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The Goebbels Diaries 1942-1943
English, German (translation)
591 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1943
24 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Goebbels
100 books166 followersGerman politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism.
He played a hand in the Kristallnacht attack on the German Jews, which historians consider to be the beginning of the Final Solution, leading towards the genocide of the Holocaust.
Goebbels earned a Ph.D. from Heidelberg University in 1921, writing his doctoral thesis on 18th century romantic drama; he then went on to work as a journalist and later a bank clerk and caller on the stock exchange. He also wrote novels and plays, but they were rejected by publishers. Goebbels came into contact with the Nazi Party in 1923 during the French occupation of the Ruhr and became a member in 1924. He was appointed Gauleiter (regional party leader) of Berlin. In this position, he put his propaganda skills to full use, combating the local socialist and communist parties with the help of Nazi papers and the paramilitary Stormtroopers, aka, Brownshirts, SA. By 1928, he had risen in the party ranks to become one of its most prominent members.
Goebbels rose to power in 1933 along with Hitler and the Nazi Party and he was appointed Propaganda Minister. One of his first acts was the burning of books rejected by the Nazis. He exerted totalitarian control over the media, arts and information in Germany.
From the beginning of his tenure, Goebbels organized attacks on German Jews, commencing with the one-day boycott of Jewish businessmen, doctors, and lawyers on April 1, 1933. His attacks on the Jewish population culminated in the Kristallnacht assault of 1938, an open and unrestrained pogrom unleashed by the Nazis all across Germany, in which scores of synagogues were burned and hundreds of Jews were assaulted and murdered. Goebbels used modern propaganda techniques to psychologically prepare the German people for aggressive war and the annihilation of civilian populations.
During World War II, Goebbels increased his power and influence through shifting alliances with other Nazi leaders. By late 1943, the tide of the war was turning against the Axis powers, but this only spurred Goebbels to intensify the propaganda by urging the Germans to accept the idea of total war and mobilization. Goebbels remained with Hitler in Berlin to the end; just hours after Hitler's suicide, Goebbels and his wife, Magda, killed their six young children. Then, they both committed suicide as well.
He played a hand in the Kristallnacht attack on the German Jews, which historians consider to be the beginning of the Final Solution, leading towards the genocide of the Holocaust.
Goebbels earned a Ph.D. from Heidelberg University in 1921, writing his doctoral thesis on 18th century romantic drama; he then went on to work as a journalist and later a bank clerk and caller on the stock exchange. He also wrote novels and plays, but they were rejected by publishers. Goebbels came into contact with the Nazi Party in 1923 during the French occupation of the Ruhr and became a member in 1924. He was appointed Gauleiter (regional party leader) of Berlin. In this position, he put his propaganda skills to full use, combating the local socialist and communist parties with the help of Nazi papers and the paramilitary Stormtroopers, aka, Brownshirts, SA. By 1928, he had risen in the party ranks to become one of its most prominent members.
Goebbels rose to power in 1933 along with Hitler and the Nazi Party and he was appointed Propaganda Minister. One of his first acts was the burning of books rejected by the Nazis. He exerted totalitarian control over the media, arts and information in Germany.
From the beginning of his tenure, Goebbels organized attacks on German Jews, commencing with the one-day boycott of Jewish businessmen, doctors, and lawyers on April 1, 1933. His attacks on the Jewish population culminated in the Kristallnacht assault of 1938, an open and unrestrained pogrom unleashed by the Nazis all across Germany, in which scores of synagogues were burned and hundreds of Jews were assaulted and murdered. Goebbels used modern propaganda techniques to psychologically prepare the German people for aggressive war and the annihilation of civilian populations.
During World War II, Goebbels increased his power and influence through shifting alliances with other Nazi leaders. By late 1943, the tide of the war was turning against the Axis powers, but this only spurred Goebbels to intensify the propaganda by urging the Germans to accept the idea of total war and mobilization. Goebbels remained with Hitler in Berlin to the end; just hours after Hitler's suicide, Goebbels and his wife, Magda, killed their six young children. Then, they both committed suicide as well.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 16, 2019
Wow. Yeah. One of my early reviews on Goodreads. I think that I was still kind of stuck in my Amazon reviewing mode, which was short and sweet don’t give ‘em too much to eat. But this book deserves a much better and more in-depth review, as is now my preferred reviewing style. Here is the original review as written:
“Fascinating look into the mind of a sociopath. Goebbels reveals the often clumsy and backstabbing nature of the Nazi leadership as he documents the daily events of the regime in his role as Minister of Propaganda. Of particular note is his hatred and scorn towards the Jews, who he blames for the myriad ills of mid-century Europe. He waves off mass executions as if they were nothing more than a daily task that needs to be done. It's unsettling and disturbing reading, but relevant to today's political environment. Propaganda is once again a driving force to contend with. This reads like a technical manual on how to mobilize and fool an entire population. Surely the populists and far-right xenophobes that currently dot the political landscape here and abroad have read this and decided that it is a perfect primer for a culture of lies and delusions.”
Now what I wrote above is all very true, but I think that I just glossed over what is truly a monstrous work. That Goebbels was a sociopath should be obvious. What is less obvious is that he, like many of those in leadership positions in the Nazi hierarchy, was a highly educated and cultured man. We want our villains to be clear cut, with fangs and glowing eyes and all sorts of cues that plainly tell us that this is a BAD PERSON. But Goebbels was clearly human, and maybe that’s the scariest part of the whole thing for me. I can understand the motives of villains, but trying to understand the motives of humans who do horrendous things with no more than a blink of an eye…...no, that disturbs the shit out of me. These diaries make plain that Goebbels was a true fanatic, tied into the vision of the Nazi Party so utterly and completely that it dominated his every waking thought. He writes with clarity and perfect grammar. He describes atrocities with flowery language. He displays, dare I say it, an ironic and dry sense of humor. How am I to make cognitive sense of it all? It’s like finding out that your kindly English Lit professor was really a serial killer, hiding the bodies in a mass grave in his basement while marking your papers with a red pen and giving out good life advice.
What I also failed to mention in the short review is the amazing amount of information about what was really happening in the Third Reich as opposed to what the propaganda minister was doling out to the German people. This particular edition, translated by Louis P. Lochner, covers the years 1942-1943. At this point Germany was still very optimistic about the war, and there seemed to be little doubt in any corner that things might take a turn for the worse. But still, the setbacks were beginning to take a toll on the German armies, and Goebbels had to paint heroic faces on any defeats, or not make mention of them at all in his addresses to the German public. Goebbels makes amazing twists of logic and uses the tactic of the “Big Lie” to great effect.
Goebbels also expresses a disdain for any media outlets that he did not completely control. He also has choice words for the German church leaders, with whom he maintained a running battle with to contain what he saw as pacifist weakness. His attitudes towards the Japanese are no less surprising. It is obvious that Goebbels, and Hitler, quite admired the Japanese as a war machine. Goebbels often makes note of the fact that the Japanese were single-minded and tough, willing to fight to the last man even when a military position was considered to be hopeless. But it is also clear that he sees them as an entirely different race, one that may not be compatible with Aryan supremacy after the war.
Louis Lochner makes note that the original diaries were written on unusually heavy paper stock, one that was produced especially for Goebbels. Such a paper stock would not have been available to the general public, nor indeed to most of the other Chancellery functionaries. But Goebbels was special, one of Hitler’s trusted inner circle, fully committed to the cause. That he took advantage of his unique position within the Nazi leadership should be no surprise.
Reading the Goebbels Diaries is like passing the proverbial train wreck and being unable to peel your eyes away from the carnage. It’s fascinating, terrifying reading, and it will keep you awake far longer than any Stephen King or Clive Barker book ever will. It is also necessary reading in this day and age, when many leaders around the world and in the United States seem to have read Goebbels as some sort of a instructional manual rather than as a warning. I think that I’m pretty much restating that point from the original short review, but it’s a point worth making again and again. State propaganda is a fearful thing, and the attacks on a free press that we here in the United States seem to have normalized are terrifying when seen in a truer context. This book is a warning, and we would all do well to understand just how powerful control of information really is to despots and dictators.
I’m lucky enough to have a first Doubleday printing of “The Goebbels Diaries,” and it’s still in pretty good shape for a book as old as it is. I can’t recommend this enough, that is if you have the stomach for it. It’s not easy reading. It’s not really enjoyable reading. But it is NECESSARY reading, and I can’t stress that point enough. We can either learn from the past, or we can ignore it and repeat the same mistakes over and over. Get this book. Read it. Understand it. And let’s hope that you don’t have to hide the damn thing when the cultural purity officers come a-knocking on your door to make sure that you don’t have any “offensive” materials laying around in your house…..
Can’t happen here, you say? Have a look around. It already is.
“Fascinating look into the mind of a sociopath. Goebbels reveals the often clumsy and backstabbing nature of the Nazi leadership as he documents the daily events of the regime in his role as Minister of Propaganda. Of particular note is his hatred and scorn towards the Jews, who he blames for the myriad ills of mid-century Europe. He waves off mass executions as if they were nothing more than a daily task that needs to be done. It's unsettling and disturbing reading, but relevant to today's political environment. Propaganda is once again a driving force to contend with. This reads like a technical manual on how to mobilize and fool an entire population. Surely the populists and far-right xenophobes that currently dot the political landscape here and abroad have read this and decided that it is a perfect primer for a culture of lies and delusions.”
Now what I wrote above is all very true, but I think that I just glossed over what is truly a monstrous work. That Goebbels was a sociopath should be obvious. What is less obvious is that he, like many of those in leadership positions in the Nazi hierarchy, was a highly educated and cultured man. We want our villains to be clear cut, with fangs and glowing eyes and all sorts of cues that plainly tell us that this is a BAD PERSON. But Goebbels was clearly human, and maybe that’s the scariest part of the whole thing for me. I can understand the motives of villains, but trying to understand the motives of humans who do horrendous things with no more than a blink of an eye…...no, that disturbs the shit out of me. These diaries make plain that Goebbels was a true fanatic, tied into the vision of the Nazi Party so utterly and completely that it dominated his every waking thought. He writes with clarity and perfect grammar. He describes atrocities with flowery language. He displays, dare I say it, an ironic and dry sense of humor. How am I to make cognitive sense of it all? It’s like finding out that your kindly English Lit professor was really a serial killer, hiding the bodies in a mass grave in his basement while marking your papers with a red pen and giving out good life advice.
What I also failed to mention in the short review is the amazing amount of information about what was really happening in the Third Reich as opposed to what the propaganda minister was doling out to the German people. This particular edition, translated by Louis P. Lochner, covers the years 1942-1943. At this point Germany was still very optimistic about the war, and there seemed to be little doubt in any corner that things might take a turn for the worse. But still, the setbacks were beginning to take a toll on the German armies, and Goebbels had to paint heroic faces on any defeats, or not make mention of them at all in his addresses to the German public. Goebbels makes amazing twists of logic and uses the tactic of the “Big Lie” to great effect.
Goebbels also expresses a disdain for any media outlets that he did not completely control. He also has choice words for the German church leaders, with whom he maintained a running battle with to contain what he saw as pacifist weakness. His attitudes towards the Japanese are no less surprising. It is obvious that Goebbels, and Hitler, quite admired the Japanese as a war machine. Goebbels often makes note of the fact that the Japanese were single-minded and tough, willing to fight to the last man even when a military position was considered to be hopeless. But it is also clear that he sees them as an entirely different race, one that may not be compatible with Aryan supremacy after the war.
Louis Lochner makes note that the original diaries were written on unusually heavy paper stock, one that was produced especially for Goebbels. Such a paper stock would not have been available to the general public, nor indeed to most of the other Chancellery functionaries. But Goebbels was special, one of Hitler’s trusted inner circle, fully committed to the cause. That he took advantage of his unique position within the Nazi leadership should be no surprise.
Reading the Goebbels Diaries is like passing the proverbial train wreck and being unable to peel your eyes away from the carnage. It’s fascinating, terrifying reading, and it will keep you awake far longer than any Stephen King or Clive Barker book ever will. It is also necessary reading in this day and age, when many leaders around the world and in the United States seem to have read Goebbels as some sort of a instructional manual rather than as a warning. I think that I’m pretty much restating that point from the original short review, but it’s a point worth making again and again. State propaganda is a fearful thing, and the attacks on a free press that we here in the United States seem to have normalized are terrifying when seen in a truer context. This book is a warning, and we would all do well to understand just how powerful control of information really is to despots and dictators.
I’m lucky enough to have a first Doubleday printing of “The Goebbels Diaries,” and it’s still in pretty good shape for a book as old as it is. I can’t recommend this enough, that is if you have the stomach for it. It’s not easy reading. It’s not really enjoyable reading. But it is NECESSARY reading, and I can’t stress that point enough. We can either learn from the past, or we can ignore it and repeat the same mistakes over and over. Get this book. Read it. Understand it. And let’s hope that you don’t have to hide the damn thing when the cultural purity officers come a-knocking on your door to make sure that you don’t have any “offensive” materials laying around in your house…..
Can’t happen here, you say? Have a look around. It already is.
December 24, 2020
It's too long and very repetitive, but then again it's a guy's diary so you kind of know what you're getting into from the outset. Overall it's a fascinating perspective on a very familiar history; WWII as seen by the Nazi's most brilliant tactician.
There are several interesting aspects to this collection of Goebbels' entries. Most impressive is the fact that for essentially the entire book (1942 onward), the Nazis are losing quite resoundingly yet maintaining an absurd degree of optimism and faith in their victorious destiny. (So much for Hegel's historicism I suppose.) Out-bombed by the UK, outmanned by the USSR, and later abandoned by Italy, their inability (esp. Goebbels and Hitler's) to see the writing on the wall is truly incredible. Literally throughout the entire book Goebbels is bemoaning how their cities are getting destroyed through British air raids without any real capacity for reprisal. Toward the last few months cities like Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin are being bombed almost daily, and Goebbels is eagerly anticipating the moment when they can finally retaliate, four months in the future!
Another revelation for me was seeing the animosity between the USSR and the UK/US. Granted, everything is tainted with Goebbels' cynicism, but there was certainly a degree of truth to the disagreements between the Soviets and the Capitalists. I had also never realized how much more of a burden the Soviets had born on the Eastern Front. And it makes you wonder what might have happened had Goebbels succeeded in pitting both sides against each other to eventually make a truce with one side over the other (e.g. Allying with UK to ensure that the Soviets are kept out of Europe). Ultimately I think he underestimated how monstrous the Nazi acts appeared to the world at large, probably overestimating the international community's antipathy toward the Jews.
Reading this makes me very curious to read the final entries in his diaries. At what point did he lose hope?
@pointblaek
There are several interesting aspects to this collection of Goebbels' entries. Most impressive is the fact that for essentially the entire book (1942 onward), the Nazis are losing quite resoundingly yet maintaining an absurd degree of optimism and faith in their victorious destiny. (So much for Hegel's historicism I suppose.) Out-bombed by the UK, outmanned by the USSR, and later abandoned by Italy, their inability (esp. Goebbels and Hitler's) to see the writing on the wall is truly incredible. Literally throughout the entire book Goebbels is bemoaning how their cities are getting destroyed through British air raids without any real capacity for reprisal. Toward the last few months cities like Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin are being bombed almost daily, and Goebbels is eagerly anticipating the moment when they can finally retaliate, four months in the future!
Another revelation for me was seeing the animosity between the USSR and the UK/US. Granted, everything is tainted with Goebbels' cynicism, but there was certainly a degree of truth to the disagreements between the Soviets and the Capitalists. I had also never realized how much more of a burden the Soviets had born on the Eastern Front. And it makes you wonder what might have happened had Goebbels succeeded in pitting both sides against each other to eventually make a truce with one side over the other (e.g. Allying with UK to ensure that the Soviets are kept out of Europe). Ultimately I think he underestimated how monstrous the Nazi acts appeared to the world at large, probably overestimating the international community's antipathy toward the Jews.
Reading this makes me very curious to read the final entries in his diaries. At what point did he lose hope?
@pointblaek
December 6, 2024
I read a comment in a review here that said “he was a wormy bastard”. That really sums it up quite perfectly. Hard to believe this guy was for real- anti semitic, self important, conceited lil guy who could not get enough of how important his work was for the nation. He is many times “deeply touched” by sentiments of other self important nazis, how the people would “lay their hands on him in blessing, imploring god to preserve me.” Uh, ok.
But this guy 100% existed in real life and that’s wild to actually think about.
Thick reading but good reading to understand people like JG actually existed, actually thought what they thought, and actually created policy at the whim of a “I don’t want the people to know about this so let’s just sensor it out out of everything so they don’t hear about it. Ever. Like never ever ever because this makes us look really bad. Also let’s take away the bikes from people we don’t like doing things we don’t like who are acting up because hey, national socialism and stuff. “
A lot of “the furehrer this and the fureher that and the fureher is so strong and he is not feeling good but boy is he strong!” Which was entertaining to read- this guy was THE original fan boy. Also entertaining to read all the sh*t talking he did on a number on the ones who in one way or another was one of the chosen to represent the Reich at Nuremberg. He seemed to be a fan of goering, frick, donitz, ley, bormann, neurath, seyss-inquart. Not so much of rosenburg, kietel, jodl, ribbentrop, frank, streicher, raeder, schirach, saukel. Neutral on Speer, funk, papen. Barely a few sentences on fritzsche (wild considering he was put in the dock as JG’s number 2 guy), one line on kaltenbrunner about a report he sent him, and looks like he thought Hess was just plain crazy, same as everyone else in the world did. Not a peep about schact. After putting that down on paper I realize a potential pattern between JGs sentiments and the ultimate verdicts and sentences ultimately handed down in Nuremberg (might be a stretch and def some outliers, but I can’t help but wonder).
I liked Lochners notes throughout and excited to read the final entries next- which are edited by Hugh Trevor Roper(!)- to see how it all ends for our wormy propaganda minster in his own words and own mind (planet?)
But this guy 100% existed in real life and that’s wild to actually think about.
Thick reading but good reading to understand people like JG actually existed, actually thought what they thought, and actually created policy at the whim of a “I don’t want the people to know about this so let’s just sensor it out out of everything so they don’t hear about it. Ever. Like never ever ever because this makes us look really bad. Also let’s take away the bikes from people we don’t like doing things we don’t like who are acting up because hey, national socialism and stuff. “
A lot of “the furehrer this and the fureher that and the fureher is so strong and he is not feeling good but boy is he strong!” Which was entertaining to read- this guy was THE original fan boy. Also entertaining to read all the sh*t talking he did on a number on the ones who in one way or another was one of the chosen to represent the Reich at Nuremberg. He seemed to be a fan of goering, frick, donitz, ley, bormann, neurath, seyss-inquart. Not so much of rosenburg, kietel, jodl, ribbentrop, frank, streicher, raeder, schirach, saukel. Neutral on Speer, funk, papen. Barely a few sentences on fritzsche (wild considering he was put in the dock as JG’s number 2 guy), one line on kaltenbrunner about a report he sent him, and looks like he thought Hess was just plain crazy, same as everyone else in the world did. Not a peep about schact. After putting that down on paper I realize a potential pattern between JGs sentiments and the ultimate verdicts and sentences ultimately handed down in Nuremberg (might be a stretch and def some outliers, but I can’t help but wonder).
I liked Lochners notes throughout and excited to read the final entries next- which are edited by Hugh Trevor Roper(!)- to see how it all ends for our wormy propaganda minster in his own words and own mind (planet?)
October 2, 2008
This book should be required reading. For me, reading the first hand accounts of those who perpetrated the madness in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s is the only way to grasp it. Goebbels writes of his plans and horrible plans for everyone with the flatness of an accountant. Most enlightening are his repeated declarations of his plans for Christians when the Nazis had completed their extermination of everyone else who opposed them. It was interesting to read this book at the same time I read a book called "Berlin Diaries 1940-1945", by Marie Vassiltchikov. She was one of the privileged aristocrats working in the information services that Goebbels speaks so disparagingly of as defeatists and anti Nazis. Their life was a cut above the average German in wartime, almost dreamlike with privilege. It is fascinating to read her account of the time period of the attempt on Hitler's life and what happened in that area of the government where she worked in relation to what Goebbels suspected. Nazis feared and hated the educated, but craved having the aristocrats at their beck and call, as private secretaries and junior functionaries. But they distrusted and hated them. After the attempt on Hitlers life many were executed en masse. I am glad I found this book. Every student should read this book.
August 12, 2016
This book is Goebbels' dairy entries from Jan. 21, 1942 to Dec. 9, 1943. Some entries are missing due to lack of source material (i.e. it was lost or destroyed). The editor translated the entries into English and included some notes about the people Goebbels mentions and events referred to by Goebbels which happened during the missing entries. It's clear the man had no sense of right or wrong beyond he was always right and everyone else (unless it's Hitler) was always wrong. Some entries were a little dull (though maybe not so if you really like WWII history), others made me feel slimy just reading them, and some were very interesting (like how the bombing affected German cities). It was worth reading and certainty gave insight into his mindset and motives.
June 19, 2022
translated, introduced, and annotated by a man who actually met goebbels, this diary is mind blowing. it is easy for me to think that they people in the upper echelons of the 3rd reich were not actually taken in by their own rhetoric, that they used it as a device for controlling a country. but no, this dude worshipped hitler, really felt that the jews were out to ruin the world, and was convinced to the last minute that germany would prevail over the allies. he is incensed at allied bombing of german cities; calling churchill a barbarian. he is disgusted when he finds out that soviets have killed polish civilians. he seems to have no sense of shame and certainly no self awareness. evil may, afterall, be real.
July 14, 2019
Took me a while to finish. I read other things in between. Honestly they became relentless in their sycophancy, back-biting, petty self-regard, hatred of Jews, and blatant blindness to facts as they unfolded. It was too much to take in one swallow.
Interesting was the telling of the tale of how these pages survived complete destruction in the chaos after the war.
Also of interest were Lochner's notes throughout. He knew the highways and byways of German politics before and during the war, and of course filled in some postwar gaps.
But really fascinating to me was watching Goebbels's view of Il Duce change within the crucial years covered by this diary. I think he finally realized that this commitment had really spread the Nazis thin for a partner who was not as...committed.
Goebbels was a true believer, and though the case was being made before his very eyes for the ultimate defeat of Germany and Nazism, (in fact he often gives the figures of war casualties, air raid damage, and production deficits,) he is unable to connect these with their ultimate conclusion. Perhaps the 1945 diaries will shed some light. April 30 perhaps.
Interesting was the telling of the tale of how these pages survived complete destruction in the chaos after the war.
Also of interest were Lochner's notes throughout. He knew the highways and byways of German politics before and during the war, and of course filled in some postwar gaps.
But really fascinating to me was watching Goebbels's view of Il Duce change within the crucial years covered by this diary. I think he finally realized that this commitment had really spread the Nazis thin for a partner who was not as...committed.
Goebbels was a true believer, and though the case was being made before his very eyes for the ultimate defeat of Germany and Nazism, (in fact he often gives the figures of war casualties, air raid damage, and production deficits,) he is unable to connect these with their ultimate conclusion. Perhaps the 1945 diaries will shed some light. April 30 perhaps.
August 27, 2018
Found this at a used book sale and it surprised me in that it held my attention although quite wordy and somewhat repetitive.
Goebbels was a henchman for Hitler, a true believer in the German National Socialism (Nazi) movement, government and policies He was a confidant of Adolf Hitler, in charge of propaganda for the Reich and he kept a detailed diary..
The daily notations (it really is a diary) gives an inside glimpse into what Goebbels dealt with and thought about day after day and provides an extremely interesting ( and revolting) insight to the workings of this real world, assault on human decency; a modern travesty that we had hoped was behind us.
One gains some fascinating insight into the thoughts, rationalization and machinations of these truly evil human beings.
Goebbels was a henchman for Hitler, a true believer in the German National Socialism (Nazi) movement, government and policies He was a confidant of Adolf Hitler, in charge of propaganda for the Reich and he kept a detailed diary..
The daily notations (it really is a diary) gives an inside glimpse into what Goebbels dealt with and thought about day after day and provides an extremely interesting ( and revolting) insight to the workings of this real world, assault on human decency; a modern travesty that we had hoped was behind us.
One gains some fascinating insight into the thoughts, rationalization and machinations of these truly evil human beings.
March 12, 2024
This is very important data for history
Read
September 27, 2025I do not want freedom but a different kind of captivity...
July 17, 2012
I have to say that this isn't a 5-star work because of the writing, the criterion I normally use when dishing out parts of galaxies. It's because I think the book should be read by anyone wanting to gain a glimmer of understanding into what became one of the most powerfully focused minds in the last century. Regardless of the pros and cons of Goebells being allowed to retain even honorary posthumous citizenship of an Earth he seemed bent on destroying, it is enlightening to read the words he set down. Obviously they were never intended to be seen by the likes of you or me, let alone those in power, who later had a chance to peruse them at their leisure. If only the good (sic) doctor had known.
Anyway, following this gentleman of uncertain disposition down the path to what must have been close to madness (he must have had to stave madness off quite madly) and what was, an untimely death (in more ways than one), is an exercise that all students of human nature will finally be glad they chose to do. After all, he was only a man, like you and me, and I think that comes through quite plainly in his own words.
Anyway, following this gentleman of uncertain disposition down the path to what must have been close to madness (he must have had to stave madness off quite madly) and what was, an untimely death (in more ways than one), is an exercise that all students of human nature will finally be glad they chose to do. After all, he was only a man, like you and me, and I think that comes through quite plainly in his own words.
December 17, 2013
Call it 3.75 stars. Learned that Goebbels-Hitler relationship was really close and personal. Also that Goebbels, while extremely full of himself, also was capable of being realistic about the terrible prospects for Germany after the disaster at Stalingrad. Also lots of worrying after the overthrow of Mussolini. Some slight worry that the Nazis would be tossed out (betrayed!) as the Fascists were. Funny how much time he and his compadres spent talking about how to deal with Italy and Mussolini, when it was very clear they had little use for the Italians. Also quite interesting to see how Goebbels deals with some of the same issues as were covered in Ciano's diaries and the Schellenberg memoirs. E.g., Ciano suspected that the Nazis had designs on the parts of northern Italy that once were part of Hapsburg Austria. Goebbels's diary confirms it.
The hope of a negotiated peace with either the Soviets or the Western allies was ever-present (at least as far as these entries cover, through early December 1943).
Now moving on to the other published bits of Goebbels's diaries, starting with the 1939-1941 volume.
The hope of a negotiated peace with either the Soviets or the Western allies was ever-present (at least as far as these entries cover, through early December 1943).
Now moving on to the other published bits of Goebbels's diaries, starting with the 1939-1941 volume.
April 27, 2011
Goebbels had a unique relationship to information and rhetoric. A friend once recounted that Goebbels had, at a Nazi rally, given 4 consecutive speeches, one for monarchism, one for liberalism, one for communism, and finally one for nazism, and at each one the entire crowd rose to its feet and applauded. The friend further remarked that listening to Goebbels speak, you'd've followed him anywhere! to any ideology! . . .
This is Goebbels' first-hand account of the whole Nazi game. Pay particular attention to where Goebbels addresses you, dear reader, and where he writes with posterity in mind. Goebbels was uniquely aware that the victors would write history - these diaries are his protest. A small protest, yes, but in the final accounting what other avenue did the man have?
This is Goebbels' first-hand account of the whole Nazi game. Pay particular attention to where Goebbels addresses you, dear reader, and where he writes with posterity in mind. Goebbels was uniquely aware that the victors would write history - these diaries are his protest. A small protest, yes, but in the final accounting what other avenue did the man have?
July 3, 2012
I got it long time ago as a gift and I finished it just recently. It was fascinating to read from historical point of view...but hard to swallow considering who wrote them and the presented ideas were scary.
May 5, 2007
Read this during my Junior High School years
Want to read
October 26, 2011note to self: recommended by "logic of failure", p. 104-105 as good examples of "vertical" and "horizontal" flights of thought.”
April 24, 2012
Interesting but not too. Verified what I understood about Goebbels, a few new facts, but all and all an OK read.
April 26, 2014
An interesting if incomplete look at the inner worrkings of the Third Reich
August 12, 2016
A horrifying inside look at Nazism from a Nazi who was very much a true believer in their genocidal ideals. However, I will admit I couldn't finish it out of exhaustion.
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