On the evening of 19 April 1933, lawyers in Munich were invited to the Circus Krone, but not to view the usual spectacle of tightrope artists and lion tamers. Several long-standing members of the NSDAP had been invited to speak, including Hans Frank, the Bavarian justice minister, Hanns Kerrl, his Prussian counterpart, Roland Freisler, ministerial director at the Prussian Ministry of Justice, and Julius Streicher, publisher of the Nazi tabloid Der Stürmer. The invitation openly announced the motto of the evening: "Remove Jews from all public offices and the bar."

The recipient of this letter was the lawyer K. Panzer. According to the stamp in the upper right corner, the date of receipt was 20 April 1933. In other words, the event had already taken place—the invitation had been arrived late. It may be that K. Panzer stamped it with a later date to justify his absence from the "mass rally," but this is pure speculation. It is also not known how the document came into the possession of his Jewish colleague Fritz Dispeker.

Fritz Dispeker (1895–1986) collected fliers and publications documenting the Nazis‘ agitation against Jewish lawyers. In the wake of the boycotts beginning in April 1933, clients stopped using the prestigious law firm where he worked. In 1936 he was expelled from the bar. In 2005 his descendants donated his collection of documents to the Jewish Museum Berlin.

Monika Flores Martinez

Judicial Counsel Dr. K. Panzer
Receipt stamp: 20 April 1933

Invitation

Today, Wednesday, 19 April 1933, at 8 o‘clock in the evening,
a mass public rally
will take place at the Krone Circus.
The topic is
German Law and the Administration of German Justice:
Remove Jews from All Public Offices and the Bar.

Speakers:
PM [party member] Dr. Frank II, State Minister
PM Julius Streicher, Nuremberg,
PM Kerrl, Prussian Justice Minister
Ministerial Director Dr. Freisler.

We must provide a powerful opening act for the German cause!
You are cordially invited to attend.

(signed)
Lawyer u. Gauobmann.