Goebbels Minister of Propaganda. Joseph Goebbels: photo, biography, quotes

Joseph Paul Goebbels- Minister of Public Education and Propaganda of the Nazi government of Germany, a man who left a mark not only on the history of the Third Reich, but also on world history in general. A brilliant speaker and propagandist, he is called the “father of lies” and “father of PR”, “father of mass communications” and “Mephistopheles of the 20th century”.

His statements became commandments of propaganda and black PR:

“Give me the media, and I’ll turn any nation into a herd of pigs!”

“We do not seek the truth, but the effect.”

“A lie told a hundred times becomes the truth.”

“The information had to be simple and accessible, and it had to be repeated, that is, hammered into people’s heads, as often as possible.”

It can be noted with bitterness that, despite the fall of the fascist empire, Goebbels’ ideas for manipulating consciousness live and win. Their influence is noticeable in a variety of areas of impact on human consciousness:

The need to study the methods, forms and theoretical ideas of Goebbels’s propaganda is currently associated with two problems.

The first is the existence of neo-fascist movements, and, as a consequence, the possibility of them using the propaganda arsenal of Dr. Goebbels. Their current weakness cannot be a source of complacency - the NSDAP was also weak in the early 20s, and the Beer Hall Putsch looked like a parody of the revolution. The effective use of Goebbels' legacy can also be facilitated by the well-known similarity of the situation in the late 20s and early 30s. last century and in the modern world:

• A global economic crisis that is systemic in nature and requires a radical restructuring of the existing economic system.
• The result is a deterioration in the financial situation of large sections of the population.
• Increasing political and social instability, global threats, such as the activity of various revolutionary groups in the last century and terrorism today. These factors lead to a longing for order and a “strong hand” in a significant part of people.
• The growth of activity of left-wing organizations (Although the centers of activity have changed. At the beginning of the 20th century, the main center was Europe, now Latin America.), which can reactively lead to the stimulation of far-right movements by influential political and economic circles.
• Destruction of previous ideological systems and associated systems of moral values.

For Germany at the beginning of the century, this was the fall of the Second Reich and the onset of culture in the 20s. with its cult of money and pleasure, denial of spiritual values, and the flourishing of drug addiction and prostitution. In our time, this is the destruction of traditional Christian culture and the advent of the “MTV civilization” in the West and the destruction of the USSR and the entire socialist system with its rather traditional ethics in the East.

The situation of a “spiritual vacuum” does not seem comfortable to everyone and also pushes some part of the population towards fascism with their clear and intelligible system of values.

Goebbels' techniques in modern politics (direct link to video):

The prevalence of historical ignorance makes it possible to reuse the propaganda methods of "old" fascism. Accordingly, it is important to thoroughly study them and develop information countermeasures, such as:

• maintaining historical awareness of the crimes of fascism, its influence on the fate of Germany and other countries with victorious fascist dictatorships, the fight against pro-fascist falsification of history;
• preventing the glorification of Nazism;
• maintaining the bright memory of the fighters against fascism;
• development of systems thinking, in particular the ability to competently and comprehensively assess the consequences of a particular historical choice on the political, economic, and spiritual life of the country. Ignorance is the breeding ground for demagogues;
• critical thinking, the ability to resist manipulation of consciousness.

The phenomenon of Nazi propaganda in general and the personality of Goebbels in particular attract the close attention of researchers. Let us note several books published in Russian in the last two decades.

As an introduction, we can suggest Lyudmila Chernaya’s book “Brown Dictators,” dedicated to the most important figures of the Third Reich: Hitler, Goebbels, Goering, Himmler, Bormann and Ribbentrop. Without delving into the topic of Nazi propaganda, the author focuses on the study of the personality of its main creator, Joseph Goebbels. The book is intended for a wide range of readers and is popular in nature, but at the same time provides rich factual material.

A biography of Goebbels is also presented in the book by foreign researchers Bramstedte, Frenkel and Manwell “Joseph Goebbels - Mephistopheles grins from the past.” The authors are especially interested in the oratory skills of the Nazi propaganda minister and his methods of manipulating the masses.

A more in-depth study of Goebbels’ personality is undertaken by Kurt Riess in the book “The Bloody Romantic of Nazism. Doctor Goebbels. 1939-1945". The time frame of the book is limited to the Second World War, but the book is interesting due to its emphasis on the use of primary sources - Goebbels' diaries, stories of eyewitnesses and relatives. It combines ease of presentation with factual accuracy, which is quite rare.

During the war, Elena Rzhevskaya was a translator at the headquarters of the army that marched from Moscow to Berlin. In defeated Berlin, she participated in the identification of the bodies of Hitler and Goebbels and in the initial dismantling of documents found in the bunker. Her book “Goebbels. Portrait against the background of a diary" explores the phenomenon of the fascists coming to power, primarily from the point of view of the impact on human psychology.

An in-depth study of Nazi propaganda was undertaken by A. B. Agapov in his work “Joseph Goebbels and German Propaganda,” published as part of the book “The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels. Prelude to Barbarossa. The publication also includes the full text of Goebbels's diaries from November 1, 1940 to July 8, 1941 and notes to them.

Among the primary sources, the most important are Goebbels’s diaries, which he kept throughout his life. Unfortunately, there is no complete publication in Russian. The diaries of 1945 are collected in the book J. Goebbels “Last Notes,” 1940-1941. – in Agapov’s book mentioned above, there are also journal publications.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find Goebbels' works in Russian. Some materials can be found on the Internet. Thus, selected speeches and articles by the Minister of Propaganda (translated from English and German) are posted on the website “Thus Spoke Goebbels”. For an extensive collection of speeches and articles in English, see the "Nazi Propaganda by Joseph Goebbels" page on the Calvin College website.

This is enough to start studying the topic.

Goebbels' propaganda methods during and before the Nazi Party came to power

Joseph Goebbels joined the NSDAP in 1924, and initially joined its left, socialist wing, then led by the Strasser brothers and opposed to the right, led by Hitler. Goebbels even said:

“Bourgeois Adolf Hitler must be expelled from the National Socialist Party!” .

From 1924, Goebbels worked in the Nazi press, first as an editor in Völkische Freiheit (People's Freedom), then in Strasser's National Socialist Epistles. Also in 1924, Goebbels made a significant entry in his diary:

“I was told that I gave a brilliant speech. It is easier to speak freely than from a prepared text. Thoughts come by themselves.”

In 1926, Goebbels went over to Hitler's side, becoming one of his most loyal comrades. Hitler reciprocated and in 1926 appointed Goebbels Gauleiter of the NSDAP in Berlin-Brandenburg (However, we note that this position was not easy, since Berlin was considered a “red” city and at the time of Goebbels’s arrival, the local Nazi cell numbered only 500 members.) . It was in this work that Goebbels’ oratorical abilities were revealed at numerous rallies and demonstrations. He also became the founder and (from 1927 to 1935) editor-in-chief of the weekly (from 1930 - daily) Der Angriff (Attack). Since 1929, he has been the imperial director (Reichsleiter) of propaganda for the Nazi Party, and in 1932 he led Hitler's election campaign for the presidency. Here he achieved outstanding success, doubling the number of votes cast for the Nazis.

Goebbels proclaimed the following principles of propaganda:

1. Propaganda must be planned and directed from one authority
2. Only authority can determine whether the result of propaganda should be true or false
3. Black propaganda is used when white propaganda is less possible or produces undesirable effects.
4. Propaganda must characterize events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans
5. For better perception, propaganda must arouse the interest of the audience and be conveyed through an attention-grabbing communication medium.

In life, Goebbels clearly adhered to these principles.

The centralization of the propaganda process was fully realized after the Nazis came to power in the form of the creation of the Ministry of Propaganda. However, even earlier, Goebbels managed to largely concentrate propaganda activities in his own hands, officially becoming the Reichsleiter of NSDAP propaganda.

Boundless cynicism in the choice of means became Goebbels' calling card. It is believed that it was he who came up with the division of propaganda into white (reliable information from official sources), gray (dubious information from obscure sources) and black (outright lies, provocations, etc.). This or that distortion of information is a characteristic feature of any propaganda. But, perhaps, it was Goebbels, for the first time since Ignatius of Loyola, who began to use direct lies constantly, in huge quantities and purposefully. He completely abandoned the criterion of truth, replacing it with the criterion of efficiency.

Let's remember his quote again:

“We do not seek the truth, but the effect.”

Let us note in parentheses that this is strikingly reminiscent of modern advertising textbooks, where all attention is paid to the effectiveness of conveying the message, and ethical issues remain completely behind the scenes. As a journalist from one of the marketing publications noted:

Slogans are a characteristic feature of Goebbels' style. Although a mediocre writer (his youthful works were rejected by all publishing houses), Goebbels was truly talented in the art of slogans. His first exercise in the lapidary style was the 10 commandments of the National Socialist, composed by him shortly after joining the party:

1. Your fatherland is Germany. Love him above all else and more in action than in words.
2. Germany's enemies are your enemies. Hate them with all your heart!
3. Every compatriot, even the poorest, is a piece of Germany. Love him as yourself!
4. Demand only responsibilities. Then Germany will find justice!
5. Be proud of Germany! You should be proud of the fatherland, for which millions gave their lives.
6. He who dishonors Germany will dishonor you and your ancestors. Point your fist at him!
7. Beat the villain every time! Remember, if someone takes away your rights, you have the right to destroy them!
8. Don't let the Jews deceive you. Be on the lookout for the Berliner Tagesblatt!
9. Do what you need to do without shame when it comes to the New Germany!
10. Believe in the future. Then you will be a winner!

Goebbels also skillfully knew how to stir up the interest of the public, putting Nazi propaganda into a bright, attractive form. He was one of the first to understand the attractive power of scandal. At the beginning of his oratorical career in Berlin, he considered a meeting a failure if no one was beaten at it.

Goebbels also discovered one of the principles of the “correct” presentation of information, which today is considered the basics of the journalistic profession - information is better absorbed through specific human images. The public needs victims and heroes. The first experiment of this kind for Goebbels was the formation of the image of Horst Wesel.

Horst Wessel - SA Sturmführer. In 1930, at the age of 23, he was wounded in a street clash with communists and died from his wounds (Opponents of the NSDAP spread a version according to which the fight happened because of a woman and had no political overtones.). From this banal story (hundreds died in street clashes between fascists and communists) Goebbels squeezed everything possible. He spoke at Wessel's funeral and called him the "socialist Christ."

Fascism scholar Herzstein writes about Goebbels's speech:

“The principle of camaraderie in the ranks of the assault troops (SA) was the “life-giving force of the movement,” the living presence of the Idea. The blood of the victim-martyr nourished the living body of the party. When in early 1930 Horst Wessel, an eternal student and a man without any particular occupation, who wrote the words to the Nazi anthem “Higher the Banner!”, died a violent death, Goebbels’ words sounded mourning for a hero and an emotional salute that demonstrated the brilliance of his methods of organizing mourning ceremonies. He made Vesel die with a peaceful smile on his lips, a man who believed in the victory of National Socialism until his last breath,

“... forever remaining with us in our ranks... His song immortalized him! For this he lived, for this he gave his life. A wanderer between two worlds, yesterday and tomorrow, so it was and so it will be. Soldier of the German nation!

Goebbels immortalized the memory of Wessel, who was killed by the Reds; in fact, his death was more like the consequences of a quarrel that arose as a result of a collision with another similar scumbag over a prostitute. It is very possible that in the last weeks of his life Wessel was planning to move away from the party altogether. But all this did not play any role: Goebbels knew what was required of him and acted as expected.”

Song based on Wessel's verses “Higher the Banners!” became the anthem of the SA (and later the unofficial anthem of the Third Reich). Each anniversary of his death was solemnly celebrated, with the Fuhrer personally delivering a speech at the grave, dressed in a brown stormtrooper shirt, despite the cold. The family grave of the Wessel family was re-registered with party money. In memory of the hero, the 5-1 “standard” SA “Horst Wessel” was formed in 1932. The cult of Wessel developed even after the Nazis came to power. Goebbels understood well that the presence of heroes and role models is an important factor in the stability and reproducibility of society, and if necessary, they must be created artificially!

If we talk about the directions of Goebbels’s propaganda at this time, they boil down to increasing the popularity of the NSDAP and its teachings, denigrating its political opponents, harsh criticism of the existing government and anti-Semitism. Goebbels considered the broad masses of people as his audience. He said :

“We are obliged to speak in a language that the people understand. Anyone who wants to speak to the people must, according to Luther’s words, look into the people’s mouth.”

Before coming to power, oratorical speeches, newspaper publications, and election campaign materials were used as forms of propaganda before coming to power.

As is known, before the start of political activity, Goebbels tried to find himself in the writing field, and later he did not give up these attempts. However, his literary works were unanimously rejected by publishers (naturally, before coming to power). They were distinguished by verbosity, pomposity, unnatural pathos, and sentimentality. Here is an example of Goebbels’s style - the hero of the novel “Michael” describes his feelings when returning to his homeland from the front of the First World War:

“The blood stallion no longer snorts under my hips, I no longer sit on cannon carriages, I no longer walk on the clay bottom of trenches. How long has it been since I walked across the wide Russian plain or across the joyless fields of France, pitted by shells? It's all gone! I rose from the ashes of war and destruction like a Phoenix. Motherland! Germany!".

However, the same qualities that caused Goebbels's failure as a writer ensured his success in the field of oratory. Hysterical pathos, hysterical cries, and romanticism had a strong impact on the crowd gathered for a rally or demonstration.

During his speech, Goebbels became extremely excited and “worked up” the crowd. His plain appearance was compensated by his strong and harsh voice. His emotionality was expressed in violent theatrical gestures:

He made sharp attacks on the Berlin city government, Jews and communists, but became sublimely romantic when talking about Germany. Here is an example of Goebbels's speech:

“Our thoughts are about the soldiers of the German revolution who threw their lives on the altar of the future so that Germany would rise again... Retribution! Retribution! His day is coming... We bow our heads to you, the dead. Germany begins to awaken in the reflections of your spilled blood...

Let the marching tread of the brown battalions be heard:

For freedom! Soldiers of the storm! The army of the dead marches with you into the future!

Goebbels conducted his journalistic activity, as mentioned above, in the newspaper “People's Freedom”, where the main target of his attacks were large Jewish publishers (revenge for the rejection of his literary works!). Then there was a short work in the left-Nazi “NS-Brief”. Goebbels really unfolded in the newspaper Angriff, which he founded. The new newspaper was conceived as a “publication for all tastes” and had the motto on the first page:

“Long live the oppressed, down with the exploiters!”

In order to attract attention, Goebbels tried to write in a popular manner, abandoning all objectivity. He was convinced of the unpretentiousness of mass consciousness and the passion of the masses for simple unilateral decisions. Goebbels used modern advertising methods to notify the world about the appearance of his newspaper.

“The public must be intrigued even before the product appears!”, for this purpose, three advertising posters were released, one after another, posted on the streets of Berlin. The first one asked:

“Attack with us?”

the second declared:

and the third explained:

"Attack" ("Der Angriff") is a new German weekly newspaper published under the motto “For the oppressed! Down with the exploiters!”, and its editor is Dr. Joseph Goebbels.

The newspaper has its own political program. Every German, every German woman should read our newspaper and subscribe to it!”

I can’t help but draw parallels with modern advertising again. Now this has become a well-worn technique - placing billboards with incomprehensible content (to intrigue the public) with subsequent explanation.

Novaya Gazeta “attacked” on two main fronts. Firstly, it incited readers to oppose democracy, against the existing Weimar Republic, and secondly, it fueled and exploited anti-Semitic sentiments. So, at first, the main target of attacks was Bernhard Weiss, the chief of the Berlin police and a Jew. Newspaper slogan:

“Germany, wake up! Damn the Jews!" As a result, starting with a tiny piece of paper, the newspaper was a resounding success and became the main mouthpiece of the party.

Goebbels also paid great attention to the production of election campaign materials, especially posters. Poster art truly flourished after the Nazis came to power, but posters had also been widely used before. In election campaigning, two directions can be distinguished: depicting enemies in a satirical form and creating an image "real Germany"- workers, front-line soldiers, women, etc., voting for Hitler:

An important theme of the posters is the unity of the working German people - workers, peasants and intelligentsia; Goebbels tried to unite the broadest possible masses in voting for the Nazis.

Goebbels himself praised the achievements of Nazi poster art:

“Our posters turned out great. Propaganda is carried out in the best possible way. The whole country will definitely pay attention to them.”

Actually, that’s what happened.

Propaganda methods of the fascist state

After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Goebbels was appointed Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda. Under his leadership, this modest department actually became the second most important after the military. Goebbels turned the ministry into a “propaganda machine,” subordinating all forms of art and all channels of communication to this goal. The essence of the propaganda is gleishaltung, literally “transformation into a monolith” - the unification of the German people under National Socialist slogans.

In addition to the previous types of propaganda - oratory and the press, Goebbels made extensive use of new technical means - cinema and radio. He attached an important role in the “unity of the people” to folk holidays (including sports) and mass rituals. Poster art flourished. No less importance was attached to non-verbal propaganda - architecture, sculpture, and the use of various symbols. However, Goebbels had minimal connection to the latter direction.

Oratory continued to be Goebbels' strong point. He spoke a lot at various public events: party congresses, rallies, and during the war - at ceremonial funerals. At the end of the war, Goebbels remained practically the only one of the Reich leaders who appeared in public. He often visited the wounded in hospitals, the homeless in the ruins of their destroyed homes. And wherever he appeared, he made fiery speeches that restored fanatical faith in German weapons and the genius of the Fuhrer to people who had lost the strength to fight.

Goebbels was the first to emphasize the propaganda power of mass communications. For that era it was radio.

“What the press was in the nineteenth century, broadcasting will become in the twentieth,” Goebbels declared.

Upon becoming minister, he immediately transferred national radio broadcasting from the General Post Office to the Ministry of Propaganda. Mass production of cheap radios (“Goebbels’ face”) and their sale in installments to the population was organized. As a result, by 1939, 70% of the German population (3 times more than in 1932) were radio owners. The installation of radios in businesses and public establishments such as cafes and restaurants was also encouraged.

Joseph Goebbels also experimented with television. Germany became one of the first countries where television broadcasting began. The first experiment occurred on March 22, 1935. Goebbels's subordinate, radio chief Eugen Hadamowski, appeared on the screen as a blurry image and uttered several words of praise about Hitler. During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, there were attempts (not very successful) to broadcast live competitions.

Despite its technical imperfections, Goebbels praised the potential of television:

“The superiority of a visual image over an auditory one is that the auditory image is translated into a visual one with the help of individual imagination, which cannot be kept under control; everyone will still see their own. Therefore, you should immediately show how it should be so that everyone sees the same thing.”

And further:

“With television, a living Fuhrer will enter every home. It will be a miracle, but it should not be frequent. Another thing is us. We, the leaders of the party, must be with the people every evening after a working day and explain to them what they did not understand during the day.”

Goebbels developed a plan for the approximate content of television programs:

* news;
* reports from workshops and farms;
* sports;
* entertainment programs.

Interestingly, Goebbels considered the possibility of building into television a mechanism for feedback from the viewer (now called interactivity), and also using it as a valve for the release of dissatisfaction. The following quotes speak about this:

“We shouldn’t be afraid to immerse the viewer in a political dispute, in the struggle between the good and the best... And the next day, provide the opportunity to express their opinion at their enterprise by voting, for example.”

“If some kind of discontent is brewing in society, we should not be afraid to personify it and bring it to the screen. As soon as we can provide at least half of the population with telefunken (i.e., televisions) of the fifth model, we need to seat our worker leader, Leia, in front of the telegun, and let him sing his songs about the hardships of the working man.”

However, with the outbreak of the war, the technical development of television slowed down, and it did not play a significant role in the propaganda activity of this period.

The press was also placed under strict control. All opposition publications were banned, and liberals and Jews were expelled from their editorial offices. Jewish-owned newspapers were expropriated. The quality of newspaper materials and their severity fell sharply and, accordingly, the interest of the population fell.

Under Goebbels, the organization of mass events rose to the level of art. These included rallies, congresses, parades, etc. Goebbels’ personal invention was the introduction into Nazi circulation of exclusively colorful night torchlight processions that involved thousands of young people.

An example of Nazi propaganda is the 1936 Berlin Olympics, directed by Goebbels. It should be noted that Hitler was initially against holding the Olympics, because he considered it humiliating for “Aryan” athletes to compete with “non-Aryans”. Goebbels made every effort to convince the leader to reconsider his attitude towards the Olympic Games. According to him, holding the Olympics will show the world community the revived power of Germany and provide the party with first-class propaganda material. In addition, the competition will demonstrate the superiority of the Germans.

A monumental sports complex was built especially for the Olympics, decorated with “Aryan” figures:

Both the Olympic complex and the entire city were heavily decorated with Nazi symbols. The opening ceremony of the Olympics was impressive with an artillery salute, thousands of doves released into the sky and a giant Hindenburg airship carrying the Olympic flag.

The talented director Leni Riefenstahl shot the film “Olympia” at the Olympics. Overall, the propaganda campaign was a success. William Shirer wrote in 1936:

“I'm afraid the Nazis have succeeded in their propaganda. First, they organized the Games on a scale and generosity never seen before; Naturally, the athletes liked it. Secondly, they gave a very good reception to all the other guests, especially the big businessmen.”

It was from the Berlin Olympics that the tradition of holding the Games as a monumental celebration began.

Before the Nazis came to power, German cinema was one of the strongest in the world. His fate in Nazi Germany resembles the fate of the press - many talented filmmakers were forced to leave Germany, as a result of which the level of films fell. However, Germany produced 1,300 paintings during the 12 years of the Reich. Some talented artists, such as Leni Riefenstahl, worked for the Nazis, incl. and in propaganda tapes.

Poster art developed greatly after the Nazis came to power.

During World War II, Goebbels' department switched to serving the interests of the war. There are several themes that were actively exploited in Nazi posters.
Leader's theme. Recurring slogan:

"One people, one Reich, one leader."

Poster "One people, one Reich, one leader"

Theme of family, mother and child. Reich advocated "healthy Aryan family":

The theme of the working man. The Nazi Party drew strength from broad sections of the population, and the appeal in the poster to the image of a worker or peasant is no coincidence.

Since 1939, naturally, much space has been occupied by the theme of war, heroism at the front, sacrifices in the name of victory, and the related theme of labor heroism.

The theme of enemies was also widely used in military propaganda: Jews, Bolsheviks, Americans. By the end of the war, this topic acquired a “horror story” connotation -

“It is better to die for the Motherland than to fall into the clutches of bloodthirsty Judeo-communists.”

It is worthwhile to dwell separately on the work of Goebbels’ department during the Second World War, when not only the troops of the opposing sides, but also their propaganda apparatuses clashed in battle. The Ministry of Propaganda worked in two directions: to address the enemy army and population, and for domestic consumption.

External propaganda achieved the following goals.

Convince the population of the friendliness of Germany and the need for an “union” with it. Similar propaganda was used in relation to “racially close” countries: Denmark, Norway, etc. An example is the poster below, in which the silhouette of a Viking recalls the common ancient Germanic past of Norway and Germany:

Convince the civilian population of the friendliness of German troops and a good life under German rule.

This kind of propaganda was used mainly in the Soviet Union. It was assumed that Soviet workers and peasants, who did not live in the best material conditions, would fall for the promise of heavenly life. However, the problem turned out to be a striking discrepancy between the appeals of the leaflets and the actual behavior of German troops in the occupied territory. In the conditions of the atrocities of the occupiers, Goebbels’ propaganda had no effect on the population.

Convince enemy soldiers of the futility of resistance and the need to surrender. In addition to appealing to the natural desire to survive, the technique “Why would you die for this power!” was used. Leaflets, loudspeaker messages, and “Pass to Captivity” were used:

Turning the population against the authorities. Again, widely used in the Soviet Union. The current government was presented as “Jewish-communist”, and the famine of 1932-1933 was recalled. and other fictitious “crimes”.

An attempt to split the ranks of the allies. The most striking episode is the attempt to promote the Katyn affair, which we will consider below.

On the domestic front, the directions of propaganda were as follows.

Conviction of the invincibility of German troops. It worked well at the beginning of the war, but as the number of defeats grew, it stopped working.

Stimulation of labor enthusiasm - “Everything for the front!”

Intimidation of the population by the atrocities of the Bolsheviks. An effective technique that makes people fight even in hopeless conditions. “It’s better to die than to fall into their hands!”

If we talk about forms of propaganda, then in internal practice the same channels were used as in peacetime. To influence the enemy, radio stations, leaflets, and broadcasts through a loudspeaker across the front line were used. The Nazis sought to use traitors from among the local population, preferably famous people, such as popular artists.

Falsification of facts was widely used, from the banal reporting of false information in news releases, to forgery of photographs and film documents, there were even attempts to fake live television broadcasts. For example, it was announced to residents of occupied Krasnodar that a column of Soviet prisoners would be marched through the city and that food could be given to them. A large number of residents gathered with baskets. Instead of prisoners, cars with wounded German soldiers were driven through the crowd - and Goebbels was able to show the Germans a film about the joyful meeting of the German “liberators”. The technique of mixing genuine and false documents was often used. In some cases, historians still cannot separate truth from lies. Such cases include the Katyn affair and the Nemmersdorf murders.

According to the Soviet version, Polish prisoners of war ended up in the hands of the Germans during the 1941 offensive and were shot by the German side.

In 1943, Goebbels used this mass grave for propaganda purposes against the Soviet Union in order to drive a wedge between the allies. A demonstrative exhumation of the corpses of Polish officers was arranged, with the participation of representatives of dependent states and British and American prisoners of war as witnesses. At the same time, a coordinated and controlled propaganda campaign was launched by the dependent press, which was supported by the Polish government in exile from London, despite the lack of opportunity for an independent investigation in the territory occupied by German troops and the efforts of the British, then allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition, to keep the Poles from hasty and unfounded conclusions. It has now been established that the execution in Katyn was organized by Stalin; Rosarkhiv has published secret documents on this case.

In the village of Nemmersdorf in East Prussia, according to Goebbels propaganda, mass rape and murder of civilians by Russian soldiers took place. Horrible details were reported and bloody photographs were published. The purpose of this action was to persuade the population of the Third Reich to continue their senseless resistance. It is now extremely difficult to establish the truth, but apparently the fire of the Soviet troops on civilians actually took place, and about 3 dozen people died. Goebbels used a real fact, increased the number of those killed several times, added fictitious vile details and fabricated photographs. Nevertheless, it is still Goebbels’ version that is popular in Western publications.

These cases well illustrate the methods of work of the Ministry of Propaganda. However, the streams of lies also brought negative results for the ministry. Often the department rushed things and was caught in fraud. This led to widespread disbelief in any official reports towards the end of the war. Many Germans during this period preferred to listen to English or Soviet radio in search of more reliable information. Goebbels himself admitted his mistakes after the defeat at Stalingrad:

“...propaganda from the very beginning of the war took the following erroneous development: 1st year of the war: We won. 2nd year of the war: We will win. Year 3 of the war: We must win. 4th year of war: We cannot be defeated. This development is catastrophic and should not continue under any circumstances. Rather, it is necessary to bring to the consciousness of the German public that we not only want and are obliged to win, but especially also that we can win.”

Nevertheless, he remained true to himself to the end - and in the last days of the war he bombarded the defenders of Berlin with leaflets with assurances of inevitable victory.

Propaganda is the force that made it possible for the Nazis to come to power in Germany. Along with military power, it is one of the pillars of the Third Reich. The head of the propaganda department, Joseph Goebbels, turned propaganda into a high art. Completely freed from the ethical principle, propaganda has become a powerful tool for manipulating consciousness. Let us list some of the principles introduced into mass circulation by Goebbels:

Sadly, these and other Goebbelsian techniques are widely used in modern advertising, public relations and media work. It is worth recalling a couple more lessons from the life and work of Dr. Goebbels:

the most brilliant lie cannot withstand the collision with reality; sooner or later the lie turns against itself.

This was confirmed in May 1945.

Literature

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(1897-1945) Nazi German politician

Although Joseph Goebbels always considered himself only an assistant to the “great leader” - Hitler, he was one of the most fanatical adherents of fascism and was one of its ideologists.

Joseph Goebbels was born in 1897 into the family of an accountant; his father, a very pious man, wanted Joseph to become a priest. However, the young man chose to study philosophy and literature, because he dreamed of a career as a writer or journalist. He graduated from the university and even defended his doctoral dissertation in 1921, which opened his path to science. At the same time, Goebbels became interested in the ideas of National Socialism and found an outlet for his energy in politics. Initially, he shared the views of the left wing of the NSDAP, but quickly got his bearings and sided with Hitler. Thus, Goebbels was one of the most educated people in the Nazi party.

Small in stature and lame (he suffered a serious illness as a child), Joseph Goebbels turned out to be an excellent speaker, capable of subjugating any audience to his influence. In 1926 he became the chief agitator for the Nazi Party in Berlin. There, Goebbels became a member of the Reichstag, and in 1930 - editor-in-chief of the Nazi newspaper Der Angrif (Attack).

After the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, he was appointed Reich Director of Propaganda, Public Education, Science, Culture and the Press. He was responsible for agitating the German people in favor of fascism, which he managed to accomplish.

Joseph Goebbels began by organizing the infamous torchlight processions. They usually ended with huge bonfires on which books that the Nazis did not like were burning. Among them were works of such classics of world literature as Goethe, Heine, Thomas Mann.

It was Goebbels who developed the theory according to which the Germans were considered the chosen nation, the Aryans, and everyone else had to serve them. In the pre-war years, he carried out the so-called “arization” of the cultural life of Germany, when many cultural figures left the country.

Under the leadership of Joseph Goebbels, the cult of the German superman was also created, his propaganda was supposed to prepare the nation for war.

In 1944, Goebbels gained political power for the first time. He was appointed general commissioner for the mobilization of the German people for total war and set to work with great enthusiasm. As a result, numerous Volkssturm detachments were formed, which made it possible to free the rear units of the German army and send them to the front.

On April 29, 1945, Hitler signed his will, naming Joseph Goebbels as his successor as Reich Chancellor. But Goebbels did not stay in this position for long - just over a day. On the morning of May 1, he sent envoys to the Soviet command, who conveyed his appeal to Stalin. It reported the death of Hitler and that Goebbels was proposing a truce so that the Germans could form a new government.

However, they refused to conduct any negotiations with him and demanded unconditional surrender. “I will never sign an instrument of surrender,” Joseph Goebbels declared when informed of the Soviet demands. On the same day, he poisoned his six children, after which he took the poison with his wife Magda.

Paul Joseph Goebbels was the Minister of Propaganda of the German Third Reich, as well as the dictator of its cultural life for twelve years. A skilled speaker and agitator, he was responsible for presenting the Nazi regime in a light attractive to the Germans. After Hitler's suicide, Goebbels became chancellor of Germany for a day, and then he and his wife Magda poisoned their six children and committed suicide.

Early biography

Joseph Goebbels was born on October 29, 1897 into a Catholic family of workers from Rheidt in the Rhineland. He had 2 brothers and 3 sisters. To quell rumors about his Jewish origins, Joseph Goebbels published a brochure in 1932 describing his family tree. He was educated at a Roman Catholic school and went on to study history and literature at the University of Heidelberg under the tutelage of Professor Friedrich Gundolf, a Jewish literary scholar, renowned Goethe scholar and close friend of the poet Stefan George.

In the early 1920s, Goebbels worked as a bank and stock exchange clerk. During this period, he read a lot and formed his political views. He was greatly influenced by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Oswald Spengler and Huston Chamberlain, the British-born German writer who was one of the founders of “scientific” anti-Semitism.

Winter 1919–20 he spent in Munich, where he witnessed the nationalist reaction to the attempted communist revolution in Bavaria. His political idol was the German monarchist Anton von Arco auf Valley, who committed the murder of the socialist Prime Minister of Bavaria Kurt Eisner.

Joining the NSDAP

As a young man, Joseph Goebbels was declared unfit for military service due to a crippled leg, the result of polio. Feelings of physical inferiority plagued him for the rest of his life, reinforced by reactions to his small stature, black hair, and intellectual background. Bitterly aware of his ugliness and fearing that he would be considered a “bourgeois intellectual,” Joseph Goebbels (photo shown later in the article) compensated for the lack of physical advantages of the strong, healthy, fair Scandinavian type with ideological straightforwardness and radicalism after joining the NSDAP in 1922.

His hostility to the intellect of the “little doctor,” his contempt for the human race in general, and in particular for the Jews, and his complete cynicism were manifestations of his inferiority complex and intellectual self-hatred, his all-consuming thirst to destroy everything sacred and ignite the same in his listeners feelings of anger, despair and hatred.

Initially, the overactive imagination found outlets in poetry, drama and the bohemian lifestyle, but apart from Joseph Goebbels's only book, his expressionist novel Michael: A German Fate in Diary Pages (1926), nothing came of these early literary efforts. It was in the Nazi Party that Goebbels' sharp, clear intellect, his oratory and his talent for theatrical effects, his boundless unprincipledness and ideological radicalism flourished in the service of an insatiable will to power.

Collaboration with left-wing Nazis

In 1925, he was appointed manager of the NSDAP in the Ruhr region and collaborated with Gregor Strasser, the leader of the social revolutionary North German wing of the party. Goebbels founded and edited the Nationalsozialistischen Briefe (National Socialist Letters) and other publications of the Strasser brothers, sharing their proletarian anti-capitalist worldview and call for a radical revaluation of all values. His National Bolshevik tendencies found expression in his assessment of Soviet Russia (which he considered a nationalist and socialist state) as "Germany's natural ally against the diabolical temptations and corruption of the West."

Propagandist in Berlin

Goebbels, who co-authored the draft program presented by the Nazi left at the 1926 Hanover Conference, called for the expulsion of the "petty-bourgeois Adolf Hitler" from the National Socialist Party. But in the same year, his shrewd political instinct and unscrupulousness manifested themselves - he went over to the Fuhrer’s side, which was rewarded with his appointment in November 1926 as head of the NSDAP district in Berlin-Brandenburg.

Leading a small, controversial organization, Goebbels quickly undermined the influence of the Strasser brothers in northern Germany and their monopoly on the party press by founding and editing his own weekly newspaper, Der Angriff (The Attack), in 1927. He designed posters, published his own propaganda, organized spectacular parades, and enlisted his bodyguards in pub brawls, street battles and shootings as a means of further political agitation.

By 1927, “the Marat of Red Berlin, the nightmare and goblin of history,” making full use of his deep, powerful voice, rhetorical fervor and unabashed appeal to primitive instincts, had become the capital’s most dangerous demagogue. A tireless, tenacious agitator with a gift for paralyzing opponents with a cunning combination of poison, slander and innuendo, he knew how to arouse fear among the unemployed masses when the Great Depression hit Germany, playing with cold calculation on the national psychology of the Germans.

Joseph Goebbels's propaganda turned Berlin student Horst Wessel into a Nazi martyr - he produced slogans, myths, images and powerful aphorisms that quickly spread the ideas of National Socialism.

Chief propagandist of the NSDAP

Hitler was deeply impressed by Goebbels' success in transforming the small Berlin section of the party into a powerful organization in Northern Germany and in 1929 appointed him to replace Gregor Strasser as head of NSDAP propaganda. Looking back many years later (June 24, 1942), the Fuhrer noted that the Nazi ideologist was gifted with two things without which he would not have been able to cope with the situation in Berlin: verbal abilities and intelligence. Dr. Goebbels, who did not come up with anything new in terms of political organization, conquered Berlin in the truest sense of the word.

Hitler was indeed grateful to his chief propagandist, who was the true creator and organizer of the myth of the Führer, his image of the messiah-redeemer, feeding the theatrical element of the Nazi leader, while at the same time inducing the German masses to submit to the will of others through manipulation and skillful stage management. A cynic with no real inner convictions, Goebbels found his mission in selling Hitler to the German public, projecting himself as his most loyal squire and organizing a pseudo-religious cult of the Führer as the savior of Germany from Jews, profiteers and Marxists.

As a member of the Reichstag from 1928, he expressed his contempt for the Republic no less cynically when he declared that the appearance of the Nazis in parliament should provide them with the weapons of democracy. They became deputies, using the Weimar ideology to destroy it.

Minister of Propaganda

Joseph Goebbels's deep-rooted contempt for humanity, his desire to sow confusion, hatred and intoxication, his passion for power and mastery of mass persuasion were fully exploited in the election campaigns of 1932, when he played a decisive role in bringing Hitler to the center of the political stage . The Nazi ideologist proved his organizational genius by conducting impressive all-German air tours of the leader of the NSDAP and using radio and film for the first time in the election campaign. Torchlight processions, brass bands, mass choirs and similar technologies have attracted the attention of many voters, especially young people. On March 13, 1933, for this he was rewarded with the position of Reich Minister of Public Education and Propaganda, which gave him complete control over the media - radio, press, publishing houses, cinema and other arts.

Paul Joseph Goebbels very quickly achieved Nazi “coordination” of cultural life. He skillfully combined propaganda, bribes and terror, “purifying” art in the name of an ideal, introduced state control of editors and journalists, and removed Jews and political opponents from influential positions. 05/10/1933 Goebbels organized a ritual book burning in Berlin. During it, the works of Jews, Marxists and other “subversive” authors were publicly destroyed in huge bonfires.

Antisemitism

Goebbels became a relentless persecutor of Jews, demonizing the stereotype of the "international Jewish financier" in London and Washington, allied with the "Jewish Bolsheviks" in Moscow, as the main enemy of the Third Reich. On the day of the party's victory in 1933, Goebbels spoke out against "Jewish infiltration of the professions" (law, medicine, property, theater, etc.), arguing that the foreign Jewish boycott of Germany had provoked Nazi "countermeasures."

His hatred of Jews, as well as of the privileged and intelligent, stemmed from a deep-seated sense of inferiority and internalization of mob values. At the same time, he was also an unprincipled and calculating man who based his actions on the need to create a common enemy in order to feed popular resentment and mobilize the masses.

From Kristallnacht to the Final Solution

For 5 years, Goebbels moderated his ardor when the Nazi regime sought to consolidate and gain international recognition. His time came after Kristallnacht, the pogrom of November 9-10, 1938, which he orchestrated after a flame-igniting provocation to party leaders gathered in Munich's Old Town Hall for the annual celebration of the Beer Hall Putsch. Joseph Goebbels later became one of the main secret architects of the Final Solution, personally overseeing the deportation of Jews from Berlin in 1942 and proposing the unconditional extermination of Jews and Gypsies.

Closeness with Hitler

Goebbels said that the war “the Jews will pay with the extermination of their race in Europe and perhaps beyond,” but was careful to avoid discussing their actual treatment in his propaganda, making no mention of the death camps. Goebbels' anti-Semitism was one of the factors that brought him closer to Hitler, who respected his political judgment as well as his administrative and campaigning skills. Goebbels' wife Magda and their six children were welcome guests at the Fuhrer's Alpine residence in Berchtesgaden.

In 1937, relations with Hitler worsened as a result of his infatuation with the Czech actress Lida Baarova. The Führer was conservative in his personal relationships and ordered Goebbels to end an extramarital affair, which led him to attempt suicide. Despite the fact that he had to break up with Baarova, he continued to cheat on his wife.

In 1938, when Magda tried to divorce her husband because of his endless affairs with beautiful actresses, Hitler intervened to rectify the situation.

World War II

During World War II, the relationship between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels became closer, especially as the military situation worsened, and the propaganda minister urged the German people to make greater efforts. After the Allies began to insist on unconditional surrender, he presented this to his audience as having no choice but to win or die. In his famous speech on 02/18/1943 at the Berlin Sports Palace, Goebbels created an incredibly emotional atmosphere and received the consent of his listeners to mobilize to wage a total war.

Cleverly playing on the German fear of the "Asian hordes", using his pervasive control of the press, films and radio to bolster morale, he dreamed up the invention of a mythical "secret weapon" and an impregnable fortress in the mountains where the final stand would be, and never lost fighting spirit.

Thanks to quick thinking and decisive action, on July 20, 1944, Goebbels, with the help of detachments of loyal troops, managed to isolate the conspirators in the Ministry of War, which prolonged the agony of the Nazi regime for some time. Soon after, he achieved his goal of leading the home front when he was appointed commissioner of total military mobilization in July 1944.

Total mobilization

With the broadest powers to transfer civilian populations and redistribute labor within the armed forces, Goebbels imposed a program of austerity and insisted on ever greater self-sacrifice among the population. But with Germany's collapse close, it was too late to do anything. This only created more confusion. As the war drew to a close, Goebbels became the Führer's most loyal follower, spending his final days with his family in his bunker below the chancellery. Dismissing his companions, he said: “When we walk, the whole earth trembles!” This quote from Joseph Goebbels conveys the belief that the Nazis had finally burned all their bridges and were increasingly fascinated by the prospect of a final apocalypse.

Defeat and death

After Hitler's suicide, the Nazi ideologist ignored his political will, according to which he was appointed Reich Chancellor, and decided to follow the example of the Fuhrer. Joseph Goebbels put his six children to sleep with the help of a doctor who injected them with morphine, and their mother herself crushed ampoules of cyanide in their mouths. The chancellor himself and his wife Magda, on his orders, were shot by an SS adjutant on 05/01/1945. The following quote from Joseph Goebbels has characteristic pathos. Shortly before his death, he declared: "We will go down in history as the greatest statesmen of all time or as the greatest criminals."

The bodies of Goebbels and his wife were then burned, but they were only partially burned, so they were easily identified. The corpses were secretly buried along with Hitler's remains near Rathenow in Brandenburg. In 1970 they were exhumed and cremated, and the ashes were thrown into the Elbe.

The Nazi ideologist kept a diary from 1923 to April 1945. It has been preserved in the form of notebooks, typewritten pages and on photographic plates. Based on them, 4-volume and 29-volume editions were published. The final part of the notes, published in the book “Goebbels Joseph. Diaries from 1945. Latest entries” is prohibited in Russia.

Paul Joseph Goebbels - member of the top leadership of the NSDAP, minister of propaganda of Nazi Germany (1933-1945). One of the main war criminals of Nazi Germany.

Joseph Goebbels was born on October 29, 1897, in Reidt, Germany, into the family of a small factory employee. With the support of Catholic charitable organizations, he graduated from high school and university. The only member of the top Nazi leadership with a higher education.

If you tell a big enough lie and repeat it, people will eventually believe it.

Goebbels Joseph

After unsuccessful attempts to become a writer, Goebbels took up journalism. Published in a small circulation press, mainly of a nationalist persuasion. He was noticed by Gregor Strasser (one of the first ideologists of Nazism) and became his secretary. Together with him he represented the so-called left wing of the NSDAP, which criticized Adolf Hitler for his one-sided orientation towards large industrial capital. In 1926, he distanced himself from Strasser and became part of Hitler's inner circle. In the same year he was appointed Gauleiter of the NSDAP in Berlin. Since 1928 - head of the NSDAP propaganda service.

After Hitler's appointment as chancellor in 1933, he headed the newly created Reich Ministry of Propaganda. He created on its basis one of the most effective propaganda centers of that time, placing it at the service of the dictatorial Nazi regime. He played a prominent role in the ideological and propaganda support of the aggressive foreign policy of Nazism, in the ideological mobilization of the German population during the Second World War.

Any significant person wants something and, moreover, is ready to use any means to achieve his goal.

Goebbels Joseph

In 1944, he was appointed Reich Commissioner for Total Mobilization with very broad powers. At the end of April 1945, after Hitler's suicide, relying on his will, he proclaimed himself Chancellor of Germany. He tried to enter into negotiations with the Soviet command on the issue of the terms of a separate truce. The attempt was unsuccessful, and Goebbels and his wife committed suicide on May 1, 1945, in Berlin, having first killed their children. He left behind detailed diaries containing valuable material on the history of Nazi Germany. (A. A. Galkin)

In 1922, Joseph Goebbels joined the National Socialist (Fascist) Party. In 1927 - 1933, publisher of the Nazi newspaper Angriff.

In 1928, Goebbels headed the propaganda work of the Nazi Party. After the Nazis seized power (1933) - Imperial Minister of Public Education and Propaganda. In 1944, imperial commissioner for total military mobilization.

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. After the entry of Soviet troops into Berlin, he committed suicide.

Peace is the parent of all great thoughts.

Goebbels Joseph

Racism is a set of concepts based on the principles of the physical and mental inequality of human races and the decisive influence of racial differences on the history and culture of society, the primordial division of people into superior and inferior races, of which the former are the only creators of civilization, called to dominate , while the latter are not capable of creating and even assimilating high culture and are doomed to exploitation. Having put forward the first racist concept in the mid-19th century, the Frenchman Joseph Arthur de Gobineau declared the Aryans to be the “superior race”; Subsequently, racism is intertwined with social Darwinism, Malthusianism, and eugenics (D. Highcraft and B. Kidd in Great Britain, J. Lapouge in France, L. Woltmann, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, O. Ammon in Germany). Became the official ideology of fascism; used to justify racial discrimination, segregation and apartheid. Racism is condemned by the international community.

The worst enemy of any propaganda is intellectualism.

Goebbels Joseph

Literature about Joseph Goebbels: The Nuremberg trials of the main German war criminals. Sat. materials, vol. 1 - 7, M., 1957 - 61; Rozanov G.L.. The Last Days of Hitler, M., 1961; Bartel W., Deutschland in der Zeit der fascistischen Diktatur 1933 - 1945, V., 1956.

Joseph Goebbels - quotes

“The British throughout the world are known for their lack of conscience in politics. They are experts in the art of hiding their crimes behind a facade of decency. They have done this for centuries, and it has become so much a part of their nature that they themselves no longer notice this trait. They act with such good manners and such absolute seriousness that they convince even themselves that they are an example of political innocence. They do not admit to themselves their hypocrisy. Never will one Englishman wink at another and say: “but we understand what we mean.” They not only behave as examples of purity and purity - they believe in themselves. This is both funny and dangerous” (Joseph Goebbels, “Children with Severed Hands”).

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 fire 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 also became a world hit 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 line. 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