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There were Nazis in the United States even before
Hitler took power. This is the cover from the Nazi illustrated
weekly of 21 November 1931 showing the Chicago band of Nazis.
Their flag is their own design, not at all similar to what the
Nazis were using in Germany. The interior of the magazine has
other photographs of American Nazis in Chicago, Detroit, and New
York.
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This picture from the Nazi illustrated weekly shows
Hitler’s office in the Brown House in Munich in 1931. The Brown
House was the party headquarters in Munich, bought with considerable
sacrifice on the part of many members. Once in power, Hitler eventually
had himself an even more impressive office built in Albert Speer’s
Reich Chancellery.
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German publishers reacted quickly to new conditions.
This is the front illustration to the 1934 edition of a long-running
series. The poem accompanying the picture:
What’s this racing up a storm?
The Hitler Youth four-boy race!
Gallop! Gallop! It's the final lap!
Each boy knows:
In games, as in life, the winner is
Only he who keeps going to the end!
Heil Hitler!
Source: Auerbachs Deutscher Kinder-Kalender
1934 (Leipzig: Verlag von Auerbachs Deutschem Kinder-Kalender,
1933). |
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This is one panel of stained glass windows in a
building in the town of Buchholz that commemorated Nazi history.
The first four frames have lines from the Horst Wessel Song:
“Raise high the Flag! Close the Ranks! / The S.A. is marching
with calm and steadfast step / Millions already look to the swastika,
full of hope. / The day of freedom and prosperity is near. / Heil
Hitler!”
Source: Hans Henningsen, Niedersachsenland,
du wurdest unser! Zehn Jahre Nationalsozialismus im Gau Ost-Hannover.
Streiflichter aus der Kampfzeit (Hamburg: Niedersachsen-Stürmer
Verlag, 1935).
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The second stained glass window. The text: “Only
German blood may till German soil. / Honor the strong hand, for
it works for you. / Germany’s future is in her mothers’ holy wombs.
/ Germany's army always preserves Germany's honor. / The art and
science of our race is our pride.”
Source: Hans Henningsen, Niedersachsenland,
du wurdest unser! Zehn Jahre Nationalsozialismus im Gau Ost-Hannover.
Streiflichter aus der Kampfzeit (Hamburg: Niedersachsen-Stürmer
Verlag, 1935).
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A Nazi graphic for May Day 1936. A factory worker
and a farmer join together.
Source: N.S. Frauenwarte, #22 (1935/36).
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A sign outside a business announcing that it is an “Aryan” firm.
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This is the cover to the program for the Nazi exhibition
titled The Eternal Jew. |
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This is the rare program for an exhibit titled:
“This is the Soviet Paradise. Anti-Bolshevist Exhibition of Gauleitung
Westfalen-Nord.” It is undated, but probably comes from 1937, when
the Nazis ran a major anti-Bolshevist campaign. This is on the
list to translate one of these days.
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The Nazis took over Austria in March 1938, providing
a new arena for propaganda. This picture shows an enormous version
of “Ein Volk Ein Reich Ein Führer” [One
People One Reich One Führer] carved into the
side of the Brandjoch, a peak in the Karwendel range visible from
Innsbruck. According to the caption, the words in the snow, put
there by local mountain climbers, were almost a mile long.
Source: Illustrierter Beobachter,
#15/1938.
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In this picture, Hitler touches one of his birthday
presents for the year: a model of the Volkswagen. Next to him are
Robert Ley and Ferdinand Porsche.
Source: Illustrierter Beobachter,
#17/1938.
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This was the doorknocker for the remodelled city
hall in Lauf. The Nazis took particular pleasure in this kind of
anti-Semitic item.
Source: Franken-Kalender 1939
(Nuremberg: Verlag Fränkische Tageszeitung, 1938).
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Eleanor Roosevelt was a favorite target of Nazi
propaganda. In this article, taken from the party's illustrated
weekly, she is assailed for her support of Marion Anderson. Promoting
a Negro singer, the article claims, insults the healthy racial attitudes
of the American public.
Source: Illustrierter Beobachter,
#25/1939.
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The two-page article, published in early August
1939, just before the Nazi invasion of Poland, presents an unflattering
portrait of Jews in Poland. Immediately after the invasion, there
were further articles along these lines, culminating in the anti-Semitic
film Der ewige Jude, released in 1940.
Source: Illustrierter Beobachter,
#31/1939.
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This is the second page of the article above.
Source: Illustrierter Beobachter,
#31/1939.
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The cover of a summer 1940 pamphlet attacking England.
It provides charts of England’s colonial empire over the years,
and descriptions of alleged English perfidy.
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The Nazis wanted to replace Christian rites of baptism,
marriage, and death with their own rituals. This picture, from a
book intended for Nazi propagandists in Austria, shows a “name
giving” ceremony. The text : “A name giving in the parents'
home. This is a good, exemplary arrangement within the small circle
of the family and comrades. The room is modestly decorated. The
ancestor candelabra on the speaker's platform looks very nice, as
do the youth who are participating (a Pimpf as speaker,
with a BDM choir). The happiness and joy of a name giving is shown
very well in this picture.” Note the picture of Hitler to the
right.
Source: Lebensfeiern (Linz: NS Gau-Verlag
Oberdonau, 1941).
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This picture is of the “wedding hall”
in the small town of Thalheim (near Wels). The caption: “A
lovely and appropriate wedding hall. The quotation on the wall [‘The
family is the smallest but most important unit in building the whole
state structure.’] is presented in beautiful lettering,
which should be done more often when decorating wedding halls. Due
to the low ceiling, the placement of the eagle is unsatisfactory.
A better solution needs to be found. A small picture of the Führer,
or a bust of the Führer on a wooden column, would be better.
Beautiful banners could be placed in the corners.”
Source: Lebensfeiern (Linz: NS Gau-Verlag
Oberdonau, 1941).
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The Nazis did their best to remove any notion of
Christ and Christianity from Christmas. This is the 1943 version
of a pamphlet intended to help Germans celebrate Christmas in the
approved manner. A soldier stands guard in the east, protecting
the German homeland. The interior contains stories of war Christmases
past and present, pictures of Christmas decorations, etc. The pamphlet
was issued by a department of the Reichspropagandaleitung
and published by the party’s publishing house.
Source: Deutsche Kriegsweihnacht (Munich:
Franz Eher, 1943).
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Hans Schweitzer (pen name: Mjlönir) was the
quintessential Nazi cartoonist/artist. This 1942 drawing appeared
as the tide in Russia was turning against the Nazis. Typical of
his style, two large Nazis move forward to confront midget enemies.
Der Hoheitsträger was the periodical for Nazi leaders
at the Ortsgruppenleiter level and above.
Source: Der Hoheitsträger, November 1942 (back
cover). |
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During the war the Nazis grew increasingly worried about people listening to foreign radio broadcasts. Soon people were being imprisoned and even executed if caught listening to the BBC. The tag said: “Think about it. Listening to foreign stations is a crime against our people’s national security. By order of the Führer, it is punished by severe prison sentences.”
To enforce the measure party block leaders and local group leaders (the lowest echelons of the party) were ordered to inspect radios in people’s homes. This was unpopular. In Mecklenburg party officials tried, then sent the difficulties they’d encountered on to the county leadership: “Objections were so strong that the block leaders and local group leaders reported to the county office that it is impossible to do it again.” The document is in the Bundesarchiv, NS 18/988.
Source: I took the photo at the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum in Leizpig. |
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This picture shows what the Nazis thought was a
bad example of decorating a stage. The caption translates: “The
excessive use of greenery (evergreen branches and wreaths, in circular
and pointed form) result is a most unsettling and dark effect. The
hidden lighting produces a mysterious, almost mystic mood. Because
of the lighting, the bust of the Führer is hardly recognizable
as such. Besides that, busts or pictures of the Führer are
innapropriate at memorials for the dead. The wreath should not be
surrounded by black crepe, but rather by the ribbons of the Party.
The Iron Cross is not the way it is in actuality.”
Source: Die neue Gemeinschaft, February 1943. |
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This striking picture is captioned: “Remembering
the fallen husband.” In what is almost an altar, Hitler’s portrait
is on the wall above a picture of the woman’s husband, while a candle
burns. The two children suggest that, though the man has died, his
blood lives on. This picture (the exact date of which I neglected
to write down) is from the magazine for party leaders instructing
them how to conduct party ceremonies.
Source: Die neue Gemeinschaft, a 1944 issue. |