Joseph+Goebbels

Maddy K. and Aimee H.

Joseph Goebbels was born October 29th, 1897, in Rheydt, in the Rhineland. He grew up in a working-class family, and attended a Roman Catholic school. An intelligent young man, he was awarded with a Catholic scholarship, and went on to study history and literature at the University of Heidelberg. It was at this institution where he attained his PhD. In 1914, Goebbels was devastated after being rejected from the German army due to his small stature and bad limp, which was the result of a bone operation he endured as a child after a battle with polio. For a short period Goebbels wrote poetry, novels, and plays, but he ran into problems when he couldn't find a publisher for any of his work. He formulated the theory that all publishing companies were owned by Jews, and with this his fierce anti-semitism was born. In 1925, he was made business manager of the Ruhr district for the Reich in North Germany. It was in this district where he met Gregor Strasser, and published his first propaganda newsletter. In 1926 Goebbels joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, but he wasn't immediately taken by Hitler. It wasn't until Hitler gained more power, that Goebbels decided to switch his views and support Der Fuhrer. Hitler also admired Goebbels, for his skills in writing and speaking. The two of them decided to work together to plan how the Party would win the support of the German people. Goebbels began editing "The Attack", a daily newspaper promoting the ideas of German Nationalism. In 1928 Joesph Goebbels was elected into the Reichstag, where he became the Party's Propaganda Leader. When Hitler became chancellor in 1933, Goebbels was promoted to Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. It was in this position that Goebbels was finally able to put his whole-hearted effort into the extermination of the Jewish population. He rallied at book-burnings, publicly denounced Jews, orchestrated //Kristallnacht//, and advocated Hitler's "Final Solution".

Goebbels' loyalty towards Hitler and the Party only grew as the war deteriorated, and as the Red Army fought through Nazi Germany, Hitler invited Goebbels, his wife Magda, and their six children to move into the Fuhrerbunker. When Hitler committed suicide in the bunker on April 30th, 1945, Goebbels was directly ordered to succeed his role as Chancellor. Instead, he had an SS doctor inject all six of his children with a lethal substance, killing them all. The circumstances of Dr. and Mrs. Goebbels' deaths are unsure, but it is assumed that they were shot by either an SS orderly or themselves.

__Quotes:__
"Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play."

"Intellectual activity is a danger to the building of character."

"If we are attacked we can only defend ourselves with guns not with butter."

" It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."

[] [] [] []