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

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

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"