"The Public Officials of Zion" – Antisemitic issue of Le Coup de Patte. June, 1932

"The Public Officials of Zion" – Antisemitic issue of Le Coup de Patte. June, 1932

“People of Israel, you can trust Jacques Stern: he knows how to betray...” – Issue of the satirical weekly "Le Coup de Patte" (“The Claw Strike”), published in Paris on June 4, 1932, edited by Augustin Martini.

At the center of the issue appears an article using a humorous "telegram" format to create a seemingly light tone, while in fact presenting explicit antisemitic propaganda, portraying Jews as a closed group of the “Brotherhood of Zion” operating behind the scenes, and repeating familiar stereotypes of betrayal, hypocrisy, deceit, and hidden control. Under the heading: "The Public Officials of Zion" by Garcin Lazara, the article is written as a sequence of mock "telegrams" - short satirical messages supposedly exchanged between prominent Jews, each accompanied by irony and ridicule. On Jean Longuet: “Gloire à Jéhovah, dont les voies sont impénétrables.” -“Glory to the Lord, whose ways are inscrutable.” Here, the grandson of Karl Marx, Jean Longuet, is portrayed as a hidden Jew serving “Jewish” interests despite his socialist image. On Jacques Stern: “Peuple d’Israël, tu peux avoir confiance en Jacques Stern: il sait trahir.” - “People of Israel, you can trust Jacques Stern: he knows how to betray.” The classic thesis of political antisemitism: the Jew as traitor. On Georges Weill: “Devons-nous nous réjouir de cette victoire? Hélas, j’ai bien peur que non. Georges Weill est l’élu des Français d’Alsace...” - “Should we rejoice in this victory? Alas, I’m afraid not. Georges Weill is the elected representative of the French of Alsace...”. A cynical play on the word “élu” (elected), alluding to the idea of the Jew as the “chosen one” - hinting that the Jew exploits political success to “draw closer to the Gentiles.” On Wallach: “Wallach est un renégat. Il a renié ses saintes lois: il est protestant.” - “Wallach is a renegade. He has renounced his holy laws: he is Protestant.”, “Mais, détrompez-vous, mes frères abusés. Wallach est nationaliste. Et quand un juif se met à être nationaliste!”, “But be not deceived, my misled brothers. Wallach is a nationalist. And when a Jew becomes a nationalist!”, A typical accusation of the period, that even when a Jew converts and declares loyalty to the state, he remains a “suspect” Jew. The closing line: “Par ce signe nous vaincrons” (“By this sign we shall conquer”) is a parody of the Christian phrase “In hoc signo vinces”, but here attached to a Star of David, a satirical desecration meant to mock Jews as if they are replacing the cross with a manipulative Jewish symbol. In the upper right corner, an illustration depicts three stereotypically drawn Jews whispering to one another.

Additional pieces in this issue target the French-Jewish politician Léon Blum, who at the time was conducting his election campaign in France: “Dear Blum, lest we forget: it is said that during his campaign, Blum, as pensive as he could be, devastated both town and countryside with his speeches.” Also included are jokes mocking Jews and other antisemitic content.

Le Coup de Patte was founded in the early 1930s, at the height of a period marked by political, economic, and identity crisis in France. It defined itself as an “hebdomadaire satirique illustré” – an illustrated satirical weekly – but in practice often served as a platform for sharp political satire with a clear antisemitic leaning. The cover illustration of this issue is signed by P. Degray, one of the magazine’s principal illustrators. It features the Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike of Samothrace, the Greek goddess of victory), shown without head or arms – a well-known image in French discourse symbolizing a “broken” or “corrupt” victory. In May 1932, left-wing President Paul Doumer was re-elected, but was assassinated just weeks later (in May), by a Russian immigrant – an event that triggered a massive political upheaval. French society was deeply divided: between pacifists and nationalists, between supporters of the new Germany and its opponents. It was a time of national anger, a sense of internal betrayal, and a search for scapegoats – who, in satirical newspapers such as Le Coup de Patte, were frequently portrayed as Jews.

30 pages. Complete issue. Minor tears and small losses to edges of the last page. Good condition.