Joseph Goebbels, from the German Federal Archives
Joseph Goebbels was born in Rheyt in 1897. Goebbels family was one of a strict Catholic background. He went to a Catholic school and eventually went on to study at Heidelberg University. While there he recieved a Ph.D in 1920.
Goebbels was unable to serve in the German military in World War I due to a crippled foot. He joined the Nazi party in the early 1920s. Goebbels personality was said to be deeply influenced by his feelings of inadequecies brought on by his cripple leg, his short stature, and his lack of any features that would relate in any way to the Nordic ideal.
In the latter half of the 1920s, Goebbels began gaining power in the Nazi Party. He was also elected to the Reichstag during this period. Before the end of the decade he would also be placed in charge of creating Nazi Propaganda. Due to Goebbels’ inherent abilities in this field, Hitler named him Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda in the early 1930s.
Goebbels remained at the head of the German Propaganda machine until his death in 1945. During the war he was in charge of keeping the public in the belief that Germany was unbeatable. Early in the war his task was easy. The Germans appeared to be unstoppable at first. The first sign of weakness came at the Battle of Stalingrad. The German troops in Russia failed and no back up was sent and they were allowed to die at the hands of the Russians. Goebbels managed to turn the defeat around and place the blame on the shoulders of the failed generals. Hitler made Goebbels Reich Commissioner for Total Mobilisation in 1944.
Goebbels stayed with Hitler in the bunker in Berlin until the very end. When the end came, Goebbels poisoned his 6 children, shot his wife, and then shot himself.
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