On 15 August 1935, there was a massive meeting of Nazis at the Berlin Sportpalast. Banners with antisemitic slogans hung from the balconies. Tens of thousands of people eagerly awaited Julius Streicher's speech. The Sportpalast was not big enough for the crowds that had turned up, so his speech was broadcast in the packed tennis courts next to the central hall.
Julius Streicher’s speech at the Berlin Sportpalast
Aug. 15, 1935 Berlin
Since 1923, Julius Streicher had been the editor-in-chief of Der Stürmer, a sensationalist magazine filled with antisemitic propaganda, often with almost pornographic allusions. In his speech he said nothing new, but he came to Berlin so rarely, that people wanted to see him in real life.
A journalist from the Prager Presse wrote: “The speech was a spoken edition of Der Stürmer and contained detailed descriptions of the most intimate matters. (...) Streicher is a populist rhetorician. He knows how to appeal to the basest instincts of his audience.”
(“Die Rede war eine gesprochene Stürmernummer und enthielt detaillierte Schilderungen über die intimsten Dinge. (...) Streicher ist ein demagogischer Volksredner, er versteht es an die niedrigsten Instinkte seiner Zuhörer zu apellieren.”)