History between the Lines
Jonathan Brown and a range of guests talk about all things history, especially those bits of the past which are obscure and generally unknown.
History between the Lines
Horst Wessel
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Jonathan Brown
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Season 7
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Episode 10
On 14th January 1930, Horst Wessel, a brutal Nazi stormtrooper, was shot and killed by Red Front Fighter League street fighters. Wessel had lived by the sword and died by it. Such people are often soon forgotten by history. But Wessel has lived on, through the creation of his personality cult by chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, as the perfect Nazi martyr.
How and why did Wessel achieve this infamous legacy?
Music by Alex Grohl, from Pixabay.
Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed or Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.