October 27, 2016
Source: Bigstock
Of all the Nuremberg condemned, Streicher was the only one who did not go gentle into that good night. In fact, he went to the gallows in a most un-gentle manner, screaming about Jews and prophesizing that one day the “Bolsheviks” would “slit the throats” of his captors. But even though ol” Julius exited the stage foaming at the mouth with anger, I can”t help but think that he”d have a smile on his face were he alive today. Because throughout his life, Streicher was always at odds with the “intellectuals” in the party, who looked down their noses at his vulgar cartoons. The German elites saw Der Stürmer as trash for the uneducated, childish nonsense for the immature. But Streicher believed differently; he knew the power of a good meme.
And what survives today from the labor of the men who were sentenced to death 70 years ago? What has become frontline ammo among the internet warriors who battle “the Jews” and champion “the misunderstood Führer” on social media? What gets tweeted? What gets Facebooked? What gets “shit-posted?” What has cropped up numerous times during the 2016 presidential election? Göring’s undeniably sharp and well-reasoned on-the-stand rebuke of the charges against him? Dönitz’s impassioned defense? The details of Schacht’s brilliant economic restructuring of Germany?
Nope. What survives are the Stürmer caricatures. The original ones, and the newer iterations like the “Bwa-ha-ha Jew.” Streicher was right. Damn him to hell, he was right. His hate-filled, simpleminded garbage is what has survived the test of time. It can even be said that his prophecy from the gallows carried a grain of truth. The West is indeed getting its throat slit…not so much by “Bolsheviks,” but by Muslim extremists who love nothing more than to murder people over cartoons. It’s almost as if Streicher had cursed his captors, so that one day they would be killed over caricatures, just as he was.
It’s often said that of the eleven bodies grotesquely laid out for the media post-execution, only Göring had a look of contentment (did I mention that he “cheated the hangman”?). But I don”t know…Streicher looks a little pleased with himself too. Smug, almost. The photo of his corpse seems ready-made to become a meme itself; just add “kek” in Impact and you”re done. Maybe I”m reading too much into it, but then again, maybe he knew something everyone else didn”t. Maybe it took a guy of ordinary intelligence to understand the ordinary man. Because that he did. Complex intellectual arguments are for queers and pussies. Real men troll their enemies with memes and clickbait.
Julius Streicher, the original “shitlord.” I can hate him all I want, but I can”t begrudge him his legacy.
