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Peddling Antisemitic Propaganda
Between 1923 and 1945, Julius Streicher edited and directed a weekly tabloid, Der Stürmer, the most rabidly antisemitic newspaper in Germany. Streicher, a former schoolteacher turned Nazi activist who proudly promoted himself as the world's premier "Jew-baiter," published lurid, false tales of Jewish "ritual murder," sex crimes, and financial malfeasance. During the Weimar Republic, Jewish organizations and outraged politicians frequently sued Der Stürmer and Streicher because of the despicable and libelous claims. Following the Nazi takeover, the fortunes of the paper and its editor skyrocketed. Weekly circulation increased from 14,000 in 1927 to almost 500,000 in 1935 and was even distributed outside of Germany.
Though many Germans and even some Nazi propagandists found the one-topic newspaper offensive, Der Stürmer successfully disseminated vicious antisemitism to people who were not Nazis and who did not read the party papers. |