Postcard from Gustav Klimt to Julius Zimpel “Birthday “Heil“ !!“, (Salzkammergut Unterach am Attersee), 30th Aug. 1915

Transcription:

Aug. 30, 1915
BIRTHDAY
“HEIL“ !!
Thanks in
“retrospect”
for the birthday wishes
I’ll be back
in Vienna on Sept. 8th or
9th
Best regards
to everyone
GUSTAV

[Address block:]
Mr.
Julius
Zimpel Jr.
Vienna 6th District
Mollardgasse 11
3rd Floor

Note from the Leopold Museum:

At the turn of the twentieth century, the word “Heil” was widely used as a solemn or celebratory expression for well-being and happiness without inherent political or extremist implications. Only through its ritualized and ideologically charged appropriation under National Socialism did the term undergo a profound semantic shift, becoming narrowly defined and indelibly marked by its historical associations.