Figure 50. Antisemitic Pin

Unknown medallist, Germany/Austria, late 1920's early 1930's, Round pressed aluminum pin with clasp, 30mm. (Image courtesy of Alex Ben-Ariah).

Later, as Adolph Hitler gained power in Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s, medallic objects were distributed to German subjects depicting Jews as evil. One such antisemitic object is shown in figure 50. This item, which was a pin designed to be worn on clothing, shows images of "good" and "evil," a manly Germanic type with sword and shovel radiating rays of light, and a wicked and wild-looking figure with a Star of David and Bolshevik-type hat, wielding a whip with flames burning from behind. The legend in old German lettering gives the viewer the choice between "International Peace or Jewish Dictatorship." These images of "Germania" juxtaposed with "Judeo-Bolshevism" date from the street-fighting period when armed militias roamed German streets, beating and humiliating Jews.