Poli 311: Writing Political Humor, Fall
2004: ANALYZING JOKES
1.
2.
3. On a
moving train a Jew spots an S.S. man searching for Jews hiding. The Jew rushes into the toilet to hide,
he does what he needs to do and the German goes on looking. Finally he knocks on the toilet door,
the Jew doesn't answer. He finally
attempts to open the door screaming: "S.S." The Jew answers: "Dos
drek ess alein".
4. Some
Nazis surround an old Jew and ask him who is responsible for the war. ÔThe
Jews,Õ he answers. And then he
adds, Ôand the cyclists.Õ
ÔWhy the cyclists?Õ ask the puzzled Nazis.
ÔWhy the Jews?Õ replies the old man.
5. In the
summer of 1941, we were using the so-called dray to haul the corpses of
prisoners who had died in the camp hospital to the nearest crematorium. At the turn to the main entrance gate
of the camp, one of the wheels came loose from the cart. The dray lost balance, suddenly tipping
to one side, and the corpses fell on the ground. The overturn happened so suddenly that one of the
accompanying attendants completely vanished under the large mass of corpses. Suddenly we noticed how arms -- like
the arms of a breast-stroke swimmer -- popped up out of the pile of
corpses. Then somebody from our
group screamed, "Adam, you have to do the crawl, then you'll swim your way
out faster!" Although the
occasion was so horrible, I still remember that we burst into screams of
laughter, and later we frequently even asked Adam how things were with his
swimming skills.
6. Once
on a Saturday a bunch of us, Dutch and Hungarian kids, put on a little show for
each other and I was the master of ceremonies. We mimicked top overseers and I did impersonations about
camp life and somebody did a little tap-dance, different funny, crazy
things. The overseers slipped into
the barracks while we weren't looking, and instead of giving us a punishment
they were laughing their heads off.
I couldn't believe it: one day they were hitting us black and blue, and
then there they were laughing while we made fun of them.
7. A
long line of Jews are being marched into a gas chamber. Among them are two elderly gentleman
and longtime friends. One of them
starts to cough and asks of the nearby S.S. Officer: ÔCould I get a glass of
water?Õ The other one elbows him and says in a hushed voice: ÔOy Moshe, why you
have to make trouble?Õ
8. Do you think Der Fuhrer could keep on
being Der Fuhrer/
If he saw what everybody else sees every time he looks in
the muhrer?
9. Q: What's the difference between a Jew
and a pizza?
A: A pizza doesn't scream in the oven.
10. The trouble with German food is that no matter how much you eat,
an hour later your hungry for power.
11.
Sources:
1. A
cartoon from the Nazi publication Der Sturmer. Germany crucified on the
cross due to WWI payments. The imagery of a crucifixion builds on centuries of
Christian anti-Semitism in which it is claimed that the Jews killed Christ.
www.c-hef.org/
2_exhibition_online_03.htm
2. anti-Jewish
stereotypes of Nazi propagandist Julius Streicher, publisher of the notorious Der
Sturmer
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_article=480&x_context=2
3. Jewish joke at the time.
4. Jewish joke at the time.
5. Recollection of camp survivor.
6. Recollection of camp survivor.
7. After the fact, Jewish joke, possibly by descendant of camp
survivors.
8. After the
fact, Ogden Nash, 1902
-1971), American author and humorist, was born in Rye, NY.
9.
Contemporary,
on racist website.
http://www.panzerfaust.com/niggerjokes_1.shtml
Also cited as example of
anti-semitic slurs used by football coach and other players against Jewish
student and aspiring football player in a law suit filed this year.
10. Contemporary, origins unknown.
11. The Chicago Tribune ran a cartoon by Dick
Locher on May 30, 2003 reminiscent of the anti-Jewish stereotypes of Nazi
propagandist Julius Streicher, publisher of the notorious Der Sturmer.
http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_article=480&x_context=2