Paul Joseph Goebbels (29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was the Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany from 13 March 1933 to 30 April 1945, preceding Werner Naumann; he briefly served as Chancellor of Germany from 30 April to 1 May 1945, succeeding Adolf Hitler and preceding Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk. Goebbels was known for being a fierce supporter of the party and Hitler, remaining staunchly loyal to Hitler until the end. Goebbels, his wife Magda Goebbels, and their children ended their lives rather than outlive Nazism.
Biography[]
Goebbels in 1945
Paul Joseph Goebbels was born on 29 October 1897 in Rheydt, Prussia, German Empire to a Catholic German father and a Protestant Dutch mother. He had a deformed right foot which prevented him from serving in the Imperial German Army during World War I, and he graduated from the University of Heidelberg in 1921 with the goal of becoming an author. In 1924, he joined the Nazi Party's northern branch under Gregor Strasser, and he became the Gauleiter of Berlin in 1926. Goebbels began to take an interest in using propaganda to promote fascism in Germany, and Adolf Hitler had him appointed Propaganda Minister of Nazi Germany in 1933 on his rise to power. His ministry attacked the Christian churches, promoted anti-Semitism and anti-communism, and boosted the morale of the Wehrmacht forces during World War II, and he was one of the most important leaders of the German Reich.
Downfall[]
German troops disposing of the Goebbels' bodies
On 23 July 1944, Goebbels was given command of the new "total war" effort, which would see nonessential businesses closed, women being drafted into the workforce, and enlisting available men into the Wehrmacht. On 22 April 1945, Joseph, his wife Magda Goebbels, and their children moved into Berlin as the Red Army advanced into Germany, and they took shelter in the Fuhrerbunker with Hitler and other senior Nazi officials. On 30 April 1945, Goebbels became Chancellor of Germany after Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun killed themselves, but Goebbels and his family also decided on suicide. Goebbels and his wife had their children knocked out with morphine before administering cyanide to them, and Goebbels shot his wife outside the bunker before turning the gun on himself.
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