The rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany

The Maker

According to the slipcase in which the present deck originally came, they were made by Elsner & Co, at the Kunnerwitzer Strasse 12 in Görlitz, and published under the title ‘National-karte’. We have been unable to trace any evidence of other playing cards made by Elsner & Co.

The Cards

The growing prominence of Nazi propaganda throughout the 1930s is reflected on the present deck. Published only one year before Hitler assumed the position of Führer, the cards celebrate his achievements thus far. The Ten of Hearts, for instance, refers to 30 January, 1933, the day that Hitler was appointed Chancellor by President Hindenburg. The Ace cards show nationalistic slogans and images, while the King cards each depict a different German leader:

Acorns – Frederick the Great Bells – possibly, von Moltke the Elder Hearts – Bismarck Leaves – Hindenburg

The pip cards depict various scenes from Nazi Germany, with soldiers in S.S. and S.A. uniforms a common feature. One of the most striking cards is the Eight of Leaves, which shows a caricature of a Jewish man in a prison cell with the caption “Endlich bin ich am rechten Platze” (“I’m

[ANONYMOUS]

Anti-Religions Cards.

Publication

Moscow, United Socialist Soviet Republics, 1934.

Description

52 chromolithograph playing cards with one joker card, blue and brown image of horned heads to versos.

Dimensions 90 by 58mm (3.5 by 2.25 inches).

References

Van den Bergh p.274, Yale 1388/RUS15.