Democracy in Nuremberg had many faces: men and women alike stood up to the enemies of the Republic. A bitter struggle for votes raged among the different political factions. The liberal mayor Hermann Luppe, in particular, was the victim of a relentless smear campaign by the local Nazi chairman and later Gauleiter Julius Streicher.

A staunch Democrat, Hermann Luppe defended himself in several legal actions and was represented by the SPD councillor and lawyer, Max Süßheim. In February 1930, in the face of Nazi terror and personal hostilities, he published a perceptive article entitled "The National Socialist Plague." As a co-editor of the liberal party newspaper "Echo of the Young Democracy", councillor Julie Meyer publicly supported the Weimar Republic.

Nevertheless, in the election year of 1924, a foothold was gained by anti-democratic forces. The Nazis took their seats on the Nuremberg city council, with Streicher and his fellow party members acting as a highly disruptive element.