Julius
Streicher was a prominent member of the Nazi
Party.
Streicher was born in Fleinhausen, Germany on February
12, 1885 and was the son of a teacher. He worked as an elementary school
teacher until joining the German Army in 1914. Streicher won the Iron
Cross and reached the rank of lieutenant by the time the Armistice was
signed in 1918.
In 1919, Streicher co-founded the anti-Semitic organization Deutsch-Soziale Partei and two years later joined
the the National Socialist
German Workers Party (NSDAP). In 1923, Streicher founded and edited
the racist newspapers, Der Stuermer (1923-45) which he used to build up a deep hatred
of the Jewish race. Eventually the newspaper reached a circulation of
800,000.
In the newspaper Streicher argued that the Jews were
responsible for the depression, unemployment and inflation in Germany.
He claimed that Jews were white-slavers and were responsible for over
90 per cent of the prostitutes in the country.
Streicher had a low IQ (102) and was considered by
many observers to be insane. Despite this his newspaper and his speaking
tours made him one of the best known leaders in Nazi Germany.
In 1940 he was deprived of all party offices after
printing untrue stories about Hermann
Goering. However he remained on good terms with Adolf
Hitler.
Julius Streicher was found guilty of crimes against
humanity at the Nuremberg
War Crimes Trial. His last words before he was executed on October,
16, 1946, were, "Heil Hitler."
