the ramping up of the police state with the activities of the Gestapo that came with three years of total warfare.