Hitler’s rise to power began with the fall of the Weimar Republic. There was rampant unemployment and great unrest in Germany. Hitler made speeches at beer halls, union party gatherings, and other events. One of his major themes was that Jews were the root of all evil and the cause of Germany’s problems. Anti-Semitism began to raise its ugly head and was manifested in many different forms: anti-Semitic literature, songs, and even labels placed on envelopes.

The back of this envelope, postmarked in the mid-1920s, bears an anti-Semitic label reading “Don’t buy from Jews or shop at their stores.”