DETAIL FROM CARD FROM EMAN TO EDITH DECEMBER 06 1917

Eman Robitschek to Edith Robitschek - December 6, 1917

Transcription and translation by Werner Sepper.

Als Spender zog von Haus to Haus
Von altersher Sankt Nikolaus,
Des Bösen Feind, dem Guten hold,
Hielt Sühne er und Lohn im Sold,
Gefürchtet oder werter Gast
Betrat er Hütte und Palast.
Nun bleibt an seinem Ehrentag
Der Fromme still im Himmelshag.
Auf Erden herrscht der Höllenmann
Mit Tod und Not, mit Fluch und Bann
Und hält mit Schwert und Feuer zu
Das Friedenstor der Weltenreich.

As giver went from house to house
Saint Nicholas since olden times,
The enemy of bad, well disposed of good,
He brought atonement and rewards in gold,
He was feared or honored guest
Entering hut and palace.
Now on his honored day he remains
The pious one in heavens grove.
On earth rules the man from hell
With death and need, with curse and spells
And holds with sword and fire closed
The gate of peace to worlds realm.

Christmas - 1917. St. Nicholas has retired to "heaven's grove" and there is no Christmas on Earth. Instead, the "man from Hell" holds forth, fanning the flames of war and baring the gate of peace. The essay on the other side of the card makes it clear that Eman believes that the man from Hell is none other than the King of England.
As always with Eman, there is a secondary meaning. In Austria and much of Germanic Europe, St. Nicholas is accompanied on his appointed rounds on December 6th, the date of this card, by a Devil called the Krampus who punishes bad children and threatens to carry them down to Hell. Thus, the Kind of England might be conflated with the Devil from Hell.

Go to the Krampus card of 1924

Go the the Krampus card of 1925

	Die Kriegsziele Englands, des Regisseurs der grossen Welttragödie, waren von deren Beginne bis heute: Niederwerfung Deutschlands, Aufteilung Österreichs und Vernichtung der Türkei. Die Rechnung war einwandfrei 1000 Millionen gegen 150. England konnte ohne Bedenkung die Wechsel auf Gebietserweiterungen seiner Verbündeten ausstellen und deren Einlösung verbürgen. Die Bezogenen erhoben Protest. Sie setzten Belgien, Serbien, Montenegro, Rumänien, Russland und Italien ganz oder teilweise ausser Gefecht und besetzten ganz oder teilweise ihre Gebiete. Nun müssen England, Frankreich und Amerika den Bewies erbringen, dass sie allein die Haut des Löwen, die Flügel des Adlers und das goldene Horn des Halbmondes erobern im Stande sind.

	The war aims of England, the director of the great world tragedy, were from the beginning and until today: Downfall of Germany, partitioning of Austria and destruction of Turkey. The bill was irreproachably 1000 million against 150. England could, without doubt, write the bills of exchanges for the land expansions of their allies and guarantee their redemption. The drawees raised a protest. They put Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, Rumania, Russia and Italy partially or altogether out of the fight and altogether or partially occupied their lands. Now England, France and America must prove that they are capable of conquering the skin of the lion, the wings of the eagle and the golden horn of the crescent.

In 1917, the International Socialist Bureau, which was the Executive Committee of the International, attempted to convene a peace conference in Stockholm, often referred to as the Stockholm Peace Conference. The idea was to get workers and their unions in all the countries at war to force peace by threatening to strike. The "1000 million" referred to by Eman are these workers and the countries listed are those in which "the common man" had already made it very difficult for them to prosecute the war fully.
The peace conference failed to materialize because the allied countries refused to issue passports to delegates from their countries, and because most of labor was strongly nationalistic.

Read about the Stockholm Peace Conference:

- SHORT VERSION - LONG VERSION -

EMAN'S USE OF GERMANIA

Eman uses the Deutscher Schulverein stamp that depicts Germania, the female spirit and guardian of Germanic peoples, to emphasize his message that the German people are peaceful by nature and, if heeded, would end the war. Although Germania, wearing her battle armor, was adopted as an official symbol of Germany, proper, where she adorned their postage stamps beginning in 1900 (used throughout WWI).

Eman, however, is hark- ening back to Germania's birth in the 1848 rebellions that swept Europe. Ger- mania arose as a symbol of the people. In the painting by Philipp Veit, hung over the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848/49, Germania holds a branch of hemp in her sword hand symbolizing the willingness to make peace.

On the other hand, in the propaganda label, Germania is wearing Thor's helmet suggesting that she's no pushover.

GERMANIA AND THE ART OF PROPAGANDA

From the 1850s onwards, advertising, propaganda and gazettes had been developing a very sophisticated system of social and political symbols that made it possible to pack a complex, potent message into a very small visual space such as the propaganda label we are discussing here. If you click on the Schulverein label above left, it will open a separate image that you can compare side by side with the images below.

The image at the left is of the Empress Sisi (Elisabeth), the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph, taken from a painting done in her middle years when her face has begun to fill out. When younger, her face was more heart-shaped like that in the label. Note, too, the red jewelry, which she frequently wore for formal occasions and which finds its echo in the propaganda label. Sisi was very popular both then and now. She detested being Empress, lost her daughter in tragic circumstances, and was struck down by an assassin in 1898. Echoing her image was bound to engage the empathy of the viewer.

READ A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF SISI.

Notice the double-winged helmet on Germania's head. We know it is a helmet because the space above the diadem is colorless and does not show her hair. The larger lower wing feathers that fan out at the back mark the helmet as that of the Norse God, Thor, a popular symbol as we see on this Austrian School Association label to the left. Thus, by using the DSV label, Eman is invoking the authority of the gods in order to emphasize the righteousness of his message.

But wait! There's more! During Eman's life, the head of Mercury was used to decorate Zeitungsmarke (newspaper stamps) that were used to mail and tax newspapers and magazines. Mercury also wares a winged helmet. Usually, Mercury is depicted in profile on Austrian stamps of the period, but in 1920 a series was issued that shows Mercury from the front, as seen in the 2 heller newspaper stamp to the left. The look is very similar to that of the Schulverein propaganda label of Germania. The rim of Mercury's helmet is even pointed up in the front, an echo of the diadem fronting the helmet in the propaganda label.

Thus, Eman may be invoking the messenger of the gods to bolster the authority of his message.

Did Eman really intend all these layers of meaning? We will never know for certain, but it is absolutely certain that he had quite a knack for selecting images that layer and enhance the meanings in his poems and essays.

This brings us to the first of two digressions that I simply could not resist. Why is that iconic figure from our own culture, Wonder Woman, wearing a diadem. She's not a queen or princess*, but then, neither was the Austrian Germania. Wonder Woman was created in 1941 to do propaganda battle with the Nazis. In this respect, she is the cultural mirror image of Germania, setting the Hellenic gods against the Norse gods and American exceptionalism against German imperialism. Just as Germania is the personification of the feminine aspect of the German people, Wonder Woman can be said to be the personification of the feminine aspect of the American people.

*At least not in our country while representing us; back home in Thelmyscira she is an Amazon warrior princess during her second reincarnation.

Second digression. In rooting about the internet, I found that Thor is being reborn in today's Austria. If you have any baby children or grandchildren with the thunderous personality of Thor, you might consider doing a little knitting along the lines shown here.

Last revised 19 JAN 2014