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Joseph Goebbels. 1897-1945. Biography. Born 28 th 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
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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 Ritschelin 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 GregorStrasser (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.