Joseph Goebbels
1897 – 1945 German Nazi propaganda minister
Hitler's propaganda minister, who built the Nazi machine controlling German press, radio, and film.
- Affiliations
- Nazi Party
Joseph Goebbels ran the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda from 1933, taking control of Germany's newspapers, radio, and film to serve the Nazi regime. He grasped the power of mass media and used repetition, spectacle, and censorship to spread antisemitism and glorify Hitler, and he pushed cheap radios to put Nazi messaging in every home. He was central to the regime's incitement of hatred against Jews. As the war ended in 1945 he and his wife killed their six children and then themselves in Berlin.
Connections
- associate of Adolf Hitler — Devoted acolyte who followed him into suicide.
- associate of Adolf Hitler — Propaganda minister and one of his most loyal followers to the end.
- ally of Albert Speer — Backed total-war mobilization together in 1943.
- ally of Albert Speer — Coordinated total-war measures together late in the war.
- rival of Hermann Goring — Bitter competitor for influence within the leadership.
- rival of Hermann Goring — Competed for standing at the top of the regime.
- associate of Julius Streicher — Part of the regime's propaganda ecosystem.
- associate of Leni Riefenstahl — Worked within the Nazi regime whose propaganda ministry Goebbels ran, though the two clashed.
- associate of Leni Riefenstahl — Worked within the same regime as its propaganda filmmaker, though the two clashed.
In the timeline
- 1933 – 1945 Nazi Reich Ministry of Propaganda under Goebbels the propaganda minister