Would you believe it? Back in the late 19th century, there was a lot of prejudice against Jewish people. Surprising, right? Well, meet Wilhelm Marr, a German journalist who actually came up with the term "antisemitism" in 1879. He used this fancy term to describe hostility towards Jews. He introduced it in his publication, "The Victory of Judaism over Germandom." So, it all started with a book in Germany in 1879! Quite the scientific term compared to simply calling it Jew-hatred, don't you think?

This prejudice was so prevalent in German society that it gave rise to antisemitic parties like the German Social Party (DSP), founded around the same time as Marr's term. Led by Adolf Stoecker, a Protestant pastor, this movement blended conservative, nationalist, and anti-Semitic ideas. They claimed that Jews held too much power in finance, commerce, and the media, which they believed was harming German culture. They even advocated for legal restrictions on Jewish economic activities and university enrollment, similar to Nazi ideology later on. As we all know, the same idea of Jews controlling everything still prevails today. Today people actually believe that Israel controls almost everything, including using birds and sharks as spies!

Responding to this growing antisemitism, the Zionist movement emerged, aiming to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This idea was met with some support within antisemitic circles, suggesting that maybe it would be a good idea to expel Jews.

Here we see a postcard from around 1900, titled "Die Zukunft" (The Future) which shows German soldiers forcing out a large group of Jews, who are following a route indicated by the sign "Nach Palästina" (To Palestine). The exiled Jews, portrayed with stereotypical negative attributes such as deformed bodies and enormous noses, are pictured leaving a lush landscape and crossing into barren desert land, which was how Palestine was seen. Unfortunately this postcard is not mine.

Yes, I went over to the dark side! I became a deltiologist! What a strange word, right? But it is simple, it is a person who collects postcards. Where did they come up with a name like that? Well it turns out that the word originated in 1945 from a collaboration between Professor Rendell Rhoades of Ohio and colleagues at Ohio State University, who am I to disagree.

On the other hand deltiology is the study and collection of postcards. The study is where I come in, because research is what I love. As some of you may know, about a year ago I started investigating the Jewish stereotype on picture postcards and I discovered a new world. My interest was sparked when my best friend asked me to write an article about what does a Jew look like, for a philatelic magazine, and basically there is little!

My research reminded me of times, such as when I was at school and a friend asked my father where he hid his horns, or a time when I went to London and saw a sign, "No Jews or dogs allowed", and this is not so long ago. I decided to research both the postcard and the publisher / artist, wherever possible. This information is very difficult to find and even when you do know the name, little information is available.

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