Germans to be Exported (1931)

Fritz Reinhardt was a significant figure in Nazi propaganda.  Before 1933 he instituted a correspondence school that trained about 6,000 Nazi speakers.  He issued a barrage of material to support those speakers.

In 1929 he issued a pamphlet claiming that under the Young Plan, an international agreement on German reparations, Germans would be sent abroad to work for the French.  This is a follow-up pamphlet that appeared in October 1931, making the same claim.

Although like all good propaganda it provides enough evidence to make the argument at least superficially plausible, he does make the astonishing (and completely unsupported) statement that twenty to thirty million Germans would have to be sent abroad under the Young Plan.

Power & Style: A World History of Politics and Dress

I just got an advance copy of Power & Style: A World History of Politics and Dress (Paris: Flammarion, 2012).  Published simultaneously in English and French, it is scheduled to be released on 5 March 2013.

I provided an image of a painting of Hitler in uniform.  The book is filled with vivid and fascinating illustrations from throughout history.

“Zero Hour” and the German Propaganda Archive

ABC has a forthcoming series titled Zero Hour, with an elaborate conspiracy theory plot.  There is a Nazi theme.  I’ve been providing numerous images for the show, and recently lent about a dozen pamphlets and books from my collection to use as props.  I’ll be curious to watch the show, which is scheduled to premiere on 13 February 2013.

UPDATE: Alas, the program was cancelled after three episodes.  The remaining filmed episodes may show up this summer.

Germany and You: A Nazi Magazine in English

Germany and You was a magazine published between 1931 and 1943.  I know less about the magazine than I wish.  I am not sure if it was Nazi-oriented when it began, but it certainly was after 1933.  Today I add scans of the full issue for January 1942.  Although dated after Pearl Harbor, the issue was clearly prepared before the Japanese attack.

If you have more information about this interesting periodical I would be delighted to hear from you.

New Cartoons from Der Stuermer

I’ve been adding caricatures to the Der Stürmer page. Some provide a clear prediction of where Nazism was headed.  Take this cartoon from 1935, for example.

It is titled “Don’t Let Go!” The doggerel verse beneath says that it is better to strangle the Jewish serpent to death rather than allow Germany’s misery to return.

A similar theme shows up in September 1944.

Titled “The Jewish Beast,” it suggests that Germany is defending itself against the Jewish threat.  By September 1944, most of the mass murders of the Holocaust had already occurred.  

A Wochenspruch Mystery

There are something over 500 examples of the Wochenspruch der NSDAP on the German Propaganda Archive.  It was a weekly poster with inspiring quotations that was displayed in prominent public places throughout Germany.

They were first issued in 1937 (I think), some coming from the individual Gaue, others from the Reichspropagandaleitung in Munich.  This situation continued until early in 1939, when all issues came from Munich — with the exception of Gau Sachsen, which continued to issue its own well into 1941.  I just bought the latest one I’ve seen, dated 6-12 April 1941.

I am curious as to why Gau Sachsen kept producing its own two years longer than anyone else.  Should anyone uncover the reason I’d be delighted to hear it.

Speech by Gauleiter Adolf Wagner (1936)

I’ve been gradually adding to a page of speeches and essays by the Nazi Gauleiter, the regional party bosses.  This material is rather difficult to find, and as always I welcome relevant material that I can add to the site.

Today I add part of a speech by Gauleiter Adolf Wagner, the party’s boss in Munich.  It takes on the Catholic Church for being unwilling to accept Nazism’s claims to total power.