Background: The following editorial by Julius Streicher comes from Der Stürmer. It is one of many in which Streicher specifically discusses the annihilation or extermination of the Jews. At the Nuremberg trials, Streicher claimed he really didn't mean what his words suggest. The reader might come to a different conclusion after reading this editorial. For more information on the Stürmer and its editor, see my book on Julius Streicher. The source: Julius Streicher, "Der Weg zur Tat," Der Stürmer, #5/1943. The Way to Action by Julius Streicher When National Socialism began its battle for the soul of the German people after World War I, it was met both with stubborn indifference and forceful resistance. The indifference with which the "class of the disinherited" heard the preachers of something new, as well as terror on the part of others, was grounded in the past. The German "proletariat," the German workers, entered the twentieth century with the hope that their demands for social improvement would finally be fulfilled. The German worker knew that morality was on his side, and his faith in the victory of justice was firm and unshakable. The so-called organized German labor movement, however, did not fulfill these hopes. It could not, for the workers did not lead their struggle for freedom. Its leaders were the tools of the very power that the workers hoped to destroy by their revolution. At the end of the First World War, the German workers organized by the International did win some successes, but the successes did not benefit them, since real success would have worked to the disadvantage of the Jewish rulers of the worker's Internationale. After the workers had been so terribly deceived by the International, could one really expect that they would put their confidence in National Socialism? Was not their reluctance a sign of their inner decency, of not being willing to trust National Socialism for fear of being deceived once more? He who wants to regain the faith of those who have been betrayed must possess a holy faith. Such a faith was the foundation of National Socialism's decade-long struggle for victory. As Adolf Hitler stood before the German people for the first time, he knew that the National Socialist German Workers Party's program could never be accomplished without winning the confidence of those who had been betrayed. He knew that only gaining governmental power would enable National Socialism to prove its integrity. Thus he always said: "We know that others have betrayed you! I ask you to believe that I will not betray you! Give me your faith, and you will see the results!" The miracle of National Socialism is that it succeeded in producing a faith that led to power, and therefore allowed the faith of the people to be rewarded. There were only a few years before the Second World War to fulfill the promises. But these few years were sufficient to prove to the German people that National Socialism would transform Germany and create a new, victorious order. Only the German people's knowledge that they were not being betrayed gave the National Socialist Führer the support that no former king or Kaiser had enjoyed. Without this confidence the Führer of the German people would never have been able to take on a question so serious that it broke former states and ruined their peoples: The Jewish Question! There were certainly minor rulers in the past who came to understand that the Jews are the cause of misfortune, and that only their complete destruction (völlige Vernichtung) could save the world from being completely poisoned. But this knowledge never led to action. Despite the knowledge that a complete solution was necessary, it was never attempted until the twentieth century, through historic actions by National Socialism. When at the beginning of the Second World War the Jews again revealed themselves as the arsonists of war, Adolf Hitler announced to the world in the German Reichstag that world war unleashed by world Jewry would end with their destruction. His prophecy was a warning. The Jews mocked the warning, as they mocked all subsequent ones. Now, in the fourth year of the war, World Jewry is beginning to recognize that its fate will be determined by National Socialism. What the Führer of the German people prophesied at the beginning of the Second World War is becoming bitter reality: World Jewry planned to do good business with the blood of the fighting peoples, but finds itself hurrying toward its annihilation [Ausrottung]! As Adolf Hitler stood before the German people twenty years ago to proclaim National Socialism's program, he also made the fateful promise to free the world of its Jewish tormentors. It is wonderful to know that this great man and Führer is keeping this promise! It will be the greatest deed in human history. We are too near the events to praise in solemn worship the deed that has been begun. But the day will come when all of mankind enjoys the peace that it has longed for for millennia.   [Page copyright © 1998 by Randall Bytwerk. No unauthorized reproduction. My email address is available on the FAQ page.] Go to the 1933-1945 Page. Go to the German Propaganda Archive Home Page.