"Adolph Hitler Appointed Chancellor of Germany" and other 1930s HeadlinesGail Heriot

I can't resist Ebay.  I buy everything there--18th century botanical prints, photographs of my great, great, great aunt, a 17th century Spanish mission chair, cacti, the floorplan of my great, great, great, great, great grandfather's house, 19th century Latin American trunks, rooting hormone for plants, vegetable crate labels, and a book on magic.  And don't forget the portraits of Jonathan Swift, Adam Smith, James Madison, and Marshall Field.

Two weeks ago I purchased a booklet with American newspaper stories about Hitler.  I was curious about the tone they would take.  Were American newspapers keeping citizens tolerably aware of what was going on in Germany in the 1930s?  After reading the article over breakfast this morning, I'd have to say that the answer is somewhat more in the affirmative than the negative.  (No, they weren't encyclopedias of information, but these are newspapers.) Still, it's a bit disconcerting to read headlines written by editors who didn't know how the story was going to unfold ... and to see celebrity gossip and weather reports right next to stories about Nazis.  (By the way, sanitized English translations of Mein Kampf did not become available until after Hitler's rise to power and unabridged versions were not sold here until the late 1930s. On the other hand, a lot of Americans spoke German.  A lot more Americans spoke German in the 1930s than speak Arabic today.)

The first article in the twelve-article collection was from the Boston Evening Globe (Jan. 30, 1933) and announces "ADOLPH HITLER APPOINTED CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY."   In retrospect, it sounds a little silly in calling him the "picturesque leader of the German Fascists."  The article tries to be reassuring.  "But in granting him the ambition of his political lifetime, President von Hindenberg surrounded him with a Cabinet of Conservatives," it states.  It goes on to list various cabinet appointees who had been members of previous administrations.  The message seemed to be, "This guy's a big loon, but we think everything's going to be okay, because he's getting some adult supervision."  That's the same message a lot of Germans were getting.

Two months later, the Dallas Morning News's top story was "Nazi Boycott Against Jews Observed in Holiday Style:  Disorders are Exception and Only Two Deaths Chronicled as Shops Close Over Nation (April 2, 1933).  The headline sound vaguely frivolous, but the story isn't.  Goebbels is quoted as saying that if the boycott has to be resumed, "we will crush German Jewry."

By 1938, the headlines are scarier.  On November 11, 1938, the Dallas Morning News' top story was "HYSTERICAL NAZIS WRECK THOUSANDS OF JEWISH SHOPS, BURN SYNAGOGUES IN WILD ORGY OF LOOTING AND TERROR: Policemen Refuse to Halt Organized Riots in Germany:  Many Non-Aryans Commit Suicide; Goebbels Calls Violence Justifiable As Revenge for Paris Assassination.  The Houston Post's lead story on November 23, 1939 was "NAZI GERMANY THREATENS TO EXTERMINATE JEWS:  Hitler Organ Sounds Cry for Elimination; Goebbels Urges Party Leaders to More Outrages. 

By 1939, of course, Europe was at war, and the rest is history.  Come to think of it, all of it is history.  An interesting footnote:  In the corner of the Dallas paper reporting Kristallnacht was a tiny story, "Strip Tease Banned from College Fete," which concerned my alma mater, the University of Chicago.  The Dean cancelled the act from a homecoming event.  I'll bet the Provost of Duke University wishes he'd been given that opportunity.

Comments

[Timotheus]

Seems similar to the history of another leader:

"The Iranian regime under President Ahmadinejad has spoken openly about wiping Israel off the map, has fueled Hezbollah's terror campaign in the region and around the world, and defied the world community in its pursuit of nuclear weapons – capabilities that make these threats even more ominous. As General David Petraeus testified last week, Iran is also supporting Shia militia extremists and violence that is taking the lives of American soldiers and undermining the Iraqi government."

-From Mitt Romney's letter to the U.N. Secretary General urging the U.N. to revoke their invitation to Ahmadinejad to speak to the General Assembly.
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/UN_Letter

[dearieme]

"This guy's a big loon, but we think everything's going to be okay, because he's getting some adult supervision." I've heard that more recently.