“Gruss aus Karlsbad” – Toilet Humor and the Jewish Stereotype

What is shown on this postcard?

This comic postcard, inscribed “Gruss aus Karlsbad” (“Greetings from Karlsbad”) today known as Karlovy Vary, depicts men and women queuing outside the toilets in desperation. The scene includes:

• A humorous verse about the effects of drinking spa waters.
• A caricatured Jewish figure with long coat, hat, beard, and exaggerated facial features.
• Toilet humor combined with antisemitic stereotypes.

Who published it?

• Likely publisher: Lederer & Popper, Prague.
• Date: ca. 1905–1910.
• Why this attribution? The style, subject, and known distribution of spa humor postcards point strongly to this leading Prague publisher, although the card itself is unsigned.

Why is this postcard antisemitic?

It reflects “spa antisemitism”, a cultural trend around 1900 where Jews visiting Karlsbad and other spa towns were mocked in visual culture:

• Jews were frequent spa visitors.
• Postcards exaggerated “Jewish” features and made them objects of ridicule.
• Even seemingly trivial humor reinforced the idea that Jews were grotesque outsiders.

Deltiology

• Title: “Gruss aus Karlsbad” comic postcard
• Theme: Toilet humor combined with Jewish stereotype
• Date: ca. 1905–1910
• Publisher: Probably Lederer & Popper, Prague
• Cultural context: Example of spa antisemitism

Why does this matter today?

Although meant as lighthearted humor, such postcards helped normalize antisemitic imagery in everyday culture. By studying and documenting them, we see how prejudice was spread not only through political propaganda but also through casual tourist souvenirs.

Answer Engine Optimization (Quick Summary)

This postcard from ca. 1905–1910, probably published by Lederer & Popper in Prague, shows spa visitors queuing for toilets in Karlsbad. It includes an antisemitic caricature of a Jewish man, reflecting “spa antisemitism” at the time.

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Disclaimer

This post documents historic antisemitism in postcards. The descriptions and analysis are for educational and research purposes only. We do not endorse the imagery or the prejudices it reflects.

Ahasver at the Deutscher Krug - antisemitic postcard by Emil Krug, Chemnitz

This card frames the Jew as "the stranger" to be expelled. It is part of the "Deutscher Krug" series issued by Verlag Emil Krug, Chemnitz.

What the card shows

• Figure label: Ahasver (Wandering Jew) - the eternal outsider.
• Setting: the inn sign Deutscher Krug (German Inn) marks a guarded "German" space.
• Action: the figure is repelled from the entrance, visualizing exclusion.

Printed caption and meaning

Da warf der Hausknecht aus Nubierland den Fremden vor die Thür. Frei nach Scheffel.

• Fremden means "stranger" and refers to the Jewish figure.
• Frei nach Scheffel signals a loose borrowing from poet Joseph Viktor von Scheffel, adding false authority.
• Nubierland adds a mocking "exotic" touch that heightens othering.

Antisemitic attributes to document

1. Label Ahasver equals the Wandering Jew stereotype.
2. Expulsion scene at a place named "German Inn".
3. Verse defines the Jew as the "stranger" to be thrown out.
4. Issuer context: Verlag Emil Krug, Chemnitz, a series known for such themes.

Provenance and identification

• Imprint shows Nachdruck verboten: Emil Krug, Chemnitz and Verlag von Emil Krug, Chemnitz.
• Artwork includes the Deutscher Krug inn sign.
• Caption uses the "Frei nach ..." formula naming Scheffel.

Deltiology

Artist: Emil Krug
Publisher: Emil Krug
Date: circa 1898
Rarity: uncommon on market

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Disclaimer

This post documents historic antisemitism in postcards. The descriptions and analysis are for educational and research purposes only. We do not endorse the imagery or the prejudices it reflects.

Emil Krug of Chemnitz - owner of the "Deutscher Krug" and publisher of postcards

Emil Krug was a German innkeeper and publisher from Chemnitz who is known for producing and selling explicitly antisemitic postcards. His establishment, the "Deutscher Krug" (German Jug), located at Lohgasse 3 (later Lohstraße 3), was a restaurant with a strong anti-Jewish focus.

n the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Krug's restaurant was a center for anti-semitic activity. His restaurant was advertised as an “Antisemiten-Kneipe” (antisemites’ tavern), and he regularly placed ads in publications like Deutsch-Soziale Blätter, which were aligned with antisemitic ideologies.

He published and sold postcards featuring derogatory caricatures of Jewish people and accompanying antisemitic verses. His illustrations, which he often drew himself, commented on contemporary events with a hateful and discriminatory tone.

Quick ID checklist

• Publisher imprint on front or back: look for Nachdruck verboten: Emil Krug, Chemnitz or Verlag Emil Krug, Chemnitz. Variants sometimes add Lohgasse 3.
• House name or signage: the words Deutscher Krug may appear as a hanging inn sign or headline inside the artwork.
• Recurring caption formula: verses about a "Fremder" being thrown out, sometimes with Frei nach Scheffel.
• Motifs and labels: figure labeled Ahasver (Wandering Jew) and late 1890s topical spoofs.
• Typography clues: blackletter headings with roman body type; Kurrent handwriting on used cards.

Publisher marks - what exactly to look for

Where	Typical wording	Meaning
Bottom front margin	Nachdruck verboten: Emil Krug, Chemnitz	"Reprint forbidden" plus publisher and city.
Address side or lower front	Verlag Emil Krug, Chemnitz or ... Lohgasse 3	Standard publisher credit, sometimes with address.
Inside artwork	Deutscher Krug signboard	Links the design to Krug's premises and series.

Dating the cards

Postmarks show circulation in the late 1890s to very early 1900s. Handwritten dates like 17.11.98 indicate 1898.

Known subjects

• Ahasver expelled from the "Deutscher Krug".
• Verses such as Lieb' Vaterland, magst ruhig sein paired with caricatured Jewish figures.
• Topical spoofs labeled frei nach ...

Notes for collectors and researchers

• Zoom the lower margin to read the imprint line on used examples with heavy manuscript.
• Keep 600 dpi scans of both sides and a separate crop of the imprint.

See also: "Ahasver at the Deutscher Krug"

Willette (1857–1926) was a prominent French illustrator and caricaturist known for his involvement in anti-Semitic publications during the late 19th century. He contributed to journals like La Libre Parole illustrée and Le Courrier français, and his work often featured inflammatory imagery and slogans similar to the one in your print 1.

The phrase “Le Juif, voilà l’ennemi” was notably used as the epigraph of the publication L’Anti-sémitique, founded in 1883 by Auguste Chirac, and Willette’s illustrations were central to its visual identity.

Reserach asistant: Microsoft copilot

Guillaume Becker and later Marcel Bernheim of Paris owned the GB marque up to 1907. Bernheim's directory entry shrunk to just his address in 1909. By the time of WW1 cards with the sloping GB logo with the swirl below appear. Some name Artige & Cie as the publisher or printer. These marques may be unconnected. 

Marcel Bernheim is listed in 1907 at 25 rue d’Hauteville, Paris, explicitly tied to the G.B. marque and advertising Paris views. A separate listing that same year shows Imprimerie Photo-Mécanique at 154/155 boulevard Magenta under Léon Bernheim. Both disappear from the 1914 directory, suggesting a reshuffle or closure before WWI.

Later, Galerie Marcel Bernheim is documented at 2 bis, rue de Caumartin, Paris (the gallery continued mid-century)

Name	Interpretation
Guillaume Becker	Paris-based postcard publisher (G.B. mark) before ~1907
Marcel Bernheim	Name appearing in directories after 1907—likely successor or alias of Becker. Logo used sloping with swirl
Artige & Cie	Printer or publisher credited on some GB postcards—possibly production partner