Copress

This original vintage oversize silver gelatin DBW photograph captures a pivotal and ominous moment in history—one of the first public demonstrations against Jewish businesses in Nazi Germany. Taken in Berlin, March 1933, it shows members of the Sturmabteilung (SA) standing outside Jewish-owned shops, holding banners that read: “Germans! Defend Yourselves! Do Not Buy From Jews!”

This state-sanctioned boycott, orchestrated by the Nazi regime just months after Hitler’s rise to power, marked the beginning of systematic anti-Jewish persecution. It was not just an attack on livelihoods but a clear warning of the escalating terror to come. The Nazi propaganda machine vilified Jewish citizens, isolating them from German society.

What began as economic oppression quickly turned into legal restrictions, physical violence, and, ultimately, genocide. The events of 1933 foreshadowed the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, Kristallnacht in 1938, and the mass deportations and extermination of six million Jewish men, women, and children in the Holocaust.

This haunting image serves as a stark reminder of how hatred, when left unchecked, can lead to unimaginable horrors.

We are committed to presenting historical artifacts, such as this, solely for their educational and historical significance. We unequivocally condemn and do not support or promote nazism, fascism, or any form of hatred or discrimination. This item is offered to provide insight into a profoundly dark period of history, ensuring that the atrocities committed are neither forgotten nor repeated.