Der Stürmer Der Stürmer ( , " The Attacker " ) was a weekly tabloid - format Nazi newspaper published by Julius Streicher , the prominent NSDAP official , from 1923 to the end of World War II in 1945 , with brief suspensions in publication due to legal difficulties . It was a significant part of the Nazi propaganda machinery and was vehemently anti - Semitic . Unlike the " Völkischer Beobachter " ( translatable as " The People ' s Observer " ) , the official party paper which gave itself an outwardly serious appearance , the tabloid - style " Der Stürmer " often ran obscene and tasteless materials such as anti - Semitic caricature s and propaganda - like accusations of Blood libel against Jews , sexually explicit , anti - Catholic , anti - communist , anti - capitalist and anti - " reactionary " propaganda too . The paper originated at Nuremberg during Adolf Hitler ' s attempt to establish power and control . During the struggle to achieve power , Streicher was accused by the opposition of the Nazi party as being " a liar , a coward , of having unsavory friends , mistreating his wife and of flirting with women " . Despite the accusations , the first copy of " Der Stürmer " was published April 20 , 1923 . " Der Stürmer " ’ s circulation grew over time , distributing to a large percentage of the German population as well as Argentina , Brazil , Canada and the United States . Between August 1941 and September 1944 , Streicher authorized articles demanding the annihilation and extermination of the Jewish race . After the war , he was convicted of crimes against humanity and executed . Racist caricatures . " Der Stürmer " was best known for its effective antisemitic caricatures , which depicted Jews as ugly characters with exaggerated facial features and misshapen bodies . In his propaganda work , Streicher furthered old myths from the Middle Ages , e . g . , that Jews killed children , sacrificed them and drank their blood . Many of these drawings were the work of Philipp Rupprecht , known as " Fips " , who was one of the best - known anti - Semitic cartoonists , his virulent attacks wedding " Jewish capitalists " with " Jewish Communism " and so on . At the bottom of the title page there was always the motto " " Die Juden sind unser Unglück ! " " ( " The Jews are our misfortune ! " ) , coined by Heinrich von Treitschke in the 1880s . In the nameplate was the motto " " Deutsches Wochenblatt zum Kampfe um die Wahrheit " " ( " German Weekly Newspaper in the Fight for Truth " ) . Circulation . Most of its readers were young people and people from the lowest strata of German society . Copies of " Der Stürmer " were displayed in prominent display cases throughout the " Reich " ; as well as advertising the publication , these cases also allowed its articles to reach those readers who either did not have time to buy and read a daily newspaper in depth , or who would be socially embarrassed if they were seen buying it . In 1927 , it sold about 27 , 000 copies every week ; by 1935 , its circulation had increased to around 480 , 000 . Hermann Göring forbade " Der Stürmer " in all of his departments , and Baldur von Schirach banned it as a means of education in the " Hitler Jugend " ' s ( HJ ) [ Hitler Youth ] hostels and other HJ - education facilities by a " " Reichsbefehl " " ( " Reich command " ) . ( IMT vol . XIII / XIV ) . However , other senior Nazi officials , including Heinrich Himmler ( head of the SS ) , Robert Ley ( leader of the DAF ) , and Max Amann ( proprietor of the " Zentral Verlag " ( Central Press ) , comprising 80 percent of the German press in 1942 ) , endorsed the publication , and their statements were often published in " Der Stürmer " . Albert Forster , " Gauleiter " of Danzig ( now Gdańsk ) , wrote in 1937 : " With pleasure I say that the " Stürmer , " more than any other daily or weekly newspaper , has made clear to the people in simple ways the danger of Jewry . Without Julius Streicher and his " Stürmer , " the importance of a solution to the Jewish question would not be seen to be as critical as it actually is by many citizens . It is therefore to be hoped that those who want to learn [ the ] unvarnished truth about the Jewish question will read the " Stürmer . " " Hitler considered Streicher ' s " primitive methods " to be effective in influencing " the man in the street . " In December 1941 he stated : " Streicher is reproached for his " Stürmer " . The truth is the opposite of what people say : he idealised the Jew . The Jew is baser , fiercer , more diabolical than Streicher depicted him . " In February 1942 , he praised the newspaper : " One must never forget the services rendered by the " Stürmer " . . . Now that Jews are known for what they are , nobody any longer thinks that Streicher libelled them . " Hermann Rauschning , who claimed to be Hitler ' s " confidant " , said in the mid - 1930s : " Anti - Semitism . . . was beyond question the most important weapon in [ Hitler ' s ] propagandist arsenal , and almost everywhere it was of deadly efficiency . That was why he had allowed Streicher , for example , a free hand . The man ' s stuff , too , was amusing , and very cleverly done . Wherever , he wondered , did Streicher get his constant supply of new material ? He , Hitler , was simply on thorns to see each new issue of the " Stürmer . " It was the one periodical that he always read with pleasure , from the first page to the last " . During the war , the paper ' s circulation dropped because of paper shortages , as well as Streicher ' s exile from Nuremberg for corruption . More ominously , perhaps , the Jews , its main target , had begun to disappear from everyday life , which diminished the paper ' s relevance . Hitler , however , insisted that Streicher receive sufficient support to continue publishing " Der Stürmer " . After the war , Streicher was tried at the Nuremberg trials . His publishing and speaking activities were a major part of the evidence presented against him . In essence , the prosecutors took the line that Streicher ' s role in inciting Germans to exterminate Jews , made him an accessory to murder , and thus as culpable as those who actually carried out the killing . Prosecutors also introduced evidence that Streicher continued his incendiary articles and speeches when he was well aware that Jews were being slaughtered . Streicher was found guilty of crimes against humanity and hanged . Anti - Semitic content . According to Dennis Showalter , " a major challenge of political anti - Semitism involves overcoming the images of the ' Jew next door ' — the living , breathing acquaintance or associate whose simple existence appears to deny the validity of that negative stereotype . " " Der Stürmer " ' s lurid content appealed to a large spectrum of readers who were lower class and less - sophisticated . " Der Stürmer " was known for its use of simple themes that took little thought . Streicher attacks the Jews in three categories : Sexual crimes . Stories of Jewish men and German women having sex were staples of " Der Stürmer " but many were creations of Streicher ' s imagination , derived from little fact , or random occurrences . Streicher described Jews as sex offenders who were " violators of the innocent " , " perpetrators of bizarre sex crimes " , and " ritual murderers " performed in religious ceremonies using blood of other humans , usually Christians . Streicher also frequently reported attempts of child molestation by Jews . " Der Stürmer " never lacked details about sex , names , and crimes in order to keep readers aroused and entertained . These accusations , articles and crimes printed in " Der Stürmer " were often inaccurate and rarely investigated by staff members . In the newspaper ' s opinion , if a German girl became pregnant by a Jew , the Jew would deny paternity , offer to pay for an abortion , fail to pay child support , or simply leave for the U . S . Within " Der Stürmer " it was not uncommon to hear reports of German women killing their children because they did not want to bring a " Jewish bastard into the world " . Business life . " For Julius Streicher the Jews hatred for Christianity was concealed only for one reason : Business . " Jewish businessmen were often portrayed as doing almost anything to obtain financial wealth which included , in his words , " become a usurer , a traitor , a murderer " . In the summer of 1931 , Streicher focused much of the paper ' s attention on a Jewish owned butchery . One philanthropic merchant operated a soup kitchen ; " Der Stürmer " ran articles accusing the business of poisoning the food served . " Der Stürmer " criticized and twisted every single price increase and decrease in Jewish shops , as well as their charitable donations as a further form of financial greed . This attack on Jewish benevolence received the most public criticism out of all of " Der Stürmer " ' s anti - Semitic propaganda . Jewish neighbors . " Der Stürmer " often gave descriptions of how to know a Jew when one see ' s one . The paper often included racist political cartoons , including caricatures . Besides the graphic depictions , articles often focused on imaginary fears , exaggerations and behavioral differences between Jews and other German citizens . Letter box . Its " Letter Box " encouraged the reporting of Jewish acts ; the unofficial style helped prevent suspicion of propaganda , and lent it an air of authenticity . Bibliography . Ralph Keysers " Der Stürmer " . Instrument de l ' idéologie nazie . Une analyse des caricatures d ' intoxication . L ' Harmattan , Paris 2012 . ISBN 978 - 2 - 296 - 96258 - 3 . Ralph Keysers " L ' intoxication nazie de la jeunesse allemande . Une analyse des livres pour enfants édités par le Stürmer . L ' Harmattan , Paris 2010 . ISBN 978 - 2 - 296 - 55133 - 6 .