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Hitler’s letterhead

Hitler's letterhead

The simple letterhead of Adolf Hitler still has the power to send chills down the spine.

Found at Letterheady – an online collection of famous letterheads.

Via @madebypete.

UPDATE: This item has caused a certain amount of controversy understandable due to it’s sensitive nature. Please read comments below for a full explanation of my reasons for posting this item.

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5 Comments

  1. Waldo

    Judging from the rest of your posts, this perfectly fits in your taste. And in respect to that fact I’d quickly get rid of this post. At least you could have the decency to write a smart comment.

    Shoving Nazi design right in between high class condos and minimalistic watches with nothing more than “…send chillls down the spine…” is just lame. This looks and sounds so admiring… you could just as well straight admit it.

    I’m quitting RSS on this superficial crap.

    Reply
  2. admin

    Waldo

    I am sorry that you find this post offensive.

    My reason for including the item was to illustrate the capacity of simple iconography and strong branding narratives to invoke, reinforce and extend powerful emotion, whether it be fear, loathing or even questionable admiration for a product or political party, by infiltrating the subconscious.

    It was certainly not my intention to cause offence to anybody and I would like to make it clear that I have no admiration for Adolf Hitler, the Nazi party or any extremist political movement for that matter.

    On the subject of my personal taste, if you are familiar with this blog then you will know that my personal design aesthetic and philosophy is closely aligned with that of the Bauhaus – an organisation that was heavily persecuted and eventually closed by the Nazi regime under accusation of association with cultural Bolshevism and internationalism rather than German nationalism. Bauhaus director Hannes Meyer was himself a self-declared Marxist. My own taste is not reflected in the bombastic gothic posturing of the motif adopted by Hitler for his letterhead.

    Reply
  3. Ryan

    Nothing should be changed! This is a perfectly legitimate entry with a very striking, important piece of design and history.

    Reply
  4. Mike

    I agree with ryan. It’s a sparse, striking piece of design which speaks to the power that Hitler held over 1930s Germany. The simplicity of the two words- ‘DER FÜHRER’- is particularly chilling.

    The people of Germany haven’t seen fit to get rid of references to Nazism, preferring to remember its terrible history, and I don’t think you should censor it on your blog either.

    Reply
  5. James Vincent

    Waldo, your comment “this looks and sounds so admiring…” rings true for me. I mean, how cool would it be to reach the level of recognition that you can get away with just your name (or title) on a letterhead? I’m not advocating Hitler or any of his ideas, but that would be pretty amazing don’t you think?

    Reply

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  1. Creativeroots - Design from across the world - [...] This is the letterhead of Adolf Hitler. via iainclaridge « Kwakwaka’wakw art [...]
  2. Papiers à lettre | The Swedish Parrot - [...] Via iainclaridge.net Usher est également l’auteur de Letters of note, un très bon site sur l’art épistolaire. 2 views…
  3. Hitler’s Letterhead - [...] via Iain claridge [...]

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