The Goebbels Diaries are a collection of writings by
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
, a leading member of the
National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) and the
Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (; RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany.
The ministry ...
in
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's government from 1933 to 1945. The diaries, which have only recently been published in full in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and are available only in part in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, are a major source for the inner history of the Nazi Party and of its
twelve years
Twelve or 12 may refer to:
* 12 (number)
* December, the twelfth and final month of the year
Years
* 12 BC
* AD 12
* 1912
* 2012
Film
* ''Twelve'' (2010 film), based on the 2002 novel
* ''12'' (2007 film), by Russian director and actor Nikita ...
in power in Germany. The British historian
Ian Kershaw
Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is pa ...
wrote in the preface to his biography of Hitler: "For all the caution which must naturally be attached to Goebbels's regularly reported remarks by Hitler ... the immediacy as well as the frequency of the comments makes them a vitally important source of insight into Hitler's thinking and action."
History
Goebbels began to keep a diary in October 1923, shortly before his 26th birthday, while unemployed and living in his parents' home at
Rheydt
Rheydt () is a borough of the Germany, German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 (due to a split from Mönchengladbach arranged by Joseph Goebbels, who was born there) through ...
in the
Ruhr
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
region. He had been given a diary as a present by Else Janke, a young woman (of part-Jewish background) with whom he had a turbulent but eventually unsuccessful relationship, and most of his early entries were about her. His biographer Toby Thacker writes: "Writing a diary quickly became a kind of therapy for this troubled young man, and several historians have commented on how extraordinarily candid and revealing Goebbels was, particularly in his early years as a diarist." From 1923 onwards he wrote in his diary almost daily.
According to biographer
Peter Longerich
Peter Longerich (born 1955) is a German professor of history and German historian. He is regarded by fellow historians, including Ian Kershaw, Richard Evans, Timothy Snyder, Mark Roseman and Richard Overy, as one of the leading German authoriti ...
, Goebbels' diary entries from late 1923 to early 1924 reflected the writings of a man who was isolated, preoccupied by "religious-philosophical" issues, and lacked a sense of direction. Diary entries of mid-December 1923 forward show Goebbels was moving towards the ''
völkisch'' nationalist movement. Goebbels first took an interest in
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in March 1924. In February 1924, Hitler's trial for treason had begun in the wake of his failed attempt to seize power in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, during 8–9 November 1923 (this failed coup became known as the
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...
). The trial garnered Hitler much press and gave him a platform for propaganda. After Goebbels first met Hitler in July 1925, however, the Nazi leader increasingly became the central figure in the diary. By July 1926 Goebbels was so enraptured by Hitler speaking on "racial issues", that he wrote: "It is impossible to reproduce what
itlersaid. It must be experienced. He is a genius. The natural, creative instrument of a fate determined by God. I am deeply moved.".
Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933 and appointed Goebbels Propaganda Minister. Goebbels then published an edited version of his diaries for the period of Hitler's rise to power in book form, under the title ''Vom Kaiserhof zur Reichskanzlei: Eine historische Darstellung in Tagebuchblättern'' (''From the Kaiserhof to the Reich Chancellery: a Historical Diary''). The
Kaiserhof was a Berlin hotel where Hitler stayed before he came to power. Goebbels's book was later published in English as ''My Part in Germany's Fight''. Although this book was propagandist in intent, it provides insight into the mentality of the Nazi leadership at the time of their accession to power.
By July 1941 the diaries had grown to fill twenty thick volumes, and Goebbels realised that they were too valuable a resource to risk their destruction in an air raid. He therefore moved them from his study in his Berlin home to the underground vaults of the
Reichsbank
The ''Reichsbank'' (; 'Bank of the Reich, Bank of the Realm') was the central bank of the German Reich from 1876 until 1945.
History until 1933
The Reichsbank was founded on 1 January 1876, shortly after the establishment of the German Empi ...
in central Berlin. From this time onwards, he no longer wrote the diaries by hand. Instead he dictated them to a
stenographer, who later typed up corrected versions. He began each day's entry with a resume of the day's military and political news. Thacker notes: "Goebbels was already aware that his diary constituted a remarkable historical document, and entertained fond hopes of reworking it at some future stage for further publication, devoting hours to each day's entry." The involvement of a stenographer, however, meant that the diaries were no longer entirely secret, and they became less frank about personal matters.
By November 1944 it was evident to Goebbels that Germany was going to lose the war. He wrote in his diary: "How distant and alien indeed this beautiful world appears. Inwardly I have already taken leave of it." Realising that he was unlikely to survive the fall of the Third Reich, he gave orders that his diaries were to be copied for safekeeping, using the new technique of
microfilm
Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either photographic film, films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the origin ...
. A special darkroom was created in Goebbels's apartment in central Berlin, and Goebbels's stenographer, Richard Otte, supervised the work.
Goebbels made the last entry in his diary on the afternoon of 1 May 1945, hours before his death, but it was not preserved. The last preserved entry dates to 9 April 1945. The boxes of glass plates containing the microfilmed diaries were sent in April 1945 to
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
just west of Berlin, where they were buried. The original handwritten and typed diaries were packed and stored in the
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...
. Some of these survived, and formed the basis for the publication of sections of the diaries (mainly from the war years) after the war. The boxes of glass plates at Potsdam were discovered by the Soviets and shipped to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, where they sat unopened until they were discovered by the German historian Elke Fröhlich in 1992. Only then did the publication of the full diaries become possible.
Publications
In German
A 29-volume edition, spanning the years 1923–1945, was edited by Elke Fröhlich and others. It is said to be 98% complete. Publication began in 1993, with the last volume appearing in 2008. ''Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels'' was published on behalf of the
Institut für Zeitgeschichte The Institute of Contemporary History (''Institut für Zeitgeschichte'') in Munich was conceived in 1947 under the name ''Deutsches Institut für Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Zeit'' ("German Institute of the History of the National Sociali ...
and with the support of the National Archives Service of Russia by
K. G. Saur Verlag
K. G. Saur Verlag is a German publisher that specializes in reference information for libraries. The publishing house, founded by Karl Saur, is owned by Walter de Gruyter and is based in Munich.
In 1987, K. G. Saur was acquired by Reed Interna ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. Full information follows:
*''Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels, Teil I Aufzeichnungen 1923–1941''
he Diaries of Joseph Goebbels, Part I: Notations, 1923–1941()
*''Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels, Teil II Diktate 1941–1945''
he Diaries of Joseph Goebbels, Part II: Dictations, 1941–1945 ():
*''Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels, Teil III Register 1923–1945''
he Diaries of Joseph Goebbels, Part III: Register, 1923–1945
* Astrid M. Eckert, Stefan Martens, "Glasplatten im märkischen Sand: Ein Beitrag zur Überlieferungsgeschichte der Tageseinträge und Diktate von Joseph Goebbels," ''Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte'' 52 (2004): 479–526.
* Angela Hermann, ''"In 2 Tagen wurde Geschichte gemacht". Über den Charakter und Erkenntniswert der Goebbels-Tagebücher''
In Two Days, History Was Made": About the Character and Scientific Value of the Goebbels Diary Published in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
in 2008 ().
* Angela Hermann, ''Der Weg in den Krieg 1938/39. Quellenkritische Studien zu den Tagebüchern von Joseph Goebbels''. München 2011 ().
In English translation
*''The Goebbels Diaries, 1939–1941'', edited and translated by
Fred Taylor. First published in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
by
Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...
in 1982 (). The first American edition was published by
Putnam in 1983 (). This translation of a previously unpublished part of Goebbel's diaries was the subject of controversy.
*''The Goebbels Diaries, 1942–1943'' was translated, edited, and introduced by
Louis P. Lochner. First published by
Doubleday in 1948. It was reprinted by
Greenwood Press
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
in 1970 ()
*''Final Entries 1945: The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels'' was edited, introduced, and annotated by
Hugh Trevor-Roper
Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford.
Trevor-Roper was a polemicist and essayist on a range of ...
. First published by
Putnam in 1978 (). An annotated edition was published by
Pen and Sword
Pen and Sword Books, also stylised as Pen & Sword, is a British publisher which specialises in printing and distributing books in both hardback and softback on military history, militaria and other niche subjects; factual non-fiction, primarily ...
in 2008 ().
David Irving Controversy
In 1992, historian and Holocaust denier
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include ''The Destruction of Dresden'' (19 ...
was tipped off that in May, 1945, Soviet soldiers had found 200 partially burned volumes and carted away copies of the diaries on glass microfiche where they were stored under lock and key at the Central State Archives in Moscow. Because the new archival material showed passages in Goebbel's handwriting that had only previously appeared in print, it was possible to authenticate previous editions. The Sunday Times of London paid Irving $125,000 to authenticate and translate the newly-discovered material. This created a minor scandal with protests outside Irving's London home. Irving's archival research became the basis for his work, "Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich" which was contracted by St. Martin's Press to be published in 1996. Due to political pressure, St. Martin's broke the contract - an action that was criticized by public intellectual
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...
.
Ironically, Irving's research into Goebbel's diaries provided some of the best evidence for the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. The diaries reveal Goebbels was copied on the
Wannsee Conference protocol, a January 1942 conference of Nazi leaders held to decide the
final solution
The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
. Holocaust deniers claim the protocol is a fabrication. The diary entry of March 27 1942 states, ''“Beginning with Lublin,” he states, “the Jews are now being deported eastward from the General Government
ccupied Poland The procedure is pretty barbaric and one that beggars description, and there’s not much left of the Jews. Broadly speaking one can probably say that 60 percent of them will have to be liquidated, while only 40 percent can be put to work.'' The Moscow plate is identical to that held by the Hoover Institution, meaning there is no way the text could have been faked.
References
Sources
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* {{cite book , last = Thacker , first = Toby , title = Joseph Goebbels: Life and Death , year = 2010 , orig-year = 2009 , publisher = Palgrave Macmillan , location = New York , isbn = 978-0-230-27866-0
Diaries
Nazi propaganda
Political autobiographies
Doubleday (publisher) books
Joseph Goebbels