Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death

Else entitled, ‘From mydiary.’ This reflected his painful lack of any vocation and his crushing doubts in God and theworld. ‘I feel the need,’ he began, ‘to give some account of my life so far.’ The best way, hefelt, would be to sit in judgement each day upon himself. ‘My goal,’ he wrote, ‘is God. Andmy greatest joy, the search for Truth.’ (BA: NL.118/126); cf. Fröhlich, cv.24 Diary, Jul 19, 1924.25 JG, ‘Aus meinem Tagebuch,’ Jun 1923 (BA file NL.118/126).26 Else Janke to JG, Nov 4, 1923 (Genoud papers; cit. Reuth, 74).27 Diary, Jul 2, 1924.28 Ibid., Jul 11, 1924.29 Ibid., Jul 15, 1924.30 Ibid., Aug 13, 1924.31 Ibid., Aug 1, 7, 1924.32 Ibid., Jul 9, 1924.33 Ibid., Jun 27, 1924.34 Ibid., Jul 4, 1924.35 JG to Rudolf Mosse Verlag (BA file NL.118/113).36 The papers of Theodor Wolff (1868-1943), chief editor of the Berliner Tageblatt , are in BANL.207.37 Diary, Jul 30, 1924.38 Ibid.Jul 17, 1924.39 Rheydter Zeitung and Düsseldorfer Nachrichten.— JG’s diary for Nov 8, 1928 suggests thathe began his career ‘as a little country orator’ at Hattingen.40 Boris von Borresholm, Dr Goebbels. Nach Aufzeichnungen aus seiner UmgebungÊ (Berlin, 1949),46ff. It is not clear who the author was.GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 6341 See Manfred Müller, Den Weg zur Freiheit bahnen! Um Sozialismus und Sozialpolitik: NSArbeiteragitatorWilhelm Börger (Essen, 1993). Börger (not ‘Berger,’ as Fröhlich has it) was aclose friend of JG.42 Diary, Jun 30, 1924. Presumably Rosenberg’s diary (Mar 1, 1939) reference to JG’salleged remark to Darré on Feb 25, 1939 that Hitler ought to have told him (JG) ‘in 1924’ tocomport himself differently, is a mistake.43 Diary, Jul 4, 1924.44 Ibid., Jul 7, 9, 1924.45 Ibid., Jul 25, 1924.46 Ibid., Jul 28, 1924.47 Ibid., Jul 30, 1924.48 Ibid., Mar 27, 1925.49 Harden’s real name was not Isidor but Felix Ernst Witkowski.50 Diary, Jun 30; Jul 2, 4, 1924; see too Dietz Bering, Kampf um Namen. Bernhard Weiss gegenJoseph Goebbels (Stuttgart, 1992), 215, and Angriff’s hate-filled obituary, Nov 21, 1927.51 Diary, Jul 4, 1924.52 Briefe aus dem Gefängnis an Karl Liebknecht, 1919; diary, Jul 4, 1924.53 Diary, Aug 25, 1924.54 Ibid., Aug 1, 13, 1924.55 Ibid., Aug 15, 1924.56 Ibid., Aug 20, 1924.57 Ibid., Aug 22, 1924.58 W von Ameln, ‘Die Stadt Rheydt und die Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei,’in Einwohnerbuch der Stadt Rheydt 1936 (Mönchengladbach archives).59 Diary, Jul 2, 1938. ‘I receive a secret protocol from the Belgian war ministry on myinterrogation by Detective Nagel in 1924.’—And cf. von Ameln. op. cit.60 E.g., in Rheinische Landeszeitung und Volksparole, Nr.239, Sep 1, 1935 (Höffkes collection);JG’s police file however states under Feb 1, 1926, he ‘fled from the occupied territoriesbecause of political machinations.’61 Diary, Aug 29, 1924.62 Ibid., Sep 1, 3, 4, 1924.63 Völkische Freiheit. Rheinsch-westfälisches Kampfblatt der Nationalsozialistischen Freiheitsbewegungfür ein völkisch-soziales Deutschland.64 Diary, Sep 1, 9, 17, 22, 24; Oct 6, 1924.65 Ibid., Sep 15, 1924.66 Ibid., Sep 23, 1924.67 Ibid., Sep 27, 1924.68 Ibid., Oct 21, 1925.69 Ibid., Oct 3, 1924.70 Ibid., Sep 23, 1924.64 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH

Goebbels4: The Little AgitatorIN the May 1924 Parliamentary elections 1,918,329 people had voted for therightwing parties’ united front, giving them thirty-two of the 472 seats in theReichstag; but of these only ten, under Gregor Strasser, owed allegiance to Hitler. Inthe election of December 7 the right wing, now named the National Socialist Freedommovement, attracted only 907,242 votes: fourteen MPs, with only five representingHitler.Writing after this reverse Goebbels encouraged his readers on December 20: ‘Thereis no use denying it: we lost this battle, and the enemy triumphed all along the line.’He had intuitively perceived the correct propaganda tactic—ruthless depiction ofthe sombreness of the hour. ‘The Idea,’ he continued, ‘is worth any sacrifice, even thesacrifice of lives and property!’ And then, in a pale pre-echo of his famous proclamationsin the last days of his life, he hinted at the darkness that precedes each dawn:‘Every disaster at Jena is followed by a victory at Leipzig.’The first rays of the new dawn appeared that same afternoon. Hitler arrived backat his Munich apartment, a free man again. Goebbels acclaimed him in his weekly’sPolitical Diary, published on New Year’s Day 1925: ‘We greet thee, leader and hero,and there is an enormous joy and anticipation in us with the knowledge that thou artagain in our midst.’ ‘Germany’s youth once more has its leader,’ he concluded. ‘Weawait his command.’Hitler’s release from Landsberg threw his party into flux. Goebbels reassessed theconflict between the national and socialist elements of the party’s programme. HeGOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 65found it impossible to swallow the internationalist aspects of Marxism. He hoped tosteer the nationalist movement towards socialism, rather than see its socialist aspectsdrenched in mindless nationalism. In the Ruhr and Rhineland, he found many activitieshe thought like him—particularly the former members of the paramilitary FreeCorps.Among these young activists was Karl Kaufmann. Kaufmann, three years his junior,had organised N.S.D.A.P. Ortsgruppen (local groups) in several Ruhr cities untilforced by the Prussian police to flee to Bavaria. Now he was back in Elberfeld, raisinga political force aligned against the bourgeois, comfortably-off Wiegershaus.Goebbels too was evidently disillusioned with the folkish movement. In the finalissue of his weekly, an anonymous advertisement appeared on January 17, 1925,announcing under Box R.26:Situation wanted. Editor, young, folkish, accustomed to work independently;good leader-writer, organizer, workaholic; unemployed because of political developments;seeks position, possibly in financial firm.Three days later Wiegershaus invited him to resign, and he cast his lot with Kaufmanninstead.His personal life now was overshadowed by a humiliating lack of funds.1 He wasoften unable to pay his rent or buy food, but when Kaufmann needed it desperatelyGoebbels proudly loaned him his last forty marks.2 They became firm friends;Kaufmann was one of the very few men he addressed as du.3 To forget his own povertyhe would crawl, his stomach aching for nourishment, into a church pew to hearSt. Matthew’s Passion with tears streaming down his cheeks at the beauty of themusic.4 He found it hard to make true friends. He found his Alsatian dog more likeablethan many a human being; indeed, he