Top Text: January 13, 1930. Nazi SA Officer Horst Wessel (1907 - 1930) was shot in his Berlin apartment by a local communist. He would die of Sepsis on February 23rd. Image of caricature of Wessel, staring down a gun from camera right, with hands outstretched in 'alarmed' posture, with frightened/surprised look on his face. Bottom text: The incident would have been just another example of sectarian violence in Weimar-Era Germany had it now been for the intervention of Nazi Propagandist Joseph Gobbels (1897 - 1945).
Top text: Goebbels used his media connections and know-how to turn the man into a martyr for the Nazi Party. He extolled Wessel in Nazi newspapers and even gave the eulogy at his funeral. Image of Goebbels in a dark suit with right hand raised, index finger in 'up' position, before podium with microphone on which his left fist rests. Background is a cemetery ground with headstones. Bottom text: Wessel's flaws were erased and his virtues were exaggerated -- or invented from nothing.
Top text: This hagiographic treatment only escalated when the Nazis took full power in 1933. Wessel's name was plastered on streets and military units. His role as a "hero" was regularly cited. Image of photograph of Wessel with Nazis flags to either side, and a pair of black-gloved hands reaching to the portrait as if in praise/respect. Bottom text: Most notably, the "Horst-Wessel-Lied" - a marching song written by Wessel himself - would become the anthem of the Nazi Party and co-national anthem alongside the first stanza of 'Deutschlandlied".
Top text: This cult of national martyrdom did not survive the end of World War II. Wessel's name and image were stripped out of society. The "Horst-Wessel-Lied" was banned in Germany. Image of Wessel picture laying, damaged, upon the ground with footprints tracking over it indicating a total loss of validity in the society. Bottom text: Horst Wessel now stands as an example of the power of propaganda; of how 'heroes' and 'martyrs' can be manufactured from outrage and lies.
#HorstWessel, from history.
If it sounds familiar, that's because it is.
This administration is #Propagandizing #Death just like they did, and for the same reasons.
Artist Credit for the Four-Panel:
"A jangle of accidents" by B. Reilly
