The future Reich Minister was born on October 28, 1897 in the town of Rheidt in the Rhineland in the family of a devout accountant. His father dreamed that young Joseph would become a Catholic priest, but his son dreamed of a career as a writer and playwright. With the financial support of the Catholic Albert Magnus Society, he took courses in the humanities at almost all major universities in Germany. On April 21, 1922, after defending his dissertation “Wilhelm von Schütz as a playwright. On the history of drama of the romantic school,” he received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Heidelberg. The First World War did not interrupt Goebbels' study of the history of drama of the romantic school - a humanities student was called up unfit for military service due to a congenital defect - spiny legs (one leg was shorter than the other). The playwright's career, which he dreamed of, did not work out - no one wanted to stage the play he wrote, "The Wanderer" ("Der Wanderer"). Goebbels and the writer did not work out - the novel "Michael", which tells about the tragic fate of Germany, did not arouse interest among publishers. The novel was completed in 1924, and it was published only five years later, when Goebbels was already a well-known politician, journalist, and Reichstag deputy. Until 1924, Goebbels had to earn a living by working as a humble bank clerk.
In 1923, after the Beer Hall Putsch (November 9, 1923) - an attempt to seize power in Bavaria, all of Germany learned of the existence of the National Socialist German Workers' Party led by Adolf Hitler. Hitler used his own trial to tell the whole country about himself, his party and his views. And Goebbels decided that this party (officially banned after the trial) suited him. By 1924, a branch of the NSDAP appeared in Goebbels’ hometown, and he was not slow in joining this party (party card No. 8762).
The Nazi party at that time had a strong left wing - some of the Nazis, led by Gregor Strasser, took the word “socialist” in the name of the NSDAP too seriously. The failed writer and playwright joined this radical socialist wing. And Strasser entrusted the young man with an editorial post in his newspaper NS-Brief. Meanwhile, in December 1924, without serving even a year of the five-year sentence to which he was sentenced, Adolf Hitler was released. He had a more than cool attitude toward socialism, and a flare-up broke out in the party between his supporters and Strasser’s followers. During this polemic, the radically minded Goebbels went so far as to demand that the “bourgeois Hitler” be expelled from the party ranks. But in 1926, after a personal meeting with the Fuhrer, Goebbels unconditionally went over to his side. The tone of Goebbels's articles changed dramatically - his articles turned into real odes of praise to the leader. And Hitler appreciated this flow of praise - in October of the same 1926 he appointed his new admirer Gauleiter (head of the party cell) in Berlin. It is difficult to say whether Goebbels was pleased with such an honor - Berlin, with its vast working-class neighborhoods, has traditionally been a “red” city. The NSDAP party cell in the capital numbered only a thousand people and almost all of them were Strasser supporters. And the party budget consisted of nothing but debts. Goebbels carried out a decisive purge of the party ranks, expelling almost a thousand people from the party. But due to new supporters, the number of Nazis in Berlin grew steadily. Goebbels organized rallies and fights with the communists. Subsequently, he wrote a book about this period of his political career, “The Struggle for Berlin” (Kampf um Berlin, 1934).
The growing popularity of the Nazis and their Berlin leader was appreciated by the Berlin authorities - on May 5, 1927, the Nazi party and SA units in Berlin were banned, and Goebbels himself was banned from any public speeches in the city. However, the ban does not prevent Goebbels from engaging in publishing activities - he publishes the weekly Angrif. The campaign of protests he launched on the pages of the press leads to the resignation of the head of the Berlin criminal police, the Jew Weiss. In the same 1927, one of Goebbels’ subordinates, a Sturmführer (company commander) of the SA, an aspiring poet named Horst Wessel, set his words to the melody of the old German song “Der Abenteurer” (“The Adventurer”) about the squeezed ranks in which they stand invisibly fallen heroes. The result was a cheerful drill song, which was willingly performed by both stormtroopers and... communists. Only in the original, stormtroopers marched near Wessel, and the communists changed the SA to Rot-Front (the Union of Red Front Soldiers - paramilitary units of the Communist Party of Germany, the main opponents of stormtroopers in street skirmishes). Perhaps this song would have remained a local Berlin hit, which no one would remember now, but thanks to Goebbels at least the name of this song is known to the whole world. In 1930, its author himself joined the “closed ranks of fallen heroes”, having been shot by a communist, and Goebbels turned a young man named Horst Wessel into a symbol of struggle and martyrdom, and the song he wrote became the official party anthem (after January 30, 1933, it also became part of the state hymn, which consisted of two parts - one verse from the "German Song", followed by the first verse of "Horst Wessel"). In 1932, he used the death of Herbert Norkus, a teenage Hitler Youth, for similar propaganda purposes. Immediately after the Nazis came to power, in the summer of 1933, the UFA film concern quickly released two films dedicated to these heroes - “Hans Westmar - One of Many” and “Quex from the Hitler Youth”.
But let's return to the "struggle for Berlin". The ban on the Nazi Party did not last even a year - on May 31, 1928 it was lifted. And already on April 20, 1928, Goebbels became a Reichstag deputy from the city of Berlin. On January 9, 1929, Goebbels added the post of Reich Propaganda Chief (Reichspropagandaleiter) to the post of Gauleiter of Berlin. One of Goebbels’ “achievements” in this post is that in December 1930 he achieved a ban on showing the American film adaptation of Erich Remarque’s famous novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” at the German box office.
In 1932, he convinced Hitler to put forward his candidacy for the election of Reich President. Hitler initially refused. And besides, he could not stand as a candidate for any elections at all - he did not have German citizenship. He had no citizenship at all! After the Beer Hall Putsch, fearing deportation to his homeland, he renounced Austrian citizenship, and no one was in a hurry to grant him German citizenship. But on February 25, 1932, the Minister of the Interior of Braunschweig appointed the Fuhrer as an attaché at the Berlin representative office of this state, and the assignment of such a position meant the automatic granting of German citizenship. Goebbels headed the leadership of Hitler's election campaign and on March 13, the Fuhrer took second place with 30.1% of the votes (the first went to Paul von Hindenburg - 49.6% of the votes). In 1932, not only the head of state was elected in Germany, but elections to the Reichstag were held twice, with an interval of less than six months - on June 4 and November 6. If Hitler took second place in the presidential elections, then in the parliamentary elections the Nazis achieved greater success - 37.8% of the vote (230 seats) in June. In November, the successes were no longer so significant - the Nazis got only 196 parliamentary seats. But by that time, the Germans were already simply tired of endless elections. Be that as it may, according to the constitution of the Weimar Republic, the government can be formed by the party (or coalition of parties) that receives more than 50% of the votes in the Reichstag elections. The Nazis only came closer to this result in the summer of 1932. But in the same year, an important change was made to the German constitution - now the Reich Chancellor (head of government) could be appointed at his discretion by the Reich President (head of state). Which, in fact, is what he did, appointing Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor on January 30, 1933. On March 13 of the same year, the Imperial Ministry of Public Education and Propaganda was organized especially for Goebbels.
And Goebbels immediately began to establish a “new order” in the cultural life of Germany. Books imbued with a “non-German spirit” were confiscated from libraries. The list of harmful books included 14 thousand titles by 141 German authors. On May 10, 1933, many of these books were thrown into huge bonfires. He did not immediately become a sovereign announcer in the field of culture and the media - for control over the press he had to fight with Max Amann, who held the position of Imperial Press Director and Director of the Central Publishing House of the NSDAP "Eher Verlag", Alfred Rosengberg tried to intervene in art matters, among the positions which was also the Fuhrer's Commissioner for control over the general spiritual and ideological education of the NSDAP. But he began to gain more and more power - on September 22, 1933, he created the Imperial Chamber of Culture, which all representatives of creative professions were required to join. Two years later, the Imperial Senate of Culture was added to the Chamber of Culture (of course, also headed by Goebbels). On May 14, 1934, all theaters in Germany came under the control of Goebbels. He controls the filmmaking process even at the stage of writing the script. For the press, he issues lengthy briefings - instructions containing detailed instructions on how to cover certain events in the life of Germany and beyond.
The whole of Germany knew how Goebbels used his official position - he often started affairs with theater and film actresses. True, not everyone accepted his annoying advances. For example, the famous actress and director Leni Riefenstahl did not reciprocate his feelings. But the disagreement with the all-powerful Minister of Propaganda did not affect her brilliant career in any way - the Fuhrer himself was among the admirers of her talent. It was he who commissioned her in 1934 to make a film about the Nuremberg Party Congress. In her memoirs, she talks about how her small film crew faced open opposition - but as soon as she complained to Hitler, he gave Goebbels a real dressing down. The film "Victory of Faith", however, had to be put on the shelf - there was too much Ernst Roehm, who was killed during the "Night of the Long Knives". But a year later, Riefenstahl made a new film about the next congress - "Triumph of the Will", recognized as a classic of world documentary.
By the way, the famous song of Lili Marlene became a world hit also against the will of Goebbels (we talked about this in more detail).
In 1938, Goebbels' department began preparations for the imminent inevitable war. General Keitel and Goebbels enter into an agreement regulating the conduct of propaganda in wartime. And in the same year, the creation of propaganda troops began. Propaganda companies with a staff of 115 people are formed. This company included photographers, artists, cameramen, and journalists. Moreover, they all underwent military training. The presence of military specialties was also welcomed - after all, a person who knows military equipment well will not make annoying mistakes in his reporting. So, among the propagandists there were not only infantrymen, but also representatives of all branches of the military. In peacetime, soldier propagandists worked among their colleagues. And in wartime, their task was to work with the enemy; for this, translators and specialists in the countries that were to be conquered were assigned to these companies. Each such company was handed over to the army corps.
It was the propaganda troops who produced during the war the famous newsreel Die Deutsche Wochenschau (German Weekly Review), which appeared in 1940. Before this, there were as many as four film magazines in Germany - Ufa-Tonwoche, Deulig-Tonwoche, Fox Tönende Wochenschau and Emelka-Tonwoche, left over from the days of the Weimar Republic. But then they were produced by various private film companies, and under Hitler they all came under the strict control of the “German Weekly News Center at the Ministry of Education and Propaganda” (Deutsche Wochenschauzentrale beim Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda). And with the beginning of the war, to simplify production, instead of four film magazines, there was only one, lasting 45 minutes. It was printed in a circulation of 2 thousand copies and was shown without fail before each film. Another thousand copies were printed for foreign viewers - the film magazine was translated into 15 European languages. One episode required 1,200 meters of film, but the creators of spectacular stories selected the best shots from tens of thousands of meters filmed by front-line cameramen. This newsreel became Goebbels' favorite brainchild.
In the meantime, another one was added to Goebbels's positions - on November 16, 1942 he was named Reich Commissioner for Defense of Berlin. The battle for Berlin is still far away, but the intensity of Allied air raids on the capital of the Third Reich is growing every day. And on April 1, 1943, he became Reich President of Berlin. The failure of the coup on July 20, 1944 was facilitated not only by the unfortunate location of the explosive device at Hitler's headquarters, but also by the decisive actions of Goebbels as head of Berlin.
On February 18, 1943, he delivers his famous speech on total war at the Berlin Sports Palace. And on July 25, 1944, he became the imperial commissioner for this very total war - he organized Volkssturm detachments. The Third Reich throws old people and teenagers to the front - its last reserve. Goebbels' department is doing its best to create a terrible image of the enemy - bloodthirsty savages from the East who are coming to rob, rape and kill. In 1943, Goebbels gave lengthy, dozens of typewritten pages, instructions to the press on exactly how to cover the execution of Polish officers in the Katan Forest. In this matter, he controls every little detail - the whole world should be horrified by the cruelty of the Russian barbarians (during the years of perestroika, our country took the blame for this execution upon itself, but there was no official trial and our guilt was not legally proven). In October 1944, Soviet troops held the German town of Nemersdorf in East Prussia for several days. On October 23, the Germans recaptured this town and found 11 bodies of executed civilians there. Through the efforts of Goebbels, this incident turned into a real massacre - the number of victims increased 6 times. All the women in Nemersdorf were allegedly raped, murdered, and their mutilated bodies were nailed to barn doors. The continuous hysteria in the Goebbels press, indeed, cost the lives of thousands of German women and children - when our troops approached, their husbands and fathers killed them before committing suicide.
However, the Ministry of Propaganda was not only engaged in intimidation, it also tried to raise the morale of the defenders of the Reich. For example, in January 1945, the large-scale historical drama “Kolberg” was released on German cinema screens, telling the story of the heroic defense of this city during the Napoleonic wars. Kolberg then withstood a two-year siege and did not surrender to the French. The film's budget was an astronomical sum of 8 million marks, and the role of extras was played by soldiers sent to the set directly from the front lines. But in January 1945, no historical film dramas could influence the outcome of the war (and the city of Kolberg itself was taken by Soviet troops immediately after the premiere of the film). The natural ending was approaching - Soviet troops crossed the Vistula and Oder and were approaching Berlin. Goebbels and his family remained with Hitler in a bunker under the ruins of the Reich Chancellery. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide, leaving Goebbels as his successor as Reich Chancellor. Goebbels served as head of the German government for only one day. He tried to negotiate a truce with the Russians, but the Soviet command considered only one outcome of the negotiations - unconditional surrender.
On May 1, 1945, Joseph and Magda Goebbels poisoned all six of their children with potassium cyanide. Then Goebbels shot his wife and shot himself.
Many of the developments of Goebbels’ department were used in the propaganda fight against our country during the Cold War and perestroika, and they are still used today. Of his creative heritage, only numerous anti-Semitic materials remained unclaimed, and much of the rest is used even without changes. For example, it is worth remembering
Goebbels on the podium.
Goebbels, Paul Joseph (Paul Josef Goebbels; 1897-1945) - German statesman, one of the leaders of the Nazi party, Reich Minister of Propaganda. Native of Rheidt (Rhineland). Member of the NSDAP (1922). In 1924 he moved to the Ruhr, where he worked as a journalist for the Völkische Freihet. In 1926, Gauleiter of the NSDAP in Berlin-Brandenburg. In 1927-1935 editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper Angrif - the mouthpiece of the philosophy of National Socialism. In 1928 he was elected as a deputy of the Reichstag from the NSDAP. Since 1929, imperial head of propaganda for the NSDAP. Since March 13, 1933, Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda. On April 29, 1945, he committed suicide in the Imperial Chancellery.
The Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front. Investigative and judicial materials from archival criminal cases of German prisoners of war 1944-1952. (Compiled by V.S. Khristoforov, V.G. Makarov). M., 2011. (Name commentary). pp. 718-719.
Goebbels, Joseph Paul (29.X.1897 - 1.V.1945) - one of the main war criminals of Nazi Germany. In 1922 he joined the National Socialist (Fascist) Party. In 1927-1933 - publisher of the Nazi newspaper "Angriff". In 1928, he headed the propaganda work of the Nazi Party. After the Nazis seized power (1933) - Imperial Minister of Public Education and Propaganda. During the 2nd World War he led the entire propaganda apparatus of Nazi Germany; in 1944 - Reich Commissioner for Total Military Mobilization. After the entry of Soviet troops into Berlin, he committed suicide. Fascist propaganda, directed by Goebbels, was based on preaching racism, praising violence and wars of conquest, and was characterized by demagoguery and unheard-of falsification of facts.
Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 4. THE HAGUE - DVIN. 1963.
Literature: Rozanov G. L., The Last Days of Hitler, M., 1961; The Nuremberg trials of the main Germans. military criminals. Sat. materials, vol. 1-7, M., 1957-61.
Hitler and Goebbels.
Goebbels, Paul Joseph (Goebbels), (1897-1945), senior leader of the Nazi Party, chief propagandist of the Third Reich, close ally and friend Hitler . Goebbels was born on October 29, 1897 in Rheidt, Rhineland. His father worked as an accountant and was a very devout man; he hoped that his son would become a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. But Goebbels, dreaming of a career as a writer or journalist, after graduating from the burgherschule and gymnasium in Reidt, preferred to study the humanities. With the financial support of the Albert Magnus Society, from 1917 to 1921 he studied philosophy, German studies, history and literature at the universities of Freiburg, Bonn, Würzburg, Cologne, Munich and Heidelberg. At the University of Heidelberg, under the guidance of Professor Friedrich Gundolf, a literary historian and Jew, Goebbels defended his dissertation on romantic drama in 1921 and acquired an academic degree. His own literary works were rejected time after time by the editors of liberal publishing houses and newspapers.
When World War I began, Goebbels was declared unfit for military service due to a limp (he was disabled from birth), which hurt his pride, since he considered it a shame for himself not to be able to serve his country during the war. He was always very acutely and painfully aware of his own physical inferiority, since he constantly felt behind his back the humiliating ridicule of his comrades, who called him “little mouse doctor” behind his back. His wounded pride gave rise to deep-rooted hatred in him, which was aggravated in the future by the need to perform in front of a healthy, blue-eyed “Aryan” audience.
After World War I, having unsuccessfully tried his luck in the field of poetry and drama (his sentimental tearful play "The Wanderer" ("Der Wanderer") was rejected by the Frankfurt Schauspielhaus), Goebbels found an outlet for his energy in politics. In 1922, he joined the NSDAP, initially joining its left, socialist wing, whose leaders at that time were the Strasser brothers. In 1924, having moved to the Ruhr, Goebbels tried his hand at journalism - as editor of the Völkische Freiheit (People's Freedom) in Elberfeld, then at Strasser's NS-Brief. This period, colored by the fierce polemics between the Strassers and Hitler about the degree of socialism in the National Socialist movement, belongs to the famous statement of Goebbels: “The bourgeois Adolf Hitler must be expelled from the National Socialist Party!”
However, in 1926 his political sympathies changed sharply in favor of Hitler, whom he began to perceive “either as Christ or as St. John.” "Adolf Hitler, I love you!" - he wrote in his diary. Goebbels dedicated one of his first books to Hitler - “with deep gratitude.” His praise of the Fuhrer was ardent: “Even before the trial in Munich, you appeared before us in the guise of a leader. What you said there are the greatest revelations that have not been heard in Germany since the days of Bismarck. God gave you words to name the ills of Germany. You started from the very bottom, like every truly great leader. And like every leader, you became greater and greater as your tasks became greater.”
Such words could not help but attract Hitler's favorable attention. In 1926 he appointed Goebbels Gauleiter of the NSDAP in Berlin-Brandenburg. It was in the capital that Goebbels' oratorical abilities were revealed, which predetermined his future fate as the main agitator and propagandist of the Nazi party, and later of the entire Reich. From 1927 to 1935 he was the editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper Angrif, the mouthpiece of the philosophy of National Socialism. In 1928, Goebbels was elected as a member of the Reichstag from the Nazi Party. At numerous rallies and demonstrations, this small man with a long nose, constantly dressed in an overcoat too long for him, with a strong and harsh voice, covering the Berlin city government, Jews and communists with sarcasm and insults, managed to attract wide attention. He "discovered" in the criminal Horst Wessel, a Nazi killed in a street fight, a political martyr and put forward Wessel's nasty poems as the official party anthem. Hitler was so amazed and delighted by Goebbels' activities in Berlin that he appointed him in 1929 as Reich Director of Propaganda for the Nazi Party. It is Goebbels, more than anyone else, who owns the laurels for Hitler’s rapid advancement to the heights of political power. In 1932, he organized and led Hitler's election campaigns for the presidency, doubling his popular vote. His propaganda was of decisive importance on the eve of Hitler's assumption of office as chancellor. Skillfully adopting modern propaganda techniques from the Americans and slightly changing them to suit German reality, Goebbels demonstrated amazing abilities to psychologically influence the audience. His “Ten Commandments of a National Socialist,” written at the dawn of the Nazi movement, became the prototype of the party’s ideological program:
Having become chancellor, Hitler on March 13, 1933 appointed Goebbels Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda, instructing him to use all means to implement the Gleichshaltung program. In this activity, Goebbels demonstrated that for him there were no principles or morals. He subordinated all elements of the country's life - the press, cinema, theater, radio, sports - to national socialist ideals and essentially became the dictator of the cultural life of the nation. To please Hitler, he launched vicious and violent attacks against the Jews. In May 1933, on the initiative of Goebbels, public book burnings were carried out in several German universities. The bonfires burned the works of Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Bertolt Brecht, Franz Kafka, Remarque, Feuchtwanger and many other authors who proclaimed the ideas of freedom and humanism.
Along with Heinrich Himmler and, later, Martin Bormann, Goebbels became one of Hitler's closest and most influential advisers. His wife, Magda Kwant, divorced a Jewish businessman, and their six children became special favorites among the Fuhrer's inner circle in Berchtesgaden. His numerous connections with theater and film actresses were widely known in the country. Once he was beaten by an insulted famous film actor who could not tolerate Goebbels' advances towards his wife. His relationship with Czech actress Lydia Barova almost led to divorce until Hitler intervened. Goebbels was constantly at odds with other Nazi leaders, especially Hermann Göring and Joachim von Ribbentrop, who were irritated by his closeness to Hitler.
During World War II, Goebbels was tasked with maintaining the morale of the nation. His propaganda machine was aimed at causing discontent with Soviet Russia and encouraging the Germans to hold out until final victory. This task became more and more difficult as the tide of the war turned in favor of the Allies. Goebbels worked energetically to maintain German morale by constantly reminding them of their fate if they surrendered. After the failure of the July 1944 Plot, Hitler appointed Goebbels as the chief mobilization commissioner for “total war” and instructed him to gather all material and human resources to fight to the last drop of blood. But it was already too late: Germany was on the brink of destruction.
In April 1945, true to his sense of mystical arrogance, Goebbels advised Hitler to remain in Berlin in the Führerbunker and, if necessary, there to face the dazzling mystical “Twilight of the Gods” (Gotterdammerung). Only in this way, Goebbels convinced, could the legend of the great Hitler be preserved. The Fuhrer, frightened by the possibility of being put naked in a circus cage by the Russians, agreed. One after another, the newly-minted Nazi leaders abandoned their leader, but Goebbels remained. When President Franklin Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, Goebbels, in a state of euphoria, compared this event with a similar one in the fate of Frederick the Great, which ended in victory. Hitler's state of mind perked up for a while. In his political will, Hitler designated Goebbels as his successor as Reich Chancellor. Goebbels complemented this with his own propaganda gesture. Immediately after Hitler's suicide, Goebbels and Bormann made a last attempt to negotiate with the Russians. When it became clear that this was impossible, Goebbels decided to commit suicide. Magda Goebbels poisoned six of her children and killed herself. Then Goebbels also committed suicide.
Material used from the Encyclopedia of the Third Reich - www.fact400.ru/mif/reich/titul.htm
Goebbels Paul Joseph (29.10.1897, Reidt, Rhineland - 1.5.1945, Berlin), political and statesman, Reichsleiter (1933). Son of an accountant. Since childhood, he suffered from a physical disability - spiny legs. Thanks to the help of the Catholic Albert Magnus Society, Goebbels was able to attend lecture courses at Freiburg, Bonn, Würzburg, Cologne, and Munich universities in 1917-21; On April 21, 1922, he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Heidelberg, having defended his dissertation “Wilhelm von Schütz as a playwright” from Baron M. von Waldberg. On the history of the drama of the romantic school." From 1921 he worked in the Cologne branch of the Dresden Bank as a stock exchange employee. In Aug. 1924 joined the NSDAP in Reidt (ticket no. 8762). Initially he joined the left socialist wing of the NSDAP, led by Goebbels Strasser. From 1924 he worked in the party press controlled by Strasser: executive editor of the newspaper “People's Freedom”, employee of the magazine “National Socialist Notes”. In 1921-24 he wrote the novel “Michael” (published in 1929), where he developed the idea of the tragic fate of Germany. During the controversy in 1924 between A. Hitler and Strasser, he demanded that Hitler be expelled from the party. In 1925 he met Hitler and went over to his side, and began to actively oppose Strasser. From June 1925 to September 26, 1925, together with K. Kaufmann, W. Lütze and Schmitz, he headed the GAU Rhineland - North. From 7.3.1926 to June 1926 - Gau Ruhr (together with F. Pfeffer). On 10/26/1926 he was appointed head of the most important GAU in Germany - Berlin and remained in this post until his death. By the time Goebbels arrived in Berlin, the Nazi organization (about 1 thousand people) was completely on Strasser’s side. He carried out a purge, expelling almost 400 people from the party. In a short time he recreated the Berlin Nazi organization, achieving a sharp increase in the number of its members. Organizer of clashes with communists. Because of Goebbels' actions, on May 5, 1927, the authorities banned the activities of the NSDAP and the SA in Berlin, and Goebbels was prohibited from making public appearances in the city. After this, the SA operated under the guise of various clubs and circles. In 1927-35, he was simultaneously the editor-in-chief of the Berlin weekly newspaper Angrif, which he founded. Through slanderous attacks, he achieved the resignation of the head of the Berlin criminal police, the Jew Weiss.
On March 31, 1928, the ban on the party in Berlin was lifted. On April 20, 1928, he was elected as a member of the Reichstag from Berlin.
Since January 9, 1929, the imperial head of propaganda (Reichspropagandaleiter) in the system of the imperial leadership of the NSDAP. In 1930, Goebbels, using propaganda methods, created the legend of H. Wessel, turning him into a Nazi hero, and the poems he wrote into the anthem of the NSDAP. In Jan. 1932 also widely used in the propaganda campaign the fact of the death of Hitler Youth member Herbert Norkus, who died in a fight. Through the efforts of Goebbels, who organized the obstruction of the American film based on E. Remarque’s novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” the film was banned from showing in Germany on December 11, 1930, as “damaging the country’s reputation.” At the beginning of 1932, he actively advocated for Hitler to nominate himself for the presidency (despite the reluctance of Hitler himself). In 1932 he led Hitler's election campaign, achieving significant results. After the Nazis came to power, on March 13, 1933, he was appointed minister of the Imperial Ministry of Public Education and Propaganda, specially created for him.
Hitler, Goebbels and Goering at a rally. 1931
Photo from the book: The 20th century a chronicle in pictures. New York. 1989.
On May 10, 1933, he organized a grandiose public burning of books imbued with the “non-German spirit” (after which it was ordered that 14 thousand titles by 141 German authors be removed from libraries). On June 30, 1933, Hitler stated that Goebbels was responsible “for all tasks of spiritual influence on the nation... for culture and for... informing society at home and abroad about all this.” At the same time, Goebbels never fully managed to establish control over the entire propaganda machine in Germany: the press was in the hands of O. Dietrich and M. Amann, in addition, A. Rosenberg constantly interfered in the management of art. On September 22, 1933, he created the Imperial Chamber of Culture, which placed the entire German creative intelligentsia under his complete control, the President of the Chamber. On May 14, 1934, all theaters in Germany were transferred to Goebbels’ jurisdiction, and in the same year Goebbels achieved the ban on “Negro jazz.” In 1935 he created under his leadership the Imperial Senate of Culture. Goebbels was the creator of the German propaganda system, achieving brilliant success in this field. With the help of the system he created, Goebbels could freely manipulate public opinion in Germany, justifying any actions of the Nazi regime.
On November 9, 1938, having received information about the murder of diplomat E. vom Rath in Paris by the Jew Grünszpan, he spoke to the “old fighters” at the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch, calling for revenge on the Jews. He was one of the main organizers of the all-German Jewish pogrom on November 9-10, which became known as Kristallnacht. With the beginning of World War II, Goebbels' influence began to decline, which was primarily due to the strengthening of the role of M. Bormann, Goebbels, Himmler and, somewhat later, A. Speer. Tried unsuccessfully to intrigue against Bormann. Since November 16, 1942, Reich Commissioner for Defense of Berlin. 14.2.1943 spoke at the Berlin Sports Palace, delivering one of his most incendiary speeches, calling on listeners to mobilize all forces for a “total war” with the enemy. However, the leadership of all events remained in the hands of Bormann, Goebbels, Lammers and Speer. Since April 1, 1943, State President of Berlin. During the coup attempt on July 20, 1944, Goebbels's quick and decisive actions became one of the main reasons for the defeat of the conspiracy in Berlin. After this, Goebbels regained Hitler's unlimited trust. Since July 25, 1944, Reich Commissioner for Total War. One of the organizers and inspirers of the Volkssturm. On April 18, 1945, as Soviet troops approached Berlin, Goebbels began to destroy his archive, and on April 19. made his last radio address on Hitler's birthday. Before his death, Hitler appointed Goebbels as his successor as Imperial Chancellor, and legally Goebbels held this post from April 30, 1945. Together with his wife, he committed suicide, having previously killed his six children. The corpses of Goebbels and his wife Magda Goebbels were doused with gasoline and burned in the courtyard of the Imperial Chancellery.
Materials used from the book: Who Was Who in the Third Reich. Biographical encyclopedic dictionary. M., 2003.
Reich Minister of Propaganda J. Goebbels at a reception with Pilsudski. 1935
"Around 1930, a serious conflict broke out in the National Socialist Workers' Party. Hitler entered into an alliance with Western heavy industry and thereby made his party a kind of praetorian guard for monopoly capitalism. Not all of his subordinate leaders and ordinary followers were ready to humiliate themselves and become just servants of the leaders of heavy industry, the rebels rallied around. Otto Strasser , who broke with Hitler under the slogan “Socialists are leaving the party” and created his own organization, which later continued its work under the name “Black Front”.
Goebbels hesitated for a long time whether to remain loyal to Hitler or leave the party along with Otto Strasser. His instincts as a demagogue pushed him towards Strasser, but he nevertheless realized that the course of general development was playing into the hands of Hitler, as a result of which the latter had better prospects. Therefore, Goebbels suddenly broke with Otto Strasser, with whom he had already agreed on an alliance, and returned to Hitler."
Ernst Nikisch. The life I dared. Meetings and events. St. Petersburg, 2012, p. 281-282.
When Hitler instructed Goebbels to create a movement of intellectuals, he had in mind first of all Junger . Jünger and Goebbels met several times, but the conversation between them never took the direction that Goebbels wanted it to take. Goebbels was jealous of Jünger; he was jealous of Jünger's literary fame. In his arrogance he harbored the crazy idea that he could compete with Jünger. One day, Goebbels intended to give a speech to a narrow circle of selected guests, wanting to demonstrate his intellectual potential. He persuaded Junger to come to this event. Jünger was sitting in the front row, but all this empty chatter was so disgusting to him that he could not stand it for long. He left the premises and went to the nearest restaurant, where he hoped to fill up the bad aftertaste left by Goebbels' words with good wine. Later, Goebbels appeared in the same restaurant and expressed his feelings to him: he was deeply offended, even outraged, when he learned that he had not made any impression on Jünger and that he had even run away from him.
Ernst Nikisch. The life I dared. Meetings and events. St. Petersburg, 2012, p. 296-297.
One day Bronnen came to my home and invited me to his apartment for a conversation with Goebbels. Bronnen said that Goebbels had read my book “Choice,” which had been published shortly before. He, according to Bronnen, did not accept the basic idea, but considered it worthwhile to make an attempt to get the author of this book for National Socialism. It was no longer enough for Hitler to see all kinds of uncouth louts in his retinue. I replied that Goebbels would fail with me the same way he failed with Jünger. Nevertheless, Bronnen begged me not to shy away from meeting Goebbels.
When I came to Bronnen, I found Goebbels there in an animated conversation with radio announcer Alfred Braun, who was then still in the ranks of the Social Democratic Party; the announcer came with his wife. Brown asked Goebbels what he would do if the National Socialists suddenly came to power. It was immediately felt that Goebbels had gotten on his high horse. He replied that the “system government” had no idea what radio could be turned into. He would have extracted from the radio all its hidden possibilities that only exist in propaganda and agitation plans. All propagandists of the Weimar parties are hacks and incompetents. Thanks to radio, he would ensure that everyone saw events from the same point of view, in the same light, and would approve of everything that the “Führer” demands and does.
After we sat down at the round table, a conversation began between Goebbels and me. Goebbels asked me what I had against National Socialism. I answered him that National Socialism has a false picture of world politics and, because of this, will take the wrong steps in the foreign arena. Goebbels began to object vigorously. I told him that National Socialism overestimated Germany's ability to pursue policies from a position of strength. The West does not need Germany. He sees Germany first and foremost as a competitor in the economic sphere. Joining the West would mean joining a community in which every member seeks to harm the German partner. splendid isolation policy, based on the belief that one could take advantage of using the West against the East, and the East against the West, was once pursued by Holstein and Bülow, but after 1918 it was no longer possible. In contrast, it is the most successful German politicians, such as Frederick II And Bismarck , from their own experience, they were convinced that a policy fruitful for Germany can only be pursued by cooperating with its eastern neighbor - Russia. Frederick II was saved thanks to the “Russian miracle”; without Russian support, Bismarck would not have been able to found the Empire. Agreement signed with Russia in Rapallo , for the first time since the collapse of 1918, allowed Germany to gain weight in world politics.
After several weak objections, which were not difficult to parry, Goebbels accepted the correctness of my reasoning. But he said that the first task was to defeat communism in Germany; If this can be done, then we can choose to focus on Russia without any internal complications. I asked him a counter question: does he realize whose hands he is playing into by destroying the communists? Destroying communists is work in the service of big industry tycoons. Goebbels, it seemed to me, was thoroughly offended by this argument. He tried for a long time to prove that National Socialism is hostile to communists only because it views them as henchmen of Bolshevism. The presence of such Bolshevik henchmen on German soil in this situation ties the hands of the German government, preventing it from developing relations with the Soviet Union. If any conflict arises between the interests of the Germans and the interests of the Soviets, the German government is forced to fear that the Communists will stab it in the back. I replied to this that if the German government honestly strived for German-Soviet friendship, then in any case it could count on the support of the German communists. I added that Goebbels was apparently mistaken about the internal logic of National Socialist policy. Even if the German communists are destroyed, National Socialism will never choose a foreign policy orientation towards the East. Hitler's thoughts in his book "My struggle" full of immense hatred for the Soviet Union. Just as the communists in Germany cause horror and disgust among the tycoons of big industry, Bolshevism is hated by the imperialist rulers of all Western countries. Hitler's political speculation is to obtain from these imperialist overlords the powers to destroy the Soviet Union and then to raise Germany under his leadership to the status of a great world power.
Goebbels tried to downplay the significance of Hitler's statements about the Soviet Union; he said that this was just a tactical ploy designed to win over the masses, and not at all a serious statement of a political goal. Goebbels was clearly annoyed, even angry. When I doubted that Hitler's statements could be interpreted so innocently, Goebbels suddenly broke off the dialogue and began a monologue; he viewed those present as an audience that should learn the necessary lessons from his monologue. “Whoever does not now make a choice in favor of National Socialism,” he threatened, “will no longer have any political future. Once Hitler comes to power, these people will be relegated to the background; they will no longer be able to say anything, will not be able to insert even a word into someone else’s conversation, and will probably be reduced to silence in an even more thorough manner.”
There was dead silence in the room. The tension, about to burst out, was felt by everyone present. It seemed that something completely unexpected was about to happen. After a pause, I broke the silence and calmly said: “Mr. Goebbels, you have descended to the level that is usual for your party meetings. Perhaps you will be so kind as to return to the level appropriate for our meeting.” The tension subsided as if by hand. Bronnen told me later that he expected me to slap Goebbels in the face, which is probably what he himself would have done. But the way I chose to solve the problem was much better and much more effective.
Goebbels was clearly deeply hurt; he didn't even try to return the blow. The discussion died down and Goebbels was unimpressed. Soon he finished speaking and said goodbye. As he left the room, Alfred Brown exclaimed with slight self-irony: “I do not remember that ever in my life I was present at a discussion and did not interfere in it, demanding the floor. Today’s conversation captivated me so much that I was only able to listen!”
Goebbels was often portrayed as a man of flexible intellect, inventive in propaganda matters, but absolutely deceitful. He must have been a highly talented advertising executive. Intellectually, he was slippery and cunning, able to elude like an eel, but there was no sense of solidity behind him, and above all there was nothing genuine about him. His agile intellect was inexhaustible, but it had no connection with real things. He was just playing with his mind and shamelessly grabbing at any thing he could use to increase his influence. He did not feel the inner weight of this thing, its inner dignity, and thus it turned out that he abused everything he touched. He was a typical representative of an era that, in its nihilism, was not bound by any obligations and was not limited by any boundaries, and therefore did not hesitate for a second in using the highest benefits, the highest values for momentary success, as a result devaluing them and turning them into kitsch. Nothing could be taken seriously anymore, everything in the world and everyone in the world turned into theatrical props, theatrical backstage into theatrical artificial tinsel.
Leni Riefenstahl. "Victory of Faith". (Circumstances surrounding the filming of "Triumph of the Will").
NSDAP(National-Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), NSDAP, 1920
"Katyn case"- execution of Polish officers in 1941
Germany in the 20th century(chronological table).
Historical figures of Germany(biographical reference book).
Rozanov G.L., The Last Days of Hitler, M., 1961;
The Nuremberg trials of the main Germans. military criminals. Sat. materials, vol. 1-7, M., 1957-61.
Coming from a low-income family, Joseph Goebbels became one of the most recognizable political figures of the 20th century, about whom books are still written (“The Prelude of Barbarossa”) and films are made. In poor health, Goebbels could command a crowd with just one word, for which he received the favor of the main ruler of the Third Reich.
The future Gauleiter was born on October 29 in Germany, in Reidt, a small industrial town. There were no government figures or politically inclined people in the Goebbels family.
Joseph's father Friedrich worked as an employee in a lamp factory, and then did accounting, and his mother Maria ran the household and raised the children. In addition to Joseph, there were five more children in the family: two sons and three daughters. Maria was a native of Holland and did not have primary education, so until the end of her life she spoke a colloquial German dialect.
Seven people lived in cramped conditions, sometimes there was not even enough money for food, because Friedrich was the only breadwinner.
Therefore, from early childhood, Joseph was embittered because of the injustice in the world: the rich have a lot of money and profit from the work of ordinary working people, which was the family of the future politician.
There were no aristocrats or eminent personalities in the Goebbels family. Goebbels personally publishes his family tree, refuting rumors that there were Jews in the Gauleiter family.
The family in which Joseph grew up was distinguished by piety; the father and mother of the future politician professed Catholicism and taught their son to be religious. Friedrich taught his children that success in life can be achieved through frugality and hard work, so Joseph from childhood knew what saving was and what it was like to deny yourself luxury.
Paul Joseph Goebbels was far from handsome: a lame and short man, 165 cm tall, with nimble eyes and a long nose, tried to increase his self-esteem, which was expressed in his sexual preoccupation.
On December 19, 1931, Goebbels married his beloved Magda, who admired Joseph's speeches. The couple has six children. Hitler adored Magdalena and considered her a close friend.
Legal marriage did not prevent Goebbels from enjoying female company on the side: the German politician was more than once spotted in the circle of girls of easy virtue and often participated in orgies.
The Nazi was also fond of the Czech actress Lida Baarova, which contradicted German ideology. Goebbels had to humiliatingly explain himself to party members for his love affair.
Goebbels' contemporaries said that the doctor was a cheerful person: in many photographs and videos, Goebbels does not hide his sincere laughter. However, Brünnhilde Pomsel, Joseph's former secretary, recalled in an interview that the propagandist was a cold and callous person.
On April 18, 1945, a hopeless Goebbels burned his last personal notes. After the defeat of the fascist army, the ruler of the Third Reich, deified by Goebbels, commits suicide together with his wife. According to Adolf's will, Joseph was to become Reich Chancellor.
The Fuhrer's suicide led Goebbels to mental shock: he regretted that Germany had lost such a man and declared that he would follow his example.
After Hitler's death, Joseph had hope of being saved, but the Soviet Union refused to negotiate. The propagandist, along with his children and wife Magda, move to a bunker located in Berlin.
In the spring of 1945, on the territory of the bunker, at Magdalena’s request, all six children are given morphine injections, and cyanide is placed in the children’s mouths. At night, Goebbels and his wife went to collect hydrocyanic acid salts. Further, nothing is known about the murder of children and the suicide of the Goebbels spouses: on May 2, 1945, Russian soldiers found the charred remains of seven people.
Paul Joseph Goebbels is one of the main propagandists, an important figure of the Nazi Party, and a comrade-in-arms of Adolf Hitler.
Goebbels was born in Reidt on October 29, 1897. His parents had nothing to do with politics. The father was an accountant and hoped that his son would become an accountant when he grew up, but his plans were not destined to come true. Goebbels himself wanted to be a journalist or writer, so he directed all his efforts to studying the humanities.
He had to study in several where he studied literature, philosophy, and German studies. He even received a degree from the University of Heidelberg with a dissertation on romantic drama.
This period for Goebbels was not difficult compared to his compatriots, because he was considered unfit for military service due to a lameness from which he had suffered since childhood. This greatly affected the pride of the future ideologist of the Third Reich. He was disgraced by not being able to personally serve his country during the war. The inability to participate in the confrontation probably greatly influenced the views of Goebbels, who would later advocate the need for the purity of the Aryan race.
Oddly enough, Paul Joseph Goebbels made many attempts to publish his works, but none of them were successful. The last straw was that the Frankfurt theater refused to stage one of the plays he wrote. Goebbels decided to direct his energy in a different direction and went into politics. In 1922, he first joined the NSDAP political party, which was then led by the Strasser brothers.
Later he moved to the Ruhr and began working as a journalist. During this period of his activity, he opposed Hitler, who, according to his own words, should have been expelled from the National Socialist Party.
However, very soon the philosopher’s views change, and he goes over to the side of Hitler, whom he begins to deify. In 1926, he already boldly declared that he loved Hitler and saw him as a real leader. It is difficult to say why Joseph Goebbels changed his views so quickly. The quotes, however, show that he praises the Fuhrer and sees him as an exceptional person capable of changing Germany for the better.
The praises of Hitler, which Goebbels actively disseminated, led to the fact that the Fuhrer became interested in the personality of this propagandist. Therefore, in 1926, he appointed the future ideological leader of the Third Reich as a regional Gauleiter of the NSDAP. During this period, his oratorical abilities especially developed, thanks to which he would in the future become one of the most influential personalities of the Nazi party and the entire German government.
From 1927 to 1935, Goebbels worked for the weekly Angrif, which promoted the ideas of National Socialism. In 1928, he was elected as a member of the Reichstag from the Nazi Party. During his speeches, he actively speaks out against the Berlin government, Jews and communists, after which he attracts the attention of the public.
In his speeches, the philosopher speaks out about fascist ideas, supporting the views of Hitler. For example, he publicly recognizes the criminal Horste Wessel, who was killed in a street fight, as a hero, a political martyr, and even proposes to officially recognize his poems as the party anthem.
Hitler was very much delighted with everything that Goebbels promoted. Joseph was appointed chief propaganda officer of the Nazi party. During the 1932 elections, Goebbels was the ideological inspirer and main organizer of the presidential campaign, doubling the number of voters for the future Fuhrer. That is, in fact, he contributed to the fact that Hitler managed to come to power. It was his propaganda that had the most serious influence on the voting masses. Taking the latest presidential campaign techniques from the Americans and modifying them slightly for the German people, Goebbels used a subtle psychological approach to influence his audience. He even created ten theses that every National Socialist must adhere to, which later became the ideological basis of the party.
Goebbels received a new position, which significantly expanded his powers and gave him considerable freedom of action. In his work, he showed that in reality there were no principles of morality for him. Joseph Goebbels simply neglected them. Party propaganda penetrated into all spheres of life. Goebbels controlled the theater, radio, television, the press - everything that could be used to popularize Nazi ideas.
He was ready to do anything to impress Hitler. He controlled attacks directed against Jews. In 1933, he ordered the public burning of books at several German universities. Authors who advocated the ideas of humanism and freedom suffered. The most popular of them are Brecht, Kafka, Remarque, Feuchtwanger and others.
Joseph Goebbels was one of Adolf Hitler's most influential advisers, along with Himmler and Bormann. Besides that, they were friends. The wife of the most important and influential propagandist of the Third Reich, Magda Quant, was the former wife of a Jewish businessman; she gave the Nazi ideologist six children. Thus, the Goebbels family became a model, and all the children remained favorites of the Fuhrer’s entourage.
In reality, not everything was so rosy in the life of the German ideologist. He cannot be called monogamous, given that he was seen many times in relationships with film and theater actresses, which greatly discredited him in the eyes of the Fuhrer. Once, the dissatisfied husband of another diva whom Goebbels was courting beat him. In his life there was also a rather serious affair on the side with an actress of Czech origin Lydia Barova, which practically led to a divorce from his legal wife. Only Hitler's intervention saved the marriage.
Goebbels did not always have good relations with other prominent leaders of the Nazi Party. For example, he could not find a common language, which led to constant disagreements, with Ribbentrop and Goering, who did not celebrate him because of his friendly relations with Hitler.
Despite the fact that Goebbels was a master of his craft, even his propaganda techniques could not help Nazi Germany achieve victory in World War II. During this period, Hitler gave him the task of maintaining the patriotic spirit and spirit of the nation. He tried to do this in every possible way. Goebbels' main lever of pressure was propaganda against the Soviet Union. Thus, he wanted to support the front-line soldiers so that they would stand to the last and fight to the end.
Gradually, the implementation of the task set by the Third Reich for Goebbels became increasingly difficult. The morale of the soldiers was falling, although the Nazi propagandist fought for the opposite, constantly reminding everyone what awaited Germany if the war were lost. In 1944, Hitler appointed Goebbels chief of mobilization, from that moment on he was responsible for collecting all material and human resources, and not just maintaining morale. However, the decision was made too late; there was very little time left before the fall of Germany.
Goebbels remained faithful to his Fuhrer to the end, who was for him the embodiment of ideological ideals. In April 1945, when the future fate of Germany was already clear to most, Goebbels still advised his mentor to stay in Berlin in order to preserve for posterity the image of a revolutionary hero, and not a coward who fled from danger. Until recently, his faithful friend, Joseph Goebbels, took care of the image of his comrade-in-arms. The biography of the most famous German propagandist shows that he was one of the few who did not leave the Fuhrer.
After Roosevelt's death, the mood in the Third Reich improved, but not for long. Soon, Hitler wrote a will in which he named Joseph Goebbels as his successor. Quotes from this period show that the propagandist tried to negotiate with the Russians, but after nothing worked out, he and Bormann decided to commit suicide. By this time, Adolf Hitler was already dead. Goebbels' wife, Martha, poisoned her six children, and then laid hands on herself. After this, one of the most influential figures of the Third Reich, Joseph Goebbels, committed suicide. “Diaries of 1945” - this is part of the handwritten legacy that remained after the most famous ideologist of Nazism - perfectly show what the author was thinking about during this period and what kind of end to the confrontation he was counting on.
After Goebbels, a lot of handwritten documents remained, which were supposed to maintain the morale of the German residents and turn them against the Soviet Union. However, there is a work only partly dedicated to politics, the author of which was Joseph Goebbels. “Michael” is a novel in which, although there are reflections on the state, it is more related to literature. This work did not bring success to the author, after which Goebbels decided to turn to politics.
As noted above, the philosopher also has Nazi books, in which he reflects on anti-Semitism, superiority, and so on. Joseph Goebbels, whose last entries are included in his “Diaries of 1945,” has for some time now been classified as a banned author in Russia, and his book has been classified as extremist.
Oddly enough, Joseph Goebbels spoke positively about Vladimir Lenin, whom, it would seem, he should have despised as a representative of Bolshevism. Despite this, the German leader, on the contrary, writes that Lenin can become the savior of the Russian people, saving them from problems. According to Goebbels, since Lenin came from a poor family, he was well acquainted with all the problems that the lower classes had to face, so he would be able to overcome any obstacles on his way to improve the lives of ordinary peasants.
Joseph Goebbels was one of the most influential and famous figures of the Third Reich. He became one of the key figures who contributed to and until the last remained faithful to his powerful mentor, who strived for world domination. If we theoretically imagine that Goebbels would not have sided with Germany's most tyrannical Fuhrer, but opposed him, there is a possibility that Adolf Hitler would not have become a ruler, and perhaps World War II would not have even begun, millions of lives would have been saved. Joseph Goebbels played one of the main roles in the propaganda of Nazism, which led to his name being written down in history in huge but bloody letters.
Goebbels was born on October 29, 1897 in Rheidt, Rhineland. His father worked as an accountant and was a very devout man; he hoped that his son would become a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. But Goebbels, dreaming of a career as a writer or journalist, after graduating from the burgherschule and gymnasium in Reidt, preferred to study the humanities. With the financial support of the Albert Magnus Society, from 1917 to 1921 he studied philosophy, German studies, history and literature at the universities of Freiburg, Bonn, Würzburg, Cologne, Munich and Heidelberg. At the University of Heidelberg, under the guidance of Professor Friedrich Gundolf, a literary historian and Jew, Goebbels defended his dissertation on romantic drama in 1921 and acquired an academic degree. His own literary works were rejected time after time by the editors of liberal publishing houses and newspapers.
When World War I began, Goebbels was declared unfit for military service due to a limp (he was disabled from birth), which hurt his pride, since he considered it a shame for himself not to be able to serve his country during the war. He was always very acutely and painfully aware of his own physical inferiority, since he constantly felt behind his back the humiliating ridicule of his comrades, who called him “little mouse doctor” behind his back. His wounded pride gave rise to deep-rooted hatred in him, which was aggravated in the future by the need to perform in front of a healthy, blue-eyed “Aryan” audience.
After World War I, having unsuccessfully tried his luck in the field of poetry and drama (his sentimental tearful play "The Wanderer" ("Der Wanderer") was rejected by the Frankfurt Schauspielhaus), Goebbels found an outlet for his energy in politics. In 1922, he joined the NSDAP, initially joining its left, socialist wing, whose leaders at that time were the Strasser brothers. In 1924, having moved to the Ruhr, Goebbels tried his hand at journalism - as editor of the Völkische Freiheit (People's Freedom) in Elberfeld, then at Strasser's NS-Brief. This period, colored by the fierce polemics between the Strassers and Hitler about the degree of socialism in the National Socialist movement, belongs to the famous statement of Goebbels: “The bourgeois Adolf Hitler must be expelled from the National Socialist Party!”
However, in 1926 his political sympathies changed sharply in favor of Hitler, whom he began to perceive “either as Christ or as St. John.” "Adolf Hitler, I love you!" - he wrote in his diary. Goebbels dedicated one of his first books to Hitler - “with deep gratitude.” His praise of the Fuhrer was ardent: “Even before the trial in Munich, you appeared before us in the guise of a leader. What you said there are the greatest revelations that have not been heard in Germany since the days of Bismarck. God gave you words to name the ills of Germany. You started from the very bottom, like every truly great leader. And like every leader, you became greater and greater as your tasks became greater.”
Such words could not help but attract Hitler's favorable attention. In 1926 he appointed Goebbels Gauleiter of the NSDAP in Berlin-Brandenburg. It was in the capital that Goebbels' oratorical abilities were revealed, which predetermined his future fate as the main agitator and propagandist of the Nazi party, and later of the entire Reich. From 1927 to 1935 he was the editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper Angrif, the mouthpiece of the philosophy of National Socialism. In 1928, Goebbels was elected as a member of the Reichstag from the Nazi Party. At numerous rallies and demonstrations, this small man with a long nose, constantly dressed in an overcoat too long for him, with a strong and harsh voice, covering the Berlin city government, Jews and communists with sarcasm and insults, managed to attract wide attention. He "discovered" in the criminal Horst Wessel, a Nazi killed in a street fight, a political martyr and put forward Wessel's nasty poems as the official party anthem. Hitler was so amazed and delighted by Goebbels' activities in Berlin that he appointed him in 1929 as Reich Director of Propaganda for the Nazi Party. It is Goebbels, more than anyone else, who owns the laurels for Hitler’s rapid advancement to the heights of political power. In 1932, he organized and led Hitler's election campaigns for the presidency, doubling his popular vote. His propaganda was of decisive importance on the eve of Hitler's assumption of office as chancellor. Skillfully adopting modern propaganda techniques from the Americans and slightly changing them to suit German reality, Goebbels demonstrated amazing abilities to psychologically influence the audience. His “Ten Commandments of a National Socialist,” written at the dawn of the Nazi movement, became the prototype of the party’s ideological program:
Having become chancellor, Hitler on March 13, 1933 appointed Goebbels Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda, instructing him to use all means to implement the Gleichshaltung program. In this activity, Goebbels demonstrated that for him there were no principles or morals. He subordinated all elements of the country's life - the press, cinema, theater, radio, sports - to national socialist ideals and essentially became the dictator of the cultural life of the nation. To please Hitler, he launched vicious and violent attacks against the Jews. In May 1933, on the initiative of Goebbels, public book burnings were carried out in several German universities. The bonfires burned the works of Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Bertolt Brecht, Franz Kafka, Remarque, Feuchtwanger and many other authors who proclaimed the ideas of freedom and humanism.
Along with Heinrich Himmler and, later, Martin Bormann, Goebbels became one of Hitler's closest and most influential advisers. His wife, Magda Kwant, divorced a Jewish businessman, and their six children became special favorites among the Fuhrer's inner circle in Berchtesgaden. His numerous connections with theater and film actresses were widely known in the country. Once he was beaten by an insulted famous film actor who could not tolerate Goebbels' advances towards his wife. His relationship with Czech actress Lydia Barova almost led to divorce until Hitler intervened. Goebbels was constantly at odds with other Nazi leaders, especially Hermann Göring and Joachim von Ribbentrop, who were irritated by his closeness to Hitler.
During World War II, Goebbels was tasked with maintaining the morale of the nation. His propaganda machine was aimed at causing discontent with Soviet Russia and encouraging the Germans to hold out until final victory. This task became more and more difficult as the tide of the war turned in favor of the Allies. Goebbels worked energetically to maintain German morale by constantly reminding them of their fate if they surrendered. After the failure of the July 1944 Plot, Hitler appointed Goebbels as the chief mobilization commissioner for “total war” and instructed him to gather all material and human resources to fight to the last drop of blood. But it was already too late: Germany was on the brink of destruction.
In April 1945, true to his sense of mystical arrogance, Goebbels advised Hitler to remain in Berlin in the Führerbunker and, if necessary, there to face the dazzling mystical “Twilight of the Gods” (Gotterdammerung). Only in this way, Goebbels convinced, could the legend of the great Hitler be preserved. The Fuhrer, frightened by the possibility of being put naked in a circus cage by the Russians, agreed. One after another, the newly-minted Nazi leaders abandoned their leader, but Goebbels remained. When President Franklin Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, Goebbels, in a state of euphoria, compared this event with a similar one in the fate of Frederick the Great, which ended in victory. Hitler's state of mind perked up for a while. In his political will, Hitler designated Goebbels as his successor as Reich Chancellor. Goebbels complemented this with his own propaganda gesture. Immediately after Hitler's suicide, Goebbels and Bormann made a last attempt to negotiate with the Russians. When it became clear that this was impossible, Goebbels decided to commit suicide. Magda Goebbels poisoned six of her children and killed herself. Then Goebbels also committed suicide.
