Selling a lifestyle: ads by German Jews in Palestine

During the British Mandate of Palestine in the 1930s, ads not only sold products but also the Zionist dream and their vision of the Land of Israel, "Eretz Yisrael." A popular brand of cigarettes, seen on this newspaper stand, was Atid. The word means "future" in Hebrew.

Another brand of cigarettes in the 1930s was Aliyah, a term describing the immigration of Jews to the Holy Land — another basic tenet of Zionism. On the poster on the left side, a ship is bringing in immigrants from Europe to Palestine. The depiction reminded buyers not only of their own journey, but also promoted the hope that more Jews would be joining them soon.

The exhibition at the German-Speaking Jewry Heritage Museum in Tefen, Israel, shows ads and product designs from the 1930s - 1950s, as well as black-and-white photos by Alfons Himmelreich. He too was a so-called "Yekke": a Jew from a German-speaking country who had immigrated to Palestine. His pictures captured the spirit of the time — for example in cafes.

The Yekkes retained old habits in their new country. For many Austrians such as graphic designer Franz Kraus, that also included Viennese coffeehouse culture. "Landwer's Coffee," as advertised above, still exists today. It's a chain of cafes with branches in Tel Aviv and worldwide.

The photographer Alfons Himmelreich was born in Munich. In 1933, he immigrated to British Palestine. Photography was initially only a hobby for Himmelreich, until he opened his own photo studio in Tel Aviv in 1942. The photos on show at the German-Speaking Jewry Heritage Museum are from the book "Alfons Himmelreich: Photographer on the Roof."

The posters in the exhibition are replicas, and the exact year the originals were printed is unknown. The ad on the left side must be from before the foundation of the state of Israel: "Palestine" appears on the soap, along with the symbolic menorah — which would later become the emblem of the State of Israel.

The newly arrived Jews were still attached to the lifestyle they had in big cities like Berlin or Vienna, as the ads for soap, razors and cigarettes would underline. However, agriculture was also extremely important for Zionists. Fruit and vegetables were sold with the slogan "produced in the Land" — referring to the Land of Israel.

Two products in particular were produced in Palestine, way before the Jews immigrated there: olive oil and oranges. Named after the Arab city of Jaffa — now a part of southern Tel Aviv — Jaffa oranges had been renowned for their sweetness since the 19th century. The Zionists turned the oranges into one of the country's top exports.

However, before turning to exports, most ads in the 1930s-1950s targeted the local population. By the 1960s, advertisers realized children also offered a major market. The largest food manufacturer at the time, Osem, developed a new product: a peanut butter-flavored snack, called...

... Bamba! To this day, the peanut butter-flavored snack made from puffed maize is a favorite throughout the country. Apparently, Israeli children are not as allergic to nuts as in other countries because they've been eating them from an early age — a myth everyone prefers to believe. The first packaging and ad for the product was designed by Otte Wallish, a Yekke from the Sudentenland.

For museum director Ruthi Ofek, one thing is clear: "Israel's actual national dish is bamba, and not falafel!" The exhibition at the German-Speaking Jewry Heritage Museum in Tefen offers a nostalgic look back at the crucial years preceding the foundation of the State of Israel.