The Goebbels Diaries: 1939-1941

Rating:
Summary: The man behind the myth?
Review: By now, Nazism and the Second World War have taken on the magnitude of myth, where everything was pre-ordained, so it is fascinating to read a fresh opinion from the other side.

Goebbels was a contradictory man. He believed in the Fuhrer and Nazi ideology above personal experience. For example, he felt sympathy for negro POWs, describing them as "poor devils", and crashed English pilots, and seemed to have a deep love for his children, while having a one-dimensional hatred for the "Jews" and "bolsheviks" that supposedly were the cause of the world's problems. He also went on about American and English hypocrisy and war-mongering, while celebrating Hitler's real-politiking and deceit towards nearly everyone in Europe. He writes "the Ends always justify the means", while admitting if they don't win, they are doomed (lots of prophetic ideas and dramatic irony in this book!).

Hitler appears as a rather more insightful fellow than we would like to admit. Goebbels writes that he has great respect for classical Greek and Roman culture, and explains his belief in authoritarian regimes: when they become unpopular, the people will overthrow them anyway. Suprisingly, Goebbels and Hitler seem neutral towards 'negros'. They discuss whether the working classes are better off than the American slaves of yore, and Goebbels uses American lynchings (which I assume to be in the South) in Nazi propaganda against America.
Ironically, Goebbels as a film buff seemed to love "Mr Deeds goes to Washington" and "Gone with the Wind", while believing reports of America as a cultural desert (a cringeingly amusing paragraph for non-Americans) and stating that the Reich's contribution to history would be getting rid of democracy.
Also, Goebbel's analysis of the media, and his sophisticated plans to mask the invasion of Russia as an invasion of England, even at the cost of personal loss of "prestige", will make you think twice about what you hear from the press even today.

Was Churchill really a war-monger? Were France and others really content to be ruled by Nazi Germany? Disturbing ideas in a self-portrait of a professional, cunning, dilettante-hating master of propaganda.

Rating:
Summary: JEKYLL AND HYDE - THE WAR YEARS - VOL 1
Review: I have just completed this book and will soon start on his diary covering 1942 - 1943.

The book took a little getting use to with its style and content. The book itself was not written for publication. He wrote on 30 March 1941 "I have my diaries, twenty fat volumnes, deposited in the underground vault of the Reichsbank. They are too valuable to be allowed to fall victim to some air raid. They provide a picture of my entire life and our times. If fate allows me a few years for the task, I intend to edit them for the sake of future generations. They may well be of some interest to the world at large."

There were, regrettably, some interesting events that were not in this book for whatever reasons. The book opens in early 1939 with a few entries and then jumps all the way to October 1939. During this time the Nazis negotiated a non-aggression treaty with the Soviet Union and the war started with the German successful invasion of Poland. Other notable missing events include the Scandinavia campaign of April 1940 and the defeat of France.

However other events are not missing. The propaganda minister's view of the "phony war" of 1939 - 1940 is recorded here along with the Nazis' impression of the Soviet war with Finland. Goebbels writes about their Italians allies in an insulting manner -- deservedly so -- because of their bumbling military adventures in the Balkans. The book covers the Nazis' invasion of the Balkans and Greece -- mainly to rescue the Italians and the early days of the north African campaign. He almost daily records the war with England and is convinced that with all the ships being sunk and the Luftwaffe constantly pounding England it is only a matter of time before the Germans will win. Another interesting event was when Rudolf Hess, a man he had great respect and admiration for, flew to England and almost instantly became persona non grata. Even more importantly, the book covers the preparation for Adolf Hitler's greatest gamble -- the war with the Soviet Union. The book covers the first few weeks of that adventure before ending in early July 1941.

The book gives an almost daily insight to the German government in the first two years of the war. Goebbels had to walk a tightrope in managing public morale. The Germans wanted peace but also victory. Goebbels had to keep morale high even when times were hard but also had to keep expectations of victory contained when victory seemed so close after the fall of France. The book also shows petty squabbles within the German government -- especially with the Foreign Ministry in general and Foreign Minister Ribbentrop specifically.

I call this Jekyll and Hyde because Goebbels also presents a very human and loving side in this diary. Despite some marital difficulties with his wife, Magda, he shows great affection and respect for her and all but worshipped his children. It is hard to see a man who loves his family so much being such a hateful man when it came to Jews. Most anti-Semites may hate Jews but not to the same level that Goebbels and the rest of Hitler's henchmen would.

The biggest problem I had with the book was the book itself. The seller described the book as being in acceptable condition. If so the seller had a low standard of acceptability. When I unpacked the book parts of the book was already loose and threatening to fall apart. The act of reading the book such as turning pages was almost too much for the book to handle.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: Joseph Goebbels was the Propoganda Minister for the Third Reich. Propoganda has a very different meaning today than it did in 1940, but his role was to communicate the ideals of the Reich. Being a very gifted writer, this proved an excellent task.

You will find no "plotting" in this book, other than general discussion of the ideals of National Socialism. There is no discussion of mass exterminations of any people or religion. What you will find is insight into a man intent on keeping a nation together in the face of tremendous adversity, namely the threat of Bolshevism. In many ways, the book is inspirational.