JF Ptak Science Books Post 2226
In a similar intellectual capacity (though not so much in the same genre) as the great John Heartfield, this cover illustration depicted what many were thinking about the Nazi Party in 1931. It appears as the illustration for Brechen die Nazis die Zinknechschaft?? Raffer und Schwatzer!, printed by the SPD (Sozialdemokratisch Partie Deutschland in 1931. It also seems as though it was a response to the recent NSDAP victories in elections for the Reichstag on 14 September 1930. That election was a major show of the Nazis and a semi-modern meet-and-greet campaign for Hitler, a political blitzkreig (in its way), a showing that had been unseen before in German politics, a production of short and repetitive phrasing, long promises and short details. The result was an incredible win for the Nazis, going from fringe element with a comical leading figure to the second-most powerful party in the country, receiving more than 6 million votes and 107 seats in the Reichstag.
The SDP had a lot to worry about. In the last election the SDP had 153 seats with the Nazis 12; in September 1930 the SDP lost ten seats while the Nazis took 95, outpacing their new rival by over about 2 million popular votes. In the March 1933 election the NSDAP took control of the Reichstag, ending with 288 seats, with the Social Democrats becoming the new second party with 120. This was the beginning of the end–by the third week in March the Enabling Act was pushed through the NSDAP-Reichstag giving Hitler plenary powers with the ability to make laws without the input of the Reichstag. The Act passed following the strong-handed rule-bending, with only the SDP members voting against it. A new election was called in November 1933, with the Nazi Party being the only part to vote for–it received 92% of the vote, consolidating Hitler’s control.
The pamphlet above was a slim 10-pfennig work, a diatribe against the Nazis. The cover art warns the casual browser that once the Nazi mold/Facade (? of a relatively decent-looking Hitler-like face) was broken there was nothing underneath it but a snarling, puffy, monocled Brown Shirt. (Unfortunately the cover art is unsigned. The pamphlet is pretty rare, with only one copy (NYPL) showing in the massive catalog of worldwide library holdings, the OCLC/WorldCat.)