Julius Streicher was born on February 12, 1885 in Fleinhausen, Bavaria. As a young adult, he started his career as an elementary school teacher. However, with the outbreak of WWI, Streicher quit his job teaching in order to enlist to fight for Germany. He fought the entire war and was highly decorated by the end of it. With Germany’s devastating defeat, he became involved in radical political activity.
In 1919, he became a member of the Schutz-und-Trutz Bund (Society for Defense and Protective Action). This was an association against the new socialist Bavarian Republic. This is the first moment that he publicly showed antisemitic ways.
In 1922, Streicher convinced his followers to join the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers’ Party). He was one of the first members of the Nazi party. (“Julius Streicher: Biography”)
In 1923, he founded the antisemitic and racist newspaper, Der Stuermer. He also led the first official nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses in 1933. He continued to edit and sell his newspaper that influenced thousands of Germans throughout the rest of his life. He was the sole reason that many Germans had such strong antisemitic beliefs. He had such an influential role, he was arrested and charged with crimes against humanity. He was found guilty and ultimately he was sentenced to death. (“Julius Streicher”)
<http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/sturmer.htm>. ("Caricatures from Der Stuermer.")
Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl was born on August 22, 1902 in Berlin. She started off as an interpretive dancer. This career was put on pause when she suffered a devastating knee injury. She then decided that she wanted to become involved with film. She starred in multiple silent films by the German director Arnold Fanck.
She directed her first major feature film, Das Blaue Licht (The Blue Light), in 1932. This film attracted the attention of Adolf Hitler. At this time, Hitler was only a rising politician. Riefenstahl was fascinated with Hitler. She was amazed at his ability to persuade audiences.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler asked Riefenstahl to direct the short film, Der Sieg des Glaubens (The Victory of Faith). This film was shot at the Nuremberg Nazi Rally Party in 1933. This film was what she based her more famous work, Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), on.
These films won countless awards. They are said to be the most brilliant propaganda films ever produced.
She accompanied German troops near Konskie. While there, she witnessed multiple innocent Polish civilians shot and killed. She stopped filming for that day just to personally ask Hitler to stop such violence. She thought that it was unnecessary. Hitler made no changes, but Riefenstahl continued to do films for him. This was the first moment of doubt she had when working with the Nazis.
She insisted that she was making the films for the sake of her craft and that in no way was she making them to support the Nazi authorities. After the war was over, she was declared a Nazi Sympathizer. Although never an actual member of the Nazi party, Riefenstahl had difficulties trying to overcome her association with the Nazis. She had a hard time trying to regain her position in the German cinematic community. She eventually turned to still photography and underwater cinematography. She never quite escaped her connection with the Nazis. ("Leni Riefenstahl")
Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels was born on October 29, 1897 in Rheydt, Germany. He was raised Catholic, and his parents hoped that he would one day become a priest. He did not wish to be a priest, and instead wanted to be a writer. This led him to study literature and philosophy. He even earned a Ph.D. in drama. He received countless rejections from newspapers because of his writing style. He wrote in a very pretentious way that not many could relate to. This made him more suitable for political work.
Goebbels caught the eye of someone very important. Adolf Hitler was interested by his talents and sent him to Berlin, Germany in 1926. His purpose in Berlin was to establish a strong Nazi presence in the city. In 1928, Hitler named Goebbels his propaganda chief.
When Nazis came to power in 1933, Goebbels began to put many restrictions on all forms of art. He banished Jewish writers, artists, and journalists from German culture.
In 1938, Goebbels ordered that spontaneous brutal attacks needed to be performed on Jews during the night. This order resulted in Kristallnacht. During Kristallnacht, ninety-one Jews died, thirty thousand were sent to concentration camps, seven thousand Jewish businesses were destroyed, and over nine hundred synagogues were demolished.
One of his main focuses during the war was to boost German morale toward the military. He wrote countless articles too try to raise German spirits. He promised a victory that he was only fantasising about. He encouraged people to resist the Allies as best as they possibly could. He knew that if the Axis Powers lost the war, it would have extreme consequences for the Nazi government in Germany.
When Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, Goebbels was among the very few people who retrieved the body and put it in the location that it was later burned. The next day, on May 1, 1945, Goebbels followed after Hitler and poisoned his six children, shot his wife, and shot himself. To this day, Joseph Goebbels is considered to be the most important figure in producing an atmosphere in Germany that made the Nazis be able to commit such terrible crimes against Jews and other minorities. ("Joseph Goebbels")