Nazi Propaganda
Martin Metzon was born in Germany in 1920, but grew up in Denmark, a small country north of Germany. Denmark was invaded by the Nazis in April 1940. At first, daily life for Jews like the Metzons remained almost unchanged. The Nazis planned to make Denmark into a “model protectorate” where the Danes could keep their own government, if they cooperated with the Nazis. Some Danish people, like Martin, did not cooperate. He was involved in resistance activities such as distributing secret underground newspapers and bombing railways the Germans used. The German Nazis took complete control of the Danish government and armed forces in August 1943. A Nazi crackdown on the resistance movement sent Martin into hiding. Every day for a month, Martin called a telephone number and an anonymous voice told him where to sleep that night. He would arrive late and leave early, never speaking to his various hosts so they could not testify against him.
The Nazis proceeded with their “final solution” for Denmark’s Jews, but the Danish population and the police were largely unwilling to be complicit. The Danish resistance movement smuggled thousands of Jews to neutral Sweden, including the entire Metzon family.
Martin and his wife returned to Copenhagen, Denmark after the war ended in 1945, and found their home and belongings safe. Among their possessions was a collection of Nazi trading cards. These cards, depicting pro-Nazi propaganda images, were included in packs of cigarettes sold in Germany and Nazi-occupied countries such as Denmark.
Ironically, the cigarette cards were printed during the Nazi’s anti-smoking campaign. Hitler was the driving force behind the program – he believed that smoking would jeopardize the genetic superiority of the “master race.” Cigarette companies, in an effort to appease Hitler, began to include trading cards with images that glorified the Nazis. People collected the cards and tried to get a complete set. Martin’s set is titled “Kampf um’s Dritte Reich,” or “The Struggle for the Third Reich.” Over 270 cards in the set depict various Nazi activities, including Nazi leaders and public and military events and gatherings. They portray the Nazi party as strong, mighty, and helpful. This was part of the Nazis’ huge propaganda campaign, spreading Nazi ideology throughout Germany and beyond.
Overall, more than 7,700 Jews and their non-Jewish relatives escaped to Sweden. Most of the 470 Danes who couldn’t escape and were deported to camps survived, thanks to successful advocacy by the Danish government.
After his return to Denmark, Martin immigrated to the United States in 1953. He worked as an accountant, and also served as the Honorary Consul to Denmark in Seattle. Martin Metzon passed away in 2003, and his son Jorgen donated the card collection to the Holocaust Center for Humanity in 2008.
