us-005578-irn4088
type: RecordSet
archival history: The newspaper was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
biographical history: Hermann Esser (1900-1981) was born in Rörmoos, Germany. His father was a civil servant. Esser volunteered for the German army and served during the later stages of World War I (1914-1918). After the war, he returned to Germany a radical socialist, and co-founded the German Workers Party with Anton Drexler in 1919. Later that year, the German army assigned Adolf Hitler to spy on the Party, which he ultimately joined. During the early stages of the Party, Esser was an important figure due to his oratory skills, which were second only to Hitler. Esser made speeches that attacked the government, and spread conspiracy theories about Jews. After Hitler joined, the German Worker’s Party name was changed to Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP). Esser held several leadership positions in the new party. In 1929, he became a member of the Councils of Bavaria and Munich, and was elected to the Reichstag in 1933. Esser was editor of Völkische Beobachter (Ethnic Observers, an early party newspaper), and Illustrierter Beobachter (Illustrated Observer, a party propaganda magazine), until 1932, and the first chief of Nazi Party propaganda. He also served as Bavarian minister of economics until 1935. Esser had an unscrupulous personal life that left him at odds with Hitler and his Nazi colleagues. This caused his role within the party to become diminished during the war. He was alleged to have assaulted the underage daughter of a prominent businessman. To marginalize him, Hitler to appoint him as head of the Tourist Division of the Reich Propaganda Ministry and president of the Reich Group Tourist Traffic. In 1939, he published an antisemitic book, Die Jüdische Weltpest (The Jewish World Pest), but otherwise was insignificant. After the war, Esser was captured by the Americans and held for two years, but he was considered an unimportant Nazi Party official and released in 1947. He was arrested again in 1949 by the German police and was classified as a major offender…
physical characteristics and technical requirements: "Englands Schul"; with fold out maps: Full color illustrations on front cover
conditions of access: No restrictions on access
date: approximately 1939-1940
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had subject: 1069
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn4088
record resource extent: overall: Height: 14.800 inches (37.592 cm) | Width: 10.980 inches (27.889 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
title: Illustrierter Beobachter (Munich, Germany) [Newspaper]