Gruss aus dem Moorbade – Antisemitic Spa Postcard 

This “Gruss aus dem Moorbade” postcard, printed before 1905 by Carl Garte, Leipzig, is an example of how everyday humor postcards carried antisemitic stereotypes.

Front of the postcard – lithographed by Carl Garte, Leipzig

Details of the Card

• Publisher / Printer: Lithography Kunstanstalt Carl Garte, Leipzig
• Series Number: 375
• Date: Pre-1905 (undivided back)
• Theme: Antisemitic caricature in a spa mud bath

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The Imagery Explained

The postcard shows a Jewish man bathing in the spa mud. Instead of cleansing him, the mud appears to pour out of his body, suggesting that he himself is a source of dirt. His exaggerated features and sly, almost evil expression reinforce stereotypes of Jews as physically unclean and morally suspect.

Such imagery was part of a broader trend of “spa antisemitism” in German and Austrian Kurorte (resorts), where Jewish visitors were mocked in postcards and caricatures.

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Why It Matters

• Historical Insight: Shows how antisemitism was normalized in leisure culture.
• Printing Context: Produced in Leipzig, a hub of postcard lithography.
• Cultural Memory: Today, these cards are studied as evidence of prejudice embedded in everyday objects.

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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.

The postcard is a part of the “Gruss aus” or “Greetings from” type of postcard design which was widespread around 1894-95.

In this case it depicts three Jews with very distorted bodies, their hooked noses very prminent in the image as well.

Marienbad was a luxury spa town in Czechoslovakia, catering to upper middle class clientele, of which there were many Jews.

Postcards show messages that show that although Jews may be wealthy, they will not really fit in and will remain alien.

Deltiology

Artist:
Printer: Emil Köhn
Publisher: Ottmar Zieher
Printing Type: Chromolithography
Date: 1898 (postmark)



#postcards #JewsAreDifferent