Memes ca. 1927
Memes ca. 1927
Caption: “When the vermin are dead, the German oak will again flourish.” (December 1927)
Washington DC
Dec 2021
Explanation: A Nazi is pumping poison gas into the base of a tree, with dead rats representing Jews around the tree. The rats are labelled “stock exchanges,” “the press,” and “trusts.” The branches of the tree, labeled “Germany,” are industry, agriculture, commerce, the arts, business, the sciences, social welfare, civil service, and workers.
Zyklon B was the most popular pest extermination substance in Germany at the time.
This is a meme from 1927. It was "humorous" in the same nudge, nudge, wink, wink, way of memes today. The publisher and their supporters ridiculed those who were disgusted by this as humorless stiffs. Soon they were just stiffs. Kindling.
Don't turn away. This is happening in America right now in 2021. Members of Congress are engaging in this filth. If you don't realize what's going on and stand up to it, soon you will learn the heavy cost of embarrassed silence. Likely your grandfather had to go across the seas to go house to house across Europe to eradicate this thinking 80 years ago. He left behind your grandmother who went to the navy yard or the aircraft factory to labor night and day. Cumulatively, your family lost many years of productive growth, that is if you were lucky enough to avoid becoming gold star families (if you don't know what that means, look it up).
It's all so funny. As they used to say back in the day "it's a gas".