Philipp Rupprecht (4 September 1900 – 4 April 1975) was a German cartoonist best known for his antisemitic
caricatureA caricature can refer to a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness...
s in the Nazi publication
Der StürmerDer Stürmer was a weekly Nazi newspaper published by Julius Streicher from 1923 to the end of World War II in 1945, with brief suspensions in circulation due to legal difficulties. It was a significant part of the Nazi propaganda machinery and was vehemently anti-Semitic...
, under the pen-name Fips.
Born in
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
, Rupprecht emigrated to
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
in 1920 after
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, where he worked as a waiter and a cowboy on a cattle ranch. He returned to Nuremberg around 1924, and was hired by the Fränkische Tagespost, a newspaper linked to the German
Social DemocratsThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
.
Philipp Rupprecht (4 September 1900 – 4 April 1975) was a German cartoonist best known for his antisemitic
caricatureA caricature can refer to a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness...
s in the Nazi publication
Der StürmerDer Stürmer was a weekly Nazi newspaper published by Julius Streicher from 1923 to the end of World War II in 1945, with brief suspensions in circulation due to legal difficulties. It was a significant part of the Nazi propaganda machinery and was vehemently anti-Semitic...
, under the pen-name Fips.
Career
Born in
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
, Rupprecht emigrated to
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
in 1920 after
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, where he worked as a waiter and a cowboy on a cattle ranch. He returned to Nuremberg around 1924, and was hired by the Fränkische Tagespost, a newspaper linked to the German
Social DemocratsThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
. When he was dispatched to cover the second Luppe-Streicher trial with instructions to draw a caricature of
Julius StreicherJulius Streicher was a prominent Nazi prior to World War II. He was the founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine...
, he instead drew caricatures of Nuremberg's Mayor, Hermann Luppe, and a prominent Nuremberg Jew also involved in the trial. The cartoons were published by
Der Stürmer in December 1925, and Rupprecht was hired by the paper.
With the exception of 1927, he was the Stürmer's sole regular cartoonist under the pen-name of "Fips" until February 2, 1945, when the last edition of
Der Stürmer appeared, drawing thousands of antisemitic caricatures. His style changed during the course of his career, but his caricatures always depicted Jews as short, fat, ugly, unshaven, drooling, sexually perverted, bent-nosed, and with piglike eyes.
Among his best-known works were illustrations for two antisemitic children's books published by Stürmer Verlag:
Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud auf seinem Eid ("Don't Trust a Fox in a Green Pasture Or a Jew Upon His Oath") (1936), and "
Der GiftpilzDer Giftpilz is a children's book published by Julius Streicher in 1938. The title is German for "the toadstool" or "the poison-mushroom". The book was intended as anti-Semitic propaganda. The text is by Ernst Hiemer, with illustrations by the illustrator Philipp Rupprecht .The book was intended...
" ("The Poisonous Mushroom") (1938).
At the beginning of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Rupprecht served in the
KriegsmarineThe Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime, superseding the Reichsmarine, and the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht.-Command structure:Adolf Hitler was the commander-in-chief...
, but was released from service because of his value to wartime Nazi propaganda.
Postwar
Rupprecht’s career came to an end with the defeat of the Nazis in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was put on trial in 1945 and sentenced to six years hard labour. On 23 October 1950 he was released from the prison in
EichstättEichstätt is a city in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the District of Eichstätt. It is located along the Altmühl River, at , and had a population of 13,078 in 2002. It is home to the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, the lone Catholic university in Germany.St...
. Until his death he lived and worked in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
and
StarnbergStarnberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany, located south west of the city of Munich and situated on Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", a popular destination for day-trippers from Munich...
as a painter and decorator. He died on 4 April 1975 in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
, aged 74.
Rupprecht was married twice: from 1921 on to Erna Blom (one son and two daughters) and from 1930 to Berta Stöcklein (one son).