The story of a purveyor of hate and fear
Almost every week, from 1923 to 1945, a four-page tabloid鈥攕ometimes larger for special editions鈥攚ould circulate throughout Germany, offering inflammatory, virulently antisemitic articles and lurid, vulgar, often pornographic illustrations. Fourteen years after its launch, Der St眉rmer would achieve a peak circulation of 486,000, its readership stretching well beyond Germany to Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. 聽
Der St眉rmer鈥攊ts English translation is 鈥渢he stormer,鈥� meaning someone who attacks or storms forward鈥攚as the brainchild of Julius Streicher, a longtime devotee of Adolf Hitler and the subject of a recent book by Professor of Art, Art History, and Film John Michalczyk. His publications and films have frequently dealt with subjects related to social justice and conflict, World War II, and the Holocaust, including antisemitism.
In , Michalczyk studies the life and career of the man considered the Nazi Party鈥檚 second most established propagandist after the notorious Joseph Goebbels, the party鈥檚 minister of propaganda and public enlightenment. Michalczyk also places Streicher, and the cause he served, in a larger historical perspective on antisemitism through the ages, notably 19th- and early 20th-century Germany. He concludes by studying the rise of antisemitism in current social media.
Professor John Michalczyk (Photo by Peter Julian)
Since World War II, Hitler and the Third Reich have become an oft-used standard by which to evaluate, and criticize, the actions and policies of contemporary governments鈥攁nd leaders鈥攔egarded as authoritarian. This tendency has generated backlash: Critics say the Holocaust was such an unprecedented historical phenomenon that present-day comparisons are inadequate and thus serve to diminish social and political discourse.
Michalczyk believes it is possible to draw Third Reich parallels, if on a limited basis鈥攗sing Hitler to illustrate how autocratic leaders seek to control the minds of their people, for example. The context in which to view Streicher, he said, is how coordinated, broad-based strategies are developed to demonize a select group of persons based on such characteristics as race, ethnicity, and faith. Streicher also sought to make Der St眉rmer and his other publications accessible to what he and the Nazi leadership believed would be a receptive audience: the German working class.
鈥淭he bigger picture here is how we exclude one part of our society on a grand scale, because we believe they are ruining our lives, and therefore, they are an enemy that needs to be eliminated. Streicher was capturing the spirit of the times, but he pushed it to ever greater dimensions, notably via his appearance in Leni Riefenstahl鈥檚 propaganda film 鈥楾riumph of the Will,鈥� when he declares: 鈥楢 people which does not hold with the purity of its race will perish!鈥欌��
What makes Streicher an especially compelling鈥攁nd chilling鈥攕ubject, according to Michalczyk, is that he disseminated his propaganda beyond adults, publishing three antisemitic books for children. Streicher鈥檚 publications employed numerous historical, religious, and cultural elements in the text and illustrations to reinforce stereotypes and stoke anxiety, hatred, and fear of 鈥渢he other鈥� among readers. Jews were portrayed as greedy and wealthy, living off Germans, a depiction that drew on animus against the Rothschild banking dynasty of the 19th century; as ridden with disease and lusting after impressionable young German women; and as less than human, comparable with hyenas, snakes, insects, bacteria, and other organisms.
Michalczyk gives examples of suggestive symbols and references in the first children鈥檚 reader produced by Streicher, its title translated in English as 鈥淭rust no fox on his green heath and no Jew on his oath.鈥� The fox is widely perceived as sly, intelligent, and adaptable, Michalczyk notes, and early Greeks considered it devious. In addition, the title echoes ideas expressed by 16th-century German theologian Martin Luther in his antisemitic writings late in his life.
鈥淲e must utilize history to learn how negative influences that encourage such hatred of a specific group, religion, caste, or gender arise and take hold鈥攁nd how to dispel them.鈥�
A decorated World War I veteran, Streicher had been in Hitler鈥檚 inner circle as far back as the notorious 1923 鈥淏eer Hall Putsch.鈥� Ironically, Michalczyk notes, Streicher鈥檚 Third Reich associates were so appalled by his work, and by him personally, that they wanted nothing to do with him. As time went on, the F眉hrer, who read Der St眉rmer religiously, sought to insulate his former acolyte from disputes. But in 1940, following clashes with other high-ranking Third Reich officials as well as numerous episodes of excessive personal behavior, Streicher was stripped of his party offices, though he was allowed to continue publishing Der St眉rmer until February 1945, shortly before his capture by the Allies. 聽
The ultimate judgment on Streicher鈥檚 work came from the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, which found him guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death. This is no small matter, according to Michalczyk.
鈥淪treicher didn鈥檛 take part in any military actions, nor in the direct administration of operations to exterminate Jews. But the tribunal believed that his attempts to shape Germans鈥� views and treatment of Jews was instrumental to the Holocaust, because he was aware that Jews were being murdered. Essentially, they found that Streicher aided and abetted in the tragedy of the Holocaust.鈥�
At the end, there was no remorse on Streicher鈥檚 part. He cried out 鈥淗eil Hitler!鈥� as he mounted the gallows, mocked Jewish scripture, and declared that his punishers would be killed by Bolsheviks one day.
While his name may be less familiar than others of the Third Reich, Streicher鈥檚 legacy lives on, as Michalczyk notes: In 2013, Neo-Nazi and white supremacist Andrew Anglin resurrected Streicher鈥檚 tabloid鈥檚 mission and founded the controversial website The Daily Stormer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 stating the obvious to say that the deaths of Streicher and his fellow war criminals did not end efforts to incite hatred against Jews, or other peoples deemed to be less than human,鈥� said Michalczyk, who plans to retire as a full-time faculty member following this academic year but continue teaching on part-time basis while writing and filming with his wife Susan, an associate professor of the practice at 天美传媒app.
鈥淚鈥檝e devoted a lot of my career, through books and filmmaking, to examining how and why this has happened鈥攁nd continues to happen. The purpose of this book is to use reasoned analysis, rather than polemics, to challenge Streicher鈥檚 grotesque use of lies, myths, and historical stereotypes about Jews.
鈥淲e must utilize history to learn how negative influences that encourage such hatred of a specific group, religion, caste, or gender arise and take hold鈥攁nd how to dispel them.鈥�