Joseph Goebbels
1897-1945
- Became the NSDAP’s head of propaganda in 1930
- Became minister of propaganda in 1933
- One of Adolf Hitler’s closest confidants
Joseph Goebbels originally held socialist views. This did not change until after the November Revolution. The confusing array of ideas circulating during the revolution triggered a process within the unstable young man that eventually led him to national socialism. He admired Hitler and subjected himself to his rule. The latter, in turn, recognized his talents and appointed him Gauleiter in Berlin and, in the end, the NSDAP’s head of propaganda. Using the most modern methods of the time, he managed to fill large parts of the population with enthusiasm for national socialism. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, he became Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. In this capacity, he seized complete control of the press and ensured the Gleichschaltung of the country’s cultural landscape in its entirety. In his speeches, he rallied the people to support Hitler and the war, and his 1943 “total war” speech became notorious. Goebbels committed suicide in April 1945.