Emil Krug of Chemnitz

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.

Publisher name as it appears in imprint lines.

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"