Geissmar's memoirs, written during the war, describe how Nazi ideology eroded the artistic ideals of German musicians. Without warning, in late March 1933 every newspaper carried on the front page a notice forbidding Jewish employees from working. As a Jew, Geissmar was directly affected. The Nazi Party directly tried to purge the orchestra of Jews but Furtwängler prevented this from happening; his high-profile made it difficult for the Nazis to enact their racial policy. However, they began to hold Geissmar to blame for bad publicity abroad because of her foreign contacts, and blamed their problems with Furtwängler on her "influence".
