Thread by @MikeStuchbery_

There's been a close-knit relationship between the media and political parties since both have existed. However, it was the Nazis who really showed us what could be achieved with tame outlets - especially newspapers. 1/

One of the first things the NSDAP (Nazi) Party did after it was established was to purchase a paper called the 'Volkischer Beobachter', or 'People's Observer'. From 1920 until 1945, it was the official paper and platform for Party announcements. 2/

Germany in the early 1920s had literally hundreds of newspapers vying for readers. It was so competitive that they were posted publicly, for people to read - a kind of loss leader, so that people would pick up paper copies of what they enjoyed. 3/

Due to the competition, many German papers went lurid and focused on scandal to attract readers. As an official party organ, the 'Volkischer Beobachter' couldn't hope to compete. Therefore it was lucky that Julius Streicher came along with 'Der Stuermer' in 1923. 4/

Julius Streicher published 'Der Stuermer' or 'The Stormer', off his own bat. It had no party branding. However, it pushed the Nazi agenda 100%.

Streicher purchased cabinets for the paper and placed them in poorer areas - they worked very well as a recruiting tool for the SA. 5/

Many senior Nazis thought that 'Der Stuermer' was vile, and if they thought it was bad, you know it really was a horrid publication! Yet the Nazis rewarded Streicher for his efforts. He was given the position of Gauleiter of Franconia and ruled like a feudal overlord. 6/

The 'Volkischer Beobachter' was banned when Hitler was in prison for the Beer Hall Putsch, but 'Der Stuermer' was still active - and many other papers followed its lead in agitating for release, painting him as a free speech martyr. 7/

In having a spread of media outlets - both directly linked, and those with which relationships had been built - the Nazis were able to comment despite the bans placed on them, hence this famous 1925 cartoon,

'Out of 200 million men, only one is not allowed to speak?'. 8/

The Nazis prized media diversifaction and ownership (even if the SA/SS did love smashing up a 'red' press) - right up until it didn't serve their purposes. Once in power in 1933, newspapers were the subject of strict censorship, with many being closed down. 9/

In-house censors, the fear of reprisals and the strict flow of information meant that newspapers during the Nazi period fully became propaganda outlets of the regime. 10/

The Nazis also made sure the public wouldn't rise up over media silencing through a steady diet of anti-media rhetoric - claims of 'globalist control' and the term 'luegenpresse' or 'lying press' (an epithet getting a run again in 2018)...

Sound familiar? 11/

There's a lot you could do with newspapers at the time the Nazis rose. They were read and passed on from person to person, on a scale unparalleled today - apart for, maybe, blog posts, video and Facebook shares. /12

Now, I'm not saying your favourite Far Right YouTuber is literally Hitler. That's silly. However, it is worth asking: where do they gain support from? Who funds them? What relationship do they have to one another? How do they work together? /13

As for our boy Julius Streicher, well, his work helping the Nazis by publishing 'Der Stuermer' didn't end well for him.

Despite the fact he'd never fired a bullet during the Nazi era, he was hanged in October, 1946 at Nuremberg. /FIN