Anti-Christ

New York, 1942
Wasserfarbe und Gouache
Tokio: Prof. Rinjiro Sodei

In the Christian tradition the anti-Christ is considered to be a false messiah, who demands godlike adoration. Since the Middle Ages, anti-Jewish agitation has often identified the figure with the Jews and their supposed plans of world domination. Szyk’s striking portrayal has Hitler appear as the personification of Satan and the swastika as the symbol of the devil.
The pupils, fixed on the viewer, contain stylized skulls, and the hair bears the repeating phrase “Vae victis” (Lat.: Woe to the vanquished). All around the anti-Christ, apocalyptic events run their course among gallows, ruins, and skulls. The skeleton in the sky carries a banner embellished with words from a National Socialist battle song.