Simple entertainment? Antisemitism in Humorous Magazines, 1918-1938

Investor logo
Authors

SECKLEHNER Julia

Year of publication 2019
Type Conference abstract
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Description Antisemitic caricatures in satirical magazines like Der Kikeriki (1861-1933) not only reached a wide audience, but also represented a growing acceptance of antisemitism in interwar Central Europe. Yet, in addition to this dominant ‘loud’ antisemitism in popular visual culture, there was also a ‘softer’ version that permeated the pages of more moderate magazines like Die Muskete (1905-1941) in Vienna and Humoristické listy (1858-1941) in Prague. By considering visual examples from these magazines, my paper assesses how ‘soft’ antisemitism helped to legitimise its aggressive counterpart. Staged in magazines where readers expected light entertainment rather than hard-hitting satire, it permeated Central European visual culture to the core and added to the desensitising of the population through mass culture.
Related projects:

You are running an old browser version. We recommend updating your browser to its latest version.