Der Stürmer (pronounced [deːɐ̯ ˈʃtʏʁmɐ]; literally, "The Stormer / Stormtrooper / Attacker") was a weekly German tabloid-format newspaper published from 1923 to the end of World War II by Julius Streicher, the Gauleiter of Franconia, with brief suspensions in publication due to legal difficulties.

[3] Der Stürmer's circulation grew over time, eventually distributing to a large percentage of the German population, as well as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.

[2] Unlike the Völkischer Beobachter (The Völkisch Observer), the official Nazi Party paper, which gave itself an outwardly serious appearance, Der Stürmer often ran obscene material such as the blood libel and graphic caricatures of Jews,[1] as well as sexually explicit, anti-communist, and anti-monarchist propaganda.

As well as advertising the publication, the cases also allowed its articles to reach those readers who either did not have time to buy and read a newspaper in depth, or could not afford the expense.

In 1936, the sale of Der Stürmer was restricted in Berlin during the Summer Olympics, in an attempt to preserve the Nazi regime's international reputation and prestige.

[6] Göring harboured a particularly intense hatred of the paper, especially after it published a libelous article alleging that his daughter Edda had been conceived through artificial insemination.

Albert Forster, the Gauleiter of Danzig (now Gdańsk), wrote in 1937: With pleasure, I say that the Stürmer, more than any other daily or weekly newspaper, has made clear to the people in simple ways the danger of Jewry.

[11] According to the American writer Dennis Showalter, "a major challenge of political antisemitism involves overcoming the images of the 'Jew next door' – the living, breathing acquaintance or associate whose simple existence appears to deny the validity of that negative stereotype".

[5] Der Stürmer was known for its virulently anti-Semitic caricatures, which depicted Jews as ugly characters with exaggerated facial features and misshapen bodies.

Through the adaptation and amalgamation of almost every existing anti-Semitic stereotype, myth, and tradition, Rupprecht's virulent attacks aimed predominantly at the dehumanization and demonization of Jews.

[14] In the nameplate was the motto "Deutsches Wochenblatt zum Kampfe um die Wahrheit" ("German Weekly Newspaper in the Fight for Truth").

[citation needed] Stories of Rassenschande, which denoted alleged scandals of Jewish men and German women having sex, were staples of Der Stürmer.

As an example, when a philanthropic merchant started operating a soup kitchen, Der Stürmer ran articles accusing the business of poisoning the food being served.

Der Stürmer criticized and cherrypicked every single price increase and decrease in Jewish shops, as well as their charitable donations, denouncing it as a further form of financial greed.

Its "Letter Box" encouraged the reporting of Jewish illegal acts, while its unofficial style helped prevent suspicion of propaganda, and lent it an air of "authenticity".