Issue of the Nazi Newspaper Völkischer Beobachter – Kampfblatt der national-sozialistischen Bewegung (“National Observer. Combat Bulletin of the National Socialist Movement”) – the Official and Most Important Newspaper of the Nazi Party, Dated September 2/3, 1939. The headline reads: “The Führer Declares War, for the Law and Security of the Reich” – published the day after the outbreak of World War II and the Nazi invasion of Poland.
On the title page is a photograph of Adolf Hitler during his last speech before the outbreak of the war on September 1, where he attempted to justify the Nazi aggression against Poland: “More than a million people of German blood were forced to leave their homeland in 1919/1920… The Versailles dictatorship has become unbearable…”, He describes how all efforts to peacefully restore to Germany what it lost in World War I had failed, and explains the reason for the German invasion of Poland: “The Polish state refused the peaceful settlement of neighborly relations that I sought. It turned to arms instead of to a settlement… A series of intolerable boundary adjustments for a great power prove that the Poles are no longer willing to respect the clear borders of the Reich. To put an end to this madness, I have no other means but to use force against force from now on… Long live our people and our empire! Berlin, September 1, 1939.”
Additionally, the issue includes a major article heroically describing Germany’s invasion of Poland: “Great military successes. The German air force has achieved air superiority over the Polish region.” The reporter details the destruction of military facilities at Polish airfields and the German army’s advance into Poland on various fronts, with “the daily objective achieved everywhere” as Polish forces retreated, leaving the territory to the German army. The interior pages feature photographs from the Polish border and more. Throughout the newspaper, articles are dedicated to justifying the German invasion of Poland, filled with the triumphant spirit of the strong German Reich, urging the German public not to believe news from non-German official sources, among other topics.
The Völkischer Beobachter was the official and most important newspaper of the Nazi Party. It was published continuously from December 1920 until April 30, 1945. Unlike other newspapers of the time, it defined itself as a “combat paper, ” with the goal of inciting agitation rather than merely conveying information. The newspaper also differed in that it used red print on the front page, and the title was deliberately written in an ancient font to create the impression of a “thousand-year Reich.” Newspaper historians have thus called this paper “poster-like, ” and its style “speaks more than it writes.” Initially, the newspaper appeared twice a week, and from February 8, 1923, it was published daily by Franz Eher Verlag in Munich. After the first few years, it was distributed throughout the entire German Empire. The principal shareholder of the newspaper was Adolf Hitler himself. As the Nazi movement spread, the circulation of the newspaper grew, reaching nearly 2 million copies at its peak in 1944. A few days before the German surrender, the newspaper ceased publication, and the last issue from April 30, 1945, was never distributed.
18 pages. Complete issue. 54 cm. Fold marks. Good condition.
