The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)

The Trial of German Major War Criminals

Sitting at Nuremberg, Germany
7th January to 19th January, 1946

Thirty-First Day: Thursday, January 10th, 1946
(Part 8 of 10)


[Page 167]

THE PRESIDENT: Have you finished what you wish to say?

DR. MARX: Yes, Sir, I have finished what I wanted to say.

THE PRESIDENT: I would point out to you that although the book does appear to have been written by Fritz Fink, which is stated in the paragraph at the top, it has a preface by Streicher, so we may presume that Streicher authorised it; and it was published and printed by "Der Sturmer."

DR. MARX: That is correct. May I add something? I just wanted to call the attention of the Tribunal to the fact that it is not understandable that just that particular sentence was not read. One could be of the opinion that this was an original work of Streicher, in which case the question of whether Streicher agreed with that work would appear of minor importance.

THE PRESIDENT: But you see, Dr. Marx, counsel was reading actually from the preface by Streicher. The last passage that he read, or almost the last, was the preface by Streicher. The last passage I have got marked is the passage on Page 60, which is headed "Preface," and is signed by Julius Streicher, which says in terms that the book was written by School Inspector Fritz Fink.

Let us not take any further time about it.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GRIFFITH-JONES: I think I have reached -

THE PRESIDENT: Will you read the last words of that preface on Page 60 there: "Those who take to heart"?

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GRIFFITH-JONES: If your Lordship pleases, I read towards the end of the paragraph, the first paragraph of the preface:

"Those who take to heart all that has been written with such feeling by Fritz Fink, who for many years has been greatly concerned about the German people, will be grateful to the creator of this outwardly insignificant publication." Then it is signed by Julius Streicher, City of the Reich Party Rallies, Nuremberg, in the year 1937.

I only omitted that last part in the interest of time.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GRIFFITH-JONES: That book is Exhibit GB 180. I will just read the last three lines, which I was not able to read before Dr. Marx interposed. The last three lines of the paragraph under "Introduction":

"No one should be allowed to grow up in the midst of our people without this knowledge of the monstrous character and dangerousness of the Jew."

[Page 168]

I will not occupy the time of the Tribunal by reading further from that book. The nature of the book I hope is clear. I would only refer to the last three lines on the next page in the document book, taking another extract from it:
"One who has reached this stage of understanding will inevitably remain an enemy of the Jews all his life, and will instil this hatred into his own children."
"Der Sturmer" also published some children's books, although I make it quite clear that I am not alleging that the defendant himself wrote the books. But they were issued from his publishing business, and they are, of course, on the same lines as everything else that was published and issued from that business.

The first of them to which I would call attention was entitled in English or the English translation is as follows: "Do not trust the fox in the green meadow nor the Jew on his oath." It is a picture book for children. There are pictures, all of them offensive, depicting Jews, pictures of which a variety of selections appear in the Tribunal's book. And opposite each picture there is a little story.

On Page 62 of the document book the Tribunal will see the kind of thing which appears opposite each picture. Opposite the picture in the Tribunal's document book appears the following:

"Jesus Christ says: 'The Jew is a murderer through and through.' And when Christ had to die the Lord did not know any other people who would have tortured him to death, so he chose the Jews. That is why the Jews pride themselves on being the chosen people."
The writing opposite the first picture, which depicts a very unpleasant looking Jewish butcher cutting up meat, is as follows:
"The Jewish butcher: He sells half refuse instead of meat. A piece of meat lies on the floor, the cat claws another. This does not worry the Jewish butcher, since the meat increases in weight. Besides, one must not forget, he will not have to eat it himself."
Again, in the interest of time, it is not worth quoting the contents of that book any further. The Tribunal can see the type of book it is, the type of teaching it was instilling into the minds of the children. The pictures speak for themselves.

The second picture is a rather beastly picture of a girl being led away by a Jew. On the next page we see the defendant smiling benignly at a children's party, greeting the little children. The next picture depicts copies of "Der Sturmer" posted on a wall with children looking at them.

The next picture perhaps requires a little explanation. It is a picture of Jewish children being taken away from an Aryan school, led away by an unpleasant-looking father, and all the Aryan children shouting and dancing and enjoying the fun very much.

That book becomes Exhibit GB 181.

THE PRESIDENT: You will not be able, will you, to finish in a short time? Perhaps we had better adjourn now.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GRIFFITH-JONES: I have about another 20 minutes.

THE PRESIDENT: We will adjourn now.

(A recess was taken.)

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GRIFFITH-JONES: My Lord, I had finished describing that one children's book. There is a similar book called "The Poisonous Fungus," which has, in fact, been put in evidence already as Exhibit USA 257. It is a book very much the same in character and appearance. It was put in evidence, but it was not read to the Tribunal, and I would like to read one of the short stories from that book because it shows, perhaps, more strikingly,

[Page 169]

I think, than any other extract to which we have referred, the revolting way in which this man poisoned the minds of his listeners and readers.

It is a book of pictures again, with short stories, and Page 69 of the document book shows one of the pictures, a girl sitting in a Jewish doctor's waiting-room.

My Lord, it is not a very pleasant story, but he is not a very pleasant man, and it is only by reading these things that it becomes possible to believe the kind of education that the German children have been receiving during these years, led by this man.

I quote from the story:

"Inge" - that is the girl - "Inge sits in the reception room of the Jew doctor. She has to wait a long time. She looks through the journals which are on the table. But she is much too nervous to read even a few sentences. Again and again she remembers the talk with her mother. Again and again her mind reflects on the warnings of her leader of the League of German Girls. A German must not consult a Jew doctor. And particularly not a German girl. Many a girl that went to a Jew doctor to be cured, found disease and disgrace.

When Inge had entered the waiting-room, she experienced an extraordinary incident. From the doctor's consulting room she could hear the sound of crying. She heard the voice of a young girl: 'Doctor, doctor, leave me alone.'

Then she heard the scornful laughing of a man. And then, all of a sudden it became absolutely silent. Inge had listened breathlessly.

What may be the meaning of all this? she asked herself, and her heart was pounding. And again she thought of the warning of her leader in the League of German Girls.

Inge had already been waiting for an hour. Again she picks up the journals in an endeavour to read. Then the door opens. Inge looks up. The Jew appears. She screams. In terror she drops the paper. Horrified, she jumps up. Her eyes stare into the face of the Jewish doctor, and this face is the face of the devil. In the middle of this devil's face is a huge crooked nose. Behind the spectacles two criminal eyes. And the thick lips are grinning, a grinning that expresses: 'Now I've got you at last, you little German girl!'

And then the Jew approaches her. His fat fingers snatch at her. But now Inge has composed herself. Before he can grab hold of her, she smacks the fat face of the Jew doctor with her hand. One jump to the door. Breathlessly Inge runs down the stairs. Breathlessly she escapes the Jew house."

Comment is almost unnecessary on a story like that, read by children of the age of those who are going to read the books you have seen.

Another picture which I have included in the book is a picture, of course of the defendant, with his youthful admirers standing around looking at it, and the script opposite that picture, which appears on Page 70 of the document book, included the words, and I quote from the last but one paragraph, "Without a solution of the Jewish question there will be no salvation for mankind."

The page itself contains an account of how some boys attended one of his speeches:

"That is what he shouted to us. All of us could understand him. And when, at the end, he shouted 'Sieg- Heil' for the Fuehrer, we all acclaimed him with tremendous enthusiasm. For two hours Streicher spoke on that occasion. To us it appeared to have been but a few minutes."
One can begin to see the effect that all this was having, from the columns of "Der Sturmer" itself. In April, 1936, there appears only one letter; many others appear in other copies from children of all ages. I quote the third

[Page 170]

paragraph of this letter, the letter signed by the boys and girls of the National Socialist Youth Hostel at Grossmullen:
"To-day we saw a play on how the devil persuades the Jew to shoot a conscientious National Socialist. In the course of the play the Jew did it, too. We all heard the shot. We would have all liked to jump up and arrest the Jew. But then the policeman came and after a short struggle took the Jew along. You can imagine, 'Der Sturmer,' that we heartily cheered the policeman. In the whole play not one name was mentioned, but we all knew that this play represented the murder by the Jew, Frankfurter. We were very sick when we went to bed that night. None felt like talking to the others. This play made it clear to us how the Jew sets to work."
My Lord, that book is already in evidence, as I have stated. It is GB 170.

To conclude, I would only draw the attention of the Tribunal again to his authority as a Gauleiter. It appears in the Organisation Book of the N.S.D.A.P. for 1938 - which is already in as Exhibit USA 430 - in the description of the duties and authority of Gauleiters: The Gauleiter bears over- all responsibility for the Fuehrer for the sector of sovereignty entrusted to him. The rights, duties and jurisdiction of the Gauleiter result primarily from the mission assigned by the Fuehrer and, apart from that, from detailed direction.

His association with the Fuehrer and with the other defendants - or some of the other defendants-can be seen from the newspapers. On the occasion of his 50th birthday, Hitler paid a visit to Nuremberg to congratulate him. That was on the 13th February, 1935. The account of that meeting is published in the "Volkischer Beobachter" of that date, and I quote as follows:

"Adolf Hitler spoke to his old comrades in battle and to his followers, in words which went straight to their hearts. By way of introduction, he remarked that it was a special pleasure to be present for a short while in Nuremberg, the town of the National-Socialist community which had been steeled in battle, at this day of honour to Julius Streicher, and to be within the circle of the standard bearers of the National-Socialist idea during many years.

Just as they all of them had during the years of oppression unshakeably believed in the victory of the Movement, so his friend and comrade in the battle, Streicher, had stood faithfully at his side at all times. It had been this unshakeable belief that had moved mountains.

For Streicher it would surely be a solemn thought, that this 50th anniversary meant not only the half-way point of a century, but also of a thousand years of German history to him. He had in Streicher a companion of whom he could say that here in Nuremberg was a man who would never waver for a single second, and who would unflinchingly stand behind him in every situation."

That is M-8 and becomes Exhibit GB 182.

The next document is a letter from Himmler published in "Der Sturmer" of April, 1937. That edition is already Exhibit USA 258:

"If in the future years the history of the reawakening of the German people is written, and if already the next generation will be unable to understand that the German people was once friendly to the Jews, it will be stated that Julius Streicher and his weekly paper 'Der Sturmer' have contributed a great deal towards the enlightenment regarding the enemy of humanity.

Signed: For the Reichsfuehrer S.S. Himmler."

That is Exhibit USA 260. A number of these documents are already in evidence in the bound volumes.


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