Purim fest! 1946, 2018

On October 16th, 1946, Julius Streicher was among 12 prominent Nazis who were found guilty of crimes against humanity and peace by the Allied forces at the Nuremberg Trials. The sentence was execution by hanging. 

Staring at the witnesses facing the gallows, Streicher shouted his final words: “Purimfest, 1946!”

His final words reference the Book of Esther, read aloud during the Jewish festival of Purim. The scripture tells the story of a Jewish woman who becomes Queen of Persia in order to thwart the plan of the King’s advisor, Haman, to exterminate her people. Haman met his fate, much like Streicher, hanged on the gallows with his ten sons. 

Streicher was the founder and publisher of anti-semitic newspaper Der Stürmer, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine. The publishing firm was also responsible for indoctrinating children with anti-semitism through popular children’s books and board games.

This piece explores the role of Holocaust trauma in Israel’s institutionalized discrimination of Palestinians, and Israel’s use of propaganda to indoctrinate hatred and fear of Palestinians to perpetuate apartheid.