Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism Through the Eyes of Everyday People

by Julia Boyd

That left Klaus outside, but he hopped through a pantry window while everybody else was busy heiling Herr Streicher as he entered. So there we both were in the gigantic smoke-and-noise filled hall. The speech which followed was the first of its kind I’ve ever heard in my life. I knew it was going to make me furious of course but I didn’t quite realise that I’d be literally shaking with anger so that I didn’t think I could stand up. First of all, he is a superb demagogue, who absolutely fascinates his audience. He knows just when to make them laugh and when to get sentimental, and how to fan the flames of race prejudice until the hearers are slavering for a Jew to attack. He told a long series of unbelievable lies: that there’s no such thing as a decent Jew in the world, that they all have a certain bacillus in their blood which gives diseases to ‘white’ people; that they caused the world war, the downfall of Rome and heaven knows what else. He retailed gruesome stories of German girls defiled by marriage with Jews, and made every point clear with some vulgar joke. I really looked desperately around the room for one sane person who wasn’t believing it all – but with the exception of Klaus, who, although a National Socialist, was also disgusted, they were all hanging on his words. Of course they were a very unintelligent, common crowd; the respectable people don’t go to hear Streicher because they know what a devil he is – but if a few more of them did go, they might have a ...