Joseph Goebbels 1897-1945

Biography Born 28th October 1897 in Rheydt, Prussia, Germany. He was born into a Catholic family. His father was a factory clerk, his mother a farmhand. He had 4 siblings; Hans, Konrad, Elisabeth, and Maria He went to a Christian high school, where he completed his Abitur in 1916. He had a deformed right leg, the reason for it unknown. He married Magda Ritschel in 1931, and had six children with her. He studied literature and philosophy at the universities of Bonn, Wuerzburg, Freiburg and Heidelberg. He married Magda Ritschel in 1931, and had 6 children with her. When the war was clearly over, the couple killed their 6 children before committing suicide.

Joining the Nazi Party He came into contact with the party in 1923, when Hitler was campaigning the resistance to the French occupation of the Ruhr. Hitler was imprisoned in 1923, so Goebbels joined under the infuence of Gregor Strasser (Nazi organiser in northern Germany). Goebbels, since he had journalistic skills, became a key ally to Strasser

Role before they came to power Goebbels was given the task of building up Nazi support in Berlin. He had this from 1926 and 1930 Elected to the Reichstag in 1928, and again in 1930. He was given overall charge of the propaganda machine in 1929. This is where Goebbels excelled.

Role after they came to power When Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933, Goebbels was given the title of Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda. He held this post until 1945. Something that made Goebbels different was that he could control what people thought. When these people were taken in by Goebbels, they were attracted by a colour film of propaganda videos (like “The Eternal Jew or Triumph of the Will. These displays at Nuremburg are significant even today for how organised it was.

What happened to him during the war During the war, Goebbels used his skill for public speaking to persuade the German people that the war was going their way. After the Battle of Stalingrad, this was much more difficult. They had to come up with a propaganda film about the battle, which they ended up portraying as a mistake on the General’s parts. Goebbels demaded ‘total war’ from Germany. In 1944, he was appointed Reich Commissioner for Total Mobilisation.

What happened to him after the war When it was clear that Germany were going to lose the war in 1945, Goebbels stayed with Hitler in his bunker. He wrote in his diary that he blamed the German people for their defeat, not Hitler. On May 1st, he, along with this wife, gave poison to his six children, killing them He then shot his wife, followed by himself. He gave orders that their bodies should be burned. Before his death, it is said that he received Hitler’s wrist watch because he was the only senior Nazi leader to have stayed with the Fuhrer until the end.