Paul Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945)
"He who controls the medium controls the message. He who controls the message controls the masses."
Joseph Goebbels, more affectionately known as the "Poison
Dwarf," was the master propagandist and cultural dictator of the
Nazi Regime for twelve years. While not a physically impressive man, only standing at a little over 5
feet tall and having a
crippled foot, his
intellect and wit enabled him to solely create the "
Führer" myth and embed the Nazi ideal into millions of
German people. His
propaganda campaigns were incredibly thorough, as they bombarded the German people through the
press,
radio,
film, publications,
literature,
theater,
music, and
fine arts. It was total
immersion.
Early Years (Before the NSDAP)
Paul Joseph Goebbels was born to Friedrich and Maria Goebbels on October 29, 1897 in
Rheydt,
Germany. Along with six brothers and sisters, Joseph was raised in a strict
Roman Catholic environment. He attended a Roman Catholic school where he excelled in his studies and exhibited remarkable
intelligence. At the age of 17, Joseph attempted to join the
military, but was deemed unfit to serve because of his crippled foot. This devastated Goebbels, and it is rumored that he cried for two days straight. This rejection, coupled with the years of
chiding brought on by his
puny frame and
intellectual background, lead to an increasing degree of
resentment towards the human race.
After the rejection from military service, Joseph attended the University of
Heidelberg. He studied
history and
literature under the direction of Friedrich Gundolf, a distinguished historian of
Jewish literacy. In 1921, Joseph received his
Doctorate in Germanic
Philology. This distinction alone would later make him one of the most educated figures in
Hitler's
entourage. After graduation, Joseph seeked to gain employment as a
journalist. He faced much rejection, most of which was from Jewish-owned
publishing houses. These rejections is what most likely sparked his
animosity of the Jewish people, as he held no
anti-semitic views during his years at Heidelberg. In fact, while at Heidelberg, he regarded many of his Jewish professors with high-esteem, and he even dated a girl with Jewish parents.
Goebbels Joins the NSDAP
After coming in contact with circles of
National Socialists, Joseph joins the NSDAP in 1924. Subsequently, he takes the position as editor of Volkische Freiheit ("National Freedom"), a weekly
newspaper. In the paper, Goebbels derides the prominent Jewish publishers of that time. Joseph makes quite an impression in the party, and he is promoted to business manager of the
Ruhr district. He would be under the direction of
George Strasser, the leader of the party in northern Germany. In 1925, Joseph founded and edited the Nationalsozialistischen-Briefe ("NS Letters"). These publications touted anti-
capitalistic views and cried for the revaluation of all values.
A small conflict developed between Strasser and Hitler, and Goebbels, being an
opportunistic fellow, left Strasser and declared
loyalty to Hitler. Keep in mind that all this took place after Joseph called for the expulsion of Adolph, the "
petty-
bourgeois," just one year earlier. Hitler, grateful of Joseph's decision, decided to appoint him the Nazi district leader for the
Berlin-
Brandenburg area. Goebbels was perfectly suited for this type of work, as he had great organizational skills and excellent
oratory abilities. He launched a large campaign which
consisted of elaborate posters, published
propaganda, and impressive
parades. In 1927, Joseph founded and edited a newspaper called Der Angriff ("The Attack"). Its recurring theme? Why bashing Berlin Jews, of course!
Hitler was very impressed that Joseph managed to turn the small Berlin section into a powerful organization in North Germany, so he decided to appoint him the
Reich Propaganda Leader in 1929. After his appointment, Goebbels started a large propaganda campaign to promote the Nazi party and establish the
Führer (leader or savior) myth. He did this by exploiting the suffering masses that were impacted by the
Great Depression. Posters, parades, speeches, and 120 daily or weekly newspapers blamed Jews and
lefties for economic woes, promised work for the
unemployed, profits to industries and small businesses, expansion of the army, and restoration of German
pride.
Goebbels managed to find some time from his busy schedule of being an
evil bastard to get married in 1931. He and his wife, Magda, would have six children together. In later years, Magda would soon seek out a divorce from Joseph, mainly because of his numerous love affairs with beautiful actresses. Hitler wouldn't allow it, though, as the Reich tried to promote a sense of
family values.
When Hitler acceded to power in 1933, he creates a
National Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda for Goebbels. In addition, Hitler also appoints Goebbels as the President of the Reich Chamber of Culture. This title gives Joseph an enormous amount of influence. Germany's press, radio, film, publications, literature, theater, music, and fine arts is now all under the control of Goebbels. And this wasn't some simple
pamphlet; it was a full-blown propaganda
smorgasbord. Germans had to live and breath this crap.
Continuing with his propaganda campaign, on May 10, 1933, Joseph staged the infamous "
burning of the books" in Berlin. Literary works by
Jewish,
Marxist, and other "
unacceptable" authors were publicly burned. He also managed to incite the mayhem of
Kristallnacht ("
Crystal Night") when he is said to have conducted an arousing speech to party leaders in 1938.
World War II Begins
During World War II, Goebbels played a critical role in
myriads of affairs. Beginning in 1940, he founded and edited a weekly newspaper called "Das Reich." It covered various issues, but mainly focused on keeping Germans focused on the war effort, and conveying the idea that Jews and
Gypsies be regarded as "unconditionally exterminable." Subsequently, Joseph was one of the chief secret abettors of the
Endlosung ("
Final Solution"), which was the extermination of Jews, Gypsies,
Slavs,
homosexuals,
communists, and other undesirables in
death camps. He also personally supervised the deportation of Jews from Berlin.
In 1943, as Allied forces encircle Germany and after a crushing defeat at
Stalingrad, Goebbels rallied the masses to encourage the war effort and call for "total war." During his speeches, Joseph would enforce fears of "Asiatic hordes," invent mythical "
secret weapons," and speak about fortresses in the mountains where the last stand would be made (
Wolfenstein, anyone?).
Goebbels was able to shine one last time when he was able to isolate conspirators in the War Ministry after an attempted
coup in 1943, saving the Nazi regime. Shortly after that, Hitler appoints Joseph the Plenipotentiary for Total War mobilization. In the last months of the war, Goebbels tries desperately to keep the
war machine running by visiting bombed communities, and promising state relief for civilians who lost their families and homes.
Last Days
Before Hitler's suicide on April 30, 1945, Goebbels was named the
Reich chancellor. One day later, as
Soviet troops storm Berlin, Goebbels ordered an
SS doctor to euthanize his six children, aged 4 to 12, via lethal injection. He then orders an SS orderly to shoot him and his wife. Before taking his last breath, Goebbels muttered these last words: "We shall go down in history as the greatest
statesman of all time, or as the greatest
criminals."
Various Quotes
"It is the absolute right of the
State to supervise the formation of
public opinion."
"We have made the
Reich by
propaganda."
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it people will eventually come to believe it."
"...the rank and file are usually much more primitive than we imagine. Propaganda must therefore always be essentially simple and
repetitious."
"We hate
THEM from the bottom of our
souls because they threaten our very life, because they oppose our national existence out of envy, jealousy and ill-concealed national
pride."
"During a war, news should be given out for instruction rather than information."
"If we have the power, we'll never give it up again unless we're carried out of our offices as
corpses".
"The Jews are our destruction. They provoked and brought about this war. What they mean to achieve by it is to destroy the German state and nation... Every Jew is a sworn enemy of the German people."
"If the day should ever come when we the Nazis must go, if some day we are compelled to leave the scene of history, we will slam the door so hard that the
universe will shake and mankind will stand back in
stupefaction."
Photography
Some various links to photos of Joseph:
http://www.us-israel.org/images/goebbels.jpg - This photo gives an idea of Goebbels` stature.
http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/ba006668/index.jpg - Goebbels in public.
http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Goebbels.gif - Goebbels up close.