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.
Kingsbury Smith, the American journalist who covered the hangings for the International News Service, reported on Streicher’s last moments at the gallows:
His hands were tied securely behind his back. Two guards, one on each arm, directed him to Number One gallows on the left of the entrance. He walked steadily the six feet to the first wooden step but his face was twitching.
As the guards stopped him at the bottom of the steps for [the] identification formality he uttered his piercing scream: “Heil Hitler!”
The shriek sent a shiver down my back. . . .
He was pushed the last two steps to the mortal spot beneath the hangman’s rope. The rope was being held back against a wooden rail by the hangman.
Streicher was swung suddenly to face the witnesses and glared at them. Suddenly he screamed, “Purim Fest 1946!”
The American officer standing at the scaffold said, “Ask the man if he has any last words.”
When the interpreter had translated, Streicher shouted, “The Bolsheviks will hang you one day.”
When the black hood was raised over his head, Streicher’s muffled voice could be heard to say, “Adele, my dear wife.”
At that instant the trap opened with a loud bang. He went down kicking.
