Nazi era papers on sale in Germany

Newspapers from the Third Reich era go on sale in Germany, with the aim of putting Nazi propaganda into context.

This newspaper isn’t exactly hot out of the press. In fact, it was originally printed over 75 years ago when Hitler came to power in Germany. But facsimiles of these Nazi papers are now on sale again in German newspaper shops, only this time with commentary from well known historians.

British publisher Peter McGee is one of those behind the project which aims to put a Nazi propaganda into context.

Our team of experts doesn’t just present the newspaper. It discusses, it describes, it analyzes, it shows people how to interpret the information. But as well as the big stories and the important stories of the time, it also covers social histories.

McGee hopes to present a full picture of the German society between 1933 when Hitler seized power and the end of World War II in 1945. The newspaper called Zeitungszeugen which means Newspaper Witnesses will be available in the shops weekly for a year.

More than 60 years after the end of World War II, Germany still has a problem with far-right radicals. And the general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany worries that some people, such as neo-Nazis(1), may use the newspaper for the wrong reasons.

I think this opens the floodgates and it doesn’t add to your understanding of historical facts. Rather, it carries the risks that it might supply sympathizers with authentic materials.

The Nazi period is still a very sensitive topic in Germany. It’s still illegal there to display Nazi symbols like the swastika(2) or to deny the holocaust. But with an initial print of well over 300,000, those behind Zeitungszeugen are clearly hoping that many people want to read and understand more about darkest period in Germany’s history.

Joanna Partridge, Reuters

Notes:

(1) Neo-Nazis: Neo-Nazis are people who admire Adolf Hitler and the beliefs of the right-wing party which he led in Germany from 1933 to 1945.

(2) Swastika: A swastika is a symbol in the shape of a cross with each arm bent over at right angles. It is used in India as a good luck sign, but it was also used by the Nazis in Germany as their official symbol.