4. Refusing to flee Berlin “for reasons of humanity and personal loyalty”, Joseph Goebbels ingested cyanide in the gardens of Reich Chancellery after only one day as Chancellor of the Nazi Germany
Paul Joseph Goebbels (b. 1897) was Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Gauleiter of Berlin within the Nazi Party, and Chancellor of Germany (April 31 1945-May 1 1945). A child of ill health, Goebbels endured recurrent lung inflammations and possessed a deformed right foot causing him a lifelong limp; because of these conditions, Goebbels was rejected for military service during the First World War. Instead pursuing academics, Goebbels received his doctorate in German literature in 1921 and by 1940 had published at least 14 books.
Diary entries reflect a gradual shift towards nationalistic and racial sentiments, and Goebbels became interested in the Nazi Party during Hitler’s trial for treason in 1924. Joining the Party that same year Goebbels begun work as a writer and party speaker, rising quickly through the hierarchy. Despite initially opposing Hitler’s personal vision of national socialism, Goebbels ultimately capitulated and later wrote in his diary “I bow to the greater one, the political genius”. In the 1928 elections, Goebbels was one of 12 Nazis elected to the Reichstag.
Understanding the power of propaganda and the press, Goebbels encouraged the recording and dissemination of speeches and successfully exploited popular opinion and events to the advantage of the Nazi Party, notably the murder of SA Troop Leader Horst Wessel in 1930 by two members of the Communist Party. In April 1930, Hitler appointed Goebbels Reich leader of Nazi propaganda, a position he would continue after the Machtergreifung (Nazi seizure of power) in 1933 as Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The mouthpiece of the Reich, Goebbels routinely spoke on behalf the Führer, announcing major programs and composing the wordage of many of Hitler’s decrees. In particular, Goebbels was a major contributing cause of the cult of personality which surrounded Hitler, carefully choreographing public appearances such as the Nuremberg Rally of 1934 which was immortalized in the propaganda film “The Triumph of Will”.
Throughout the Second World War, Goebbels utilized his position to control access to information throughout the Reich. Having gained control of radio stations domestically in 1934 and placed them under the Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (German National Broadcasting Corporation), the Propaganda Ministry repurposed the broadcasting facilities of conquered territories immediately after surrender. With Hitler making fewer public appearances the Ministry enlarged efforts to maintain the trust of the people, with 1,500 mobile film vans screening propaganda films and Goebbels himself writing frequent editorials to be read aloud on radio. Recognizing as early as July 1943 that the war could not be won, Goebbels sought to persuade Hitler to seek peace to no avail.
Opposed to the evacuation of the Führer from Berlin, Goebbels argued instead for a heroic last stand; privately, he had confided he knew how the outside world would treat the regime and did not wish to be captured. Disobeying Hitler’s final order to survive and succeed him as Chancellor, Goebbels wrote a postscript to the Führer’s will declaring that “for reasons of humanity and personal loyalty” he had elected to remain. Rejecting the offer of an escape, stating “the captain must not leave his sinking ship. I have thought about it all and decided to stay here. I have nowhere to go because with little children I will not be able to make it, especially with a leg like mine”, Goebbels arranged for the euthanasia of his six children. It is believed he and his wife, Magda, then each swallowed a cyanide capsule followed immediately by a coup-de-grace from an unknown attendant.