Guided History

by Natalie Armacost

Topic:

My paper will be about the use of Blood Libel and Ritual Murder in the Nazi Party in Germany.  The most prolific propagandist that used blood libel was Julius Streicher, so the research focuses on his work.  Because of the language translation, whenever ritual murder and ritualmord are used interchangeably.

Introduction:

While the topic of blood libel and ritual murder was used in specific places and times throughout history, it was always a one-off event  and the people involved in large trials like Norwich, Trent, and Damascus were not involved in multiple trials in multiple places in a short span of time.  While this is the trend for most of the history of the blood libel accusation, the tide turns extremely during the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.  One man, Julius Streicher, propagandized the idea of ritual murder, or ritualmord, and brings it to national consciousness.  

Julius Streicher wrote often about ritualmord in the context of the Third Reich and the danger the Jewish population to the Aryan race.  This allows for many primary sources through the archive at Calvin College.  Books like The Pinnacle of Hatred by Darren O’Brien are helpful in giving context to the works.

Julius Streicher’s rise and fall in the Nazi party and his use of ritualmord brought the idea everywhere in the minds of people in Europe, from newspapers to movies and children’s books.

Sections:

History of Julius Streicher, the Nazi Party, and Ritualmord

Julius Streicher was one of the earliest members of the Nazi party.  He was involved in Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch and started gaining titles and responsibilities after Hitler’s release from prison.  Streicher also served in the Bavarian Parliament.  While a member of the party, he independently published his newspaper, Der Stuermer, and also published children’s books that were in line with the newspaper’s anti-semitic nature.

After attempting to humiliate Hermann Goering at a Nazi gathering in 1938, Streicher was stripped of all of his titles and responsibilities.  Because Der Stuermer was not a Nazi publication, he continued publishing until the end of the war where he was found a war criminal and was executed in Nuremberg.

Newspapers and Pamphlets

Der Stuermer began publishing in 1926 and continued to publish until the end of World War II.  The most infamous special edition which is most useful to this paper is the special Ritual Murder issue which had a artwork cover of Jews collecting Christian blood.  It also alleged a full conspiracy of Jews to kill Christians and collect their blood for religious services.  This issue was published in 1936 and was eventually banned by the Nazi government because of the parallels Streicher drew between this ritual murder practice and the practice of Christians receiving communion.

Der Stuermer’s Battle was a pamphlet that was distributed by Karl Holz to bring people to understand the goals and message of Der Stuermer, hopefully bringing in new readers.  

Warum Arierparagraph? Ein Beitrag Zur Judenfrage” was another pamphlet that was released to explain to the German people the laws that were being put into place that limited Jewish people in Germany.

Children’s Books

Der Giftpilz, or the Poisonous Mushroom, was a children’s book published by Julius Streicher.  The aim of the book was to show children how dangerous Jews are to them.  The most relevant chapter in the book is about how Jews torture animals and that sometimes they can kill Christian men, women, and children as well.  

Der Ewige Jude

Der Ewige Jude was a Nazi propaganda movie chronicling the migration of the Jews (compared to diseased rats) from Palestine to other countries.  The film shows the spread of the Jewish infection that the Nazis believed was happening all over the world.  Along with the movie, the Nazis released a book of photographs that illustrated similar points.  There was also an exhibition of the same title organized by Julius Streicher that drew very large crowds in Germany.

Annotated Bibliography