Der Giftpilz

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Julius Streicher, the Nazi publisher of the antisemitic newspaper Der Sturmer, issued Der Giftpilz, or The Poison Mushroom, in 1938 to generate antisemitism among young children by wrapping hateful, corrosive lies about Jews in the form of a traditional children's storybook. Today, its naked propaganda is shockingly apparent, but at the time, it was just one step in the Nazis' feverish rush toward the complete destruction of all Jews.

The book uses outright fabrications to create a portrait of Jews as ugly, depraved and dishonest outsiders who must be rooted out for the good of society. Streicher used many of the same simplistic and often contradictory premises for Der Giftpilz that he used in his newspaper. Defying logic, the stories taught that Jews were cunning but also stupid; too lazy to work, yet fanatically dedicated to destroying the Aryan "race"; that they were money-worshipping capitalists but also capitalist-bashing Bolsheviks. The illustrations portrayed non-Jews as fair-haired, attractive, ideal Aryans. They showed Jews as dark, sinister, ugly caricatures.

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Der Giftpilz was one of a raft of similar books for children, which in turn formed part of a pervasive climate of public and official propaganda. The book, contrived as a series of lessons, compares the Jew to the poison mushroom in the wild: sometimes difficult to distinguish, but always deadly. Streicher was tried for war crimes and hanged in 1946. Today, his book stands as a stark warning against the very hatred it had tried to generate.

Translations

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The Poison Mushroom A boy and his mother gather wild mushrooms and she tells him that Jews, like poison mushrooms, are difficult to identify, and that it is critical to learn how. He proudly assures her that he already knows, and she praises him.

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How One Recognizes the Jew A boys' class is learning to identify Jews. The boys eagerly repeat what they have learned: Jews have bent noses, thick lips, fleshy eyelids and shifty eyes. In short, they resemble the Devil.

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How the Jews Came to be Among Us Jews are portrayed as dirty swindlers and outsiders who, after accumulating enough wealth, insidiously try to blend into the larger population, always unsuccessfully.

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What is the Talmud? A rabbi tells his student that the Talmud teaches Jews they are superior to Gentiles. Gentiles, he says, are made to do all the work while Jews have everything done for them.

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Why Do Jews get Baptized? Two young women complain that Jews should not be baptized as Christians because they are criminals and will ruin the church.

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How a German Farmer was Driven From his Home and Farm A farm boy tells his father that when he grows up, he will never let a Jew into his house. His father approves, telling him that the cheating Jews are the enemy of peasants.

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