A People on the Defensive (Goebbels in 1945)

Goebbels prided himself (not always accurately) at telling the truth, or at least as much truth as was useful under the circumstances.  Up until the Battle of Stalingrad, propaganda was relatively easy to make.  True, there were occasional setbacks, but he would point out that was to be expected in war.

By early 1945, he could no longer speak of occasional setbacks.  The Soviets had begun a major offensive on 12 January 1945 that quickly overran German positions and took them across the German border of 1939,  Germany was now fighting on German soil (and the Western allies were on German soil to the west).

In an essay dated 11 February titled “A People on the Defensive,” Goebbels admits the military situation is grim, but still makes empty arguments that Germany will win in the end if only it steadfastly continues the war.  His promises were empty and by then most Germans realized that the war was lost, but the one effective argument Goebbels had was fear of the Soviets.  This article discusses only the Soviets, not even mentioning the presence of Allied troops on German soil to the west.

Nazi Advice on Racial Questions

Nazi racial laws got complicated, sometimes  leaving people in distressing situations.  Today I’m adding a Q & A column from Der Hoheitsträger, a Nazi monthly for party officials at the local group leader level and above.

It deals with such awkward issues as what to do if a city employee discovers that his wife is half Jewish. The answer: divorce her or resign the job.  

How to Use a Nazi Wall Poster

The Parole der Woche was a weekly “wall newspaper” issued by the Nazi Party.  There are a variety of examples on the German Propaganda Archive. The issue below is from 1940 and promotes the idea that World Jewry was out to destroy Germany.

Today I am adding a 1940 article from Unser Wille und Weg, the monthly for propagandists, that encourages greater use of the poster.  Old editions were not to be discarded, but reposted in different locations.

Goebbels on the Success of Nazi Propaganda Abroad (1943)

The Nazis began a major anti-Semitic propaganda campaign in May 1943. Anti-Semitism was to be incorporated in as many ways as possible.  A few weeks after the start of the campaign Goebbels’s weekly article in Das Reich titled "Driving Forces” focussed on the alleged influence of Nazi propaganda abroad and on supposed Jewish attempts to limit its success.

My Recent Lecture on Nazi Anti-Semitism

I gave a lecture at Oregon State University on April 9, 2018 on Nazi anti-Semitism.  It is available on YouTube:

Instructions for a 1943 Nazi Anti-Semitic Campaign

Even though much of the killing of the Holocaust was finished by May 1943, the Nazis still promoted anti-Semitism. They feared that Germans might decide that anti-Semitism was no longer  relevant. In May 1943, as part of a broader anti-Semitic campaign, the Deutscher Wochendienst, a confidential newsletter for magazine editors, provided a catalog of anti-Semitic argument that editors were to use in their publications.

I am adding a full translation of that issue. And although I rarely include the German original of material on the site, I am including a pdf of the original, since it is such a rare and illuminating document.

Germany’s View of Colonies in 1941

Germany lost its African colonies after WWI.  Even before the Nazi takeover in 1933, many Germans demanded the return of those colonies, a demand the Nazis fully supported. A variety of organizations promoted awareness of Germany’s former colonies.

In 1941, it seemed entirely reasonable to think that Germany would be able to regain those colonies.  The yearbook of the Reich Colonial Federation began that year by reviewing the indignities to which German colonists had been subjected, concluding that Germany was now in a position not to ask for the return of its colonies, but simply to take them.