Archive/File: imt/nca/supp-b/nca-sb-02-streicher.01 Last-Modified: 1997/12/08 Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression, Supplement B Origin and Development of Streicher's Anti-Semitism Excerpts from Testimony of Julius Streicher, taken at Nurnberg, Germany, 1 September 1945, at 1415, by Col. Howard A. Brundage, JAGD. Also present: S/Sgt. Howard M. Levy, Court Reporter; Rudolph Pressburger, Interpreter. [Page 1420] Q. What about the teaching of the preservation of blood lines of the master race? A. Yes, I wish I could express myself openly. Q. Well, go ahead. A. Before the first World War, I belonged to the Young Democratic Party. The leader of the Young Social Democratic Party was a Mr. Kramer, who worked at Kohn's bank in Nurnberg. I have talked very often at the evening meetings of the Young Democratic Party. I didn't know any racial questions at that time. During those discussions, I received opposition from young lawyers who were talking against me. This holds true especially [Page 1421] when I talked about nationalistic matters. On my way to Rome, I was warned by this Mr. Kramer that I should express myself in those meetings more carefully, since all those young lawyers were Jewish, and I asked him what the word "Jewish" means. This Mr. Kramer told me: "Streicher, be careful, the Jews are very mighty." This was the first time that I was conscious of the fact that the Jews are no religion but a race. Between Catholics and Protestants you cannot differentiate, but you can differentiate between Protestants and Catholics, and Jews, according to race. After the first World War I came as an officer from the front, and desired to work again at my old trade. I was a school teacher. Then I saw for the first time the red posters saying that the public should attend the revolutionary meetings. Time and time again I went to those revolutionary meetings, and I was astounded to see that all the speakers were members of the Jewish race. The speakers were inciting the working class and telling them of the good things of former times. I volunteered, one time, for a discussion and took opposition to one of those Jewish speakers. I told the workers that it was unnatural to be led by members of the Jewish race. I told them that it would be unnatural if a member of the Jewish race would go to Palestine and dare speak in a Jewish meeting against their own nation. Q. Go ahead with your story. A. This takes place in the spring of 1919. After this speech and this discussion, the whole room applauded me. I went to the next revolutionary assembly of the Communist Party. Everything was prepared so I didn't have to talk any more. I again reported for the discussion. At this time I was thrown off the speaker's platform. They spit at me and threw me out of the assembly hall. At that time I decided to hold my own meetings and enlighten the public. At that time, no one had heard anything about Adolf Hitler. Destiny brought me into this, not the hate for the Jewish race. Destiny told me to fight for my people, my race. My first assembly meeting in the Hercules Velodrome was crowded. Ten thousand people were standing in front of the assembly hall, and it had to be kept in order by the police. I spoke at this assembly for three hours. I told how the German people were enslaved by the Treaty of Versailles, and I said that it is impossible that in all states in Germany, Jews were made ministers. I also declared in this assembly that it is up to the German people to govern themselves. I declared that the Jews as a nation by itself would refuse to be governed by ministers of English, French, or German nationality. [Page 1422] Q. You said "English, French or German"? A. Nationality. I also declared that if Germany wanted to be free again the Treaty of Versailles has got to be broker, and also the reign of the Jews in Germany. Until the year 1921, I had a big mass meeting in Nurnberg every week. Besides that, I participated several evenings during the week in discussions, in smaller groups. That is how the mass movement of German workers got together in Nurnberg. In the year 1921, a wholesale man from Nurnberg asked me if I had heard speeches by Adolf Hitler. I got interested and went to Munich, to an assembly in the Buergerbrau of Adolf Hitler. At that time I did not know Adolf Hitler. At that time I heard him for the first time at Munich. He spoke for almost three hours. The enthusiasm was enormous. I myself was very enthusiastic. After Adolf Hitler was finished with his speech, I arose and forced myself through the crowd to the speakers' desk. I went towards him and introduced myself. I spoke to him: "Heil Hitler! I heard your speech. I can only be the helper but you are the born leader. Here is my movement in Nurnberg." On that evening I have the movement which I created in Nurnberg to Adolf Hitler. It carried the name of "National Socialist German Workers' Party." I carried on my business in the movement in Nurnberg. The name of "Gauleiter" did not exist at that time. The movement of Hitler called itself "Partei" at that time, but it was not an organized movement. At that time, everything was a movement at the beginning. With the handing over of my movement to Adolf Hitler, the bridge was built between southern Germany and northern Germany. For myself, I left Nurnberg and in the next few years made a lot of speeches, in all the larger cities of Germany. The terror against the National Socialist movement was organized in all Germany. Many assemblies were interrupted by the Marxists, but we succeeded in getting the working people on our side. I again and again told the workers at the meetings that Marxism is the creation of world Jewry. I again told the workers that the creation of Marxism was to keep the power of the workers down. I also told the workers that Marxism would not bring about world revolution but would help world capitalism. I also told the workers that the destination of the Jewish world regime meant the enslaving of the workers. Q. Now, following that, you then joined with the Party and continued to preach these things; is that right? A. Yes, since 1921, as I remember. [Page 1423] Q. Well, as a leader of the Party and the leading exponent of anti-Semitism, didn't you know that over two million Jews were killed in concentration camps? A. No. Q. Well, when these Jews were put into concentration camps, and never appeared again, what did you think happened to them? A. After the taking over of the power, all Jewish leaders in political life were put into concentration camps, but a lot of Jews emigrated to other countries. Whatever happened thereafter, I don't know. Q. Well, when a Jew was put into a concentration camp, and you never heard from him again, don't you believe it was your duty to make inquiries? A. No. Q. As you sit here now, and see the result of the Party's program, with respect to the race question, do you still believe that these theories were right? A. The program as it was laid down in the Fuehrer's book "Mein Kampf," in the year 1920, all the world knows is right, but as a human being, the execution of the program, as it is known today, is not right. Q. Well, isn't it a normal result from the preaching of race hatred? A. Anti-Semitism is all over the world. There are about 12 anti-Semitic newspapers in the United States. Mr. Ford published an article in one of his papers. Radio Priest Coughlin can speak openly in the States. Mosley in England pronounced anti-Semitism in the open, and if the declaration about race hatred which I preached would lead to mass murder, we would have had a mass murder right in this town of Nurnberg. This is the most anti-Semitic city in Germany. There are millions of people in Germany who heard my speeches in which I declared: "The question of the Jewish race has got to be taken care of the legal, international way." I openly and repeatedly declared that "Who hits the Jews or one Jew, helps them," and I openly declared that it does not solve the problem of the Jewish question. Q. Well, the fact is that there was mass murder of the Jews in Germany. Now, was that a result of this Party program or not? A. It was never a part of the Party program. Whatever happened here was the result of a superhuman being, and it was not a Party program. Q. Do you mean the "Super Race" theory? A. Madison Grant, an American writer, published a book in [Page 1424] 1913, in which he writes: "The most active race is the Nordic race," and he declares that through the mixing of races, the Nordic race will go down into a race of swamps. Q. How many Jews did you put into the concentration camp? A. I hereby declare -- you might believe it or not -- I do not know how many Jews were put into concentration camps in my Gau, as this was done through the Political Police of Mr. Himmler. Q. I am asking how many Jews you put into the concentration camp? A. I have not brought any into the concentration camp, and how many were brought in, I don't know. Q. How many Jews did you turn over to the Gestapo to be put into the concentration camp? A. I myself did not give any Jews into concentration camps, though the police had the list of those Jews and they took care of that. Q. Who gave the police the list? A. The police got those lists themselves, and the housing office got all those lists and gave the police the responsibility, most likely, to put up their own lists.
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