(Berlin, Germany, 1891 - 1968, East Berlin, Germany)
1935
Photogravure
15 x 10 in. (38.1 x 25.4 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Museum Acquisition Fund
1979.24
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
There are many puns here. “Dr. Goebbels Heilsenf” (Dr. Goebbels’s healing mustard) on the distinctly unappetizing mustard pot suggests “Heil mustard!” “Giving one’s mustard” is German slang for making a stupid, uncalled for contribution to a discussion. “Brown mustard” refers not only to the condiment but also to Nazi rubbish, because käse (cheese) is slang for nonsense or rubbish. Joseph Weißenberg (1855-1941), a religious leader known as “the apostle of white cheese,” proclaimed the food had healing properties. His sect was banned in 1935, even though it had supplied followers to the Nazi movement.