S5E32 - Horst Wessel: The Making of a Nazi Martyr

When Horst Wessel died in 1930, he was an obscure 22-year-old member of the SA. Within months, Joseph Goebbels had elevated him into a saint of the Third Reich, complete with a theme song that would echo through rallies, classrooms, and pogroms. This episode traces how a violent street thug became the most famous Nazi martyr — and why his name still matters in extremist circles today.

Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes on th...