Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death

At the 31st session of Göring’s Defence Council on Oct 14, 1938, two pages weredevoted the de-Jewing (Entjudung) of the economy (NA film T77, roll 131, 3295ff.)13 Unpubl. diary, Oct 12, 1938: ‘It proceeds according to plan.’14 Ibid., Oct 13, 15 (Prague was now cracking down on emigrés, Jews and communists, ‘anation is beginning to awake’) and 16, 1938.15 The Star, London, Oct 28, 1938: ‘Nazis swoop on Polish Jews.’ For existing literature,written before JG’s diaries became available, see Helmut Heiber, ‘Der Fall Grünspan,’ in VfZ,1957, 154-172; Hermann Graml, Der 9.November 1938 (Bonn, 1958).16 The Polish Jew Herschel Feibel Grynszpan (Grünspan) had run away from home inGermany in 1936 and drifted around Paris until Feb 1938 when his passport expired and theFrench ordered him out; he stayed on, lived underground. His parents were among the15,000 Polish Jews hounded out of Germany in Oct 1938.— See F J Kaul, Der Fall desHerschell Grynszpan (East Berlin, 1965), which exploits the ZStA Potsdam files.17 Unpubl. diary, Nov 7 (Moscow archives, photocopies only, JG papers).— OnFürstenberg, see VB, Nov 7.—And yet only on Oct 27, 1938 JG had noted: ‘I have Schäffer[Willi Schaeffers] warned by Hanke. He’s making political jokes again in the Comedians’Cabaret.’18 VB, Nov 8, 1938: ‘Jewish raid on German embassy in Paris.’19 JG directive cited in Günther Gillessen, ‘Reichskristallnacht,’ anniversary supplementto FAZ, Nov 5, 1988.20 Commenting on this entry, author Ingrid Weckert points out to me that the first news ofoutrages in Hesse arrived during the dinner on November 9, while the first synagogues wereburned later that night. However the word with which JG prefaced most entries, gestern(yesterday), is missing. This suggests to me that JG in fact wrote it up on the tenth, withminor resulting anachronisms.21 Unpubl. diary, Nov 9, 1938. I am grateful to Ingrid Weckert for her input on problemsin its transcription.22 It is thus unlikely that Hitler learned of the trouble brewing only after 7 P.M. at theevening’s reception, with a messenger whispering it into his ear and him passing it on toJG—the version favoured by Professor Hermann Graml, Reichskristallnacht. Antisemitismusund Judenverfolgung im Dritten Reich (Munich, 1988), 17ff., and adopted by Reuth, 395.23 Statement by former SA Gruppenführer Max Jüttner (IfZ, ZS.243).24 Unpubl. diary, Nov 10, 1938.25 The Reichspropagandaämter. The source of this is a 1950 MS by Gauleiter Albert Hoffmann(BA file Kl.Erw.954/II).GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 50526 According to Brandenburg’s gauleiter Emil Stürtz, speaking to his subordinate Kreisleiterand Gauamtsleiter afterwards. Kehrl, 141f.27 Testimony of Friedrich Eberstein, IMT, vol.xx, 320.28 Jordan to Weckert, quoted by her to the author, May 26, 1978; Jordan, 181.29 Heinrich Heim statement, Oct 1, 1952 (IfZ: ZS.243).30 British Consulate in Munich to embassy in Berlin, Nov 11, 1938 (PRO file FO.371/21637).31 The witness was SA Gruppenführer Max Jüttner (IfZ: ZS.243). In his unpubl. diaryLutze enters merely: ‘On the night of Nov 9–10, 1938 reprisals for the murder of v.Rath inParis. Jews’ shops are shut down.’32 Interrogation of Hederich, Nuremberg, Apr 16, 1947 (NA film M.1019, roll 25). LudwigSchneider of the Party’s Supreme Court (OPG) confirmed this to him.33 Carl Röver (Bremen), Jakob Sprenger (Frankfurt), Karl Kaufmann (Hamburg), and(surprisingly) Julius Streicher (Nuremberg), refused to have anything to do with it. SeeMoritz/Noam, 145, and Graml, 33.—Streicher claims to have had a blazing row with hispolice chief SA Gruppenführer von Obernitz and dissociated himself from the destructionof Nuremberg’s synagogue. (Witness-application for Fritz Herrwarth, Streicher defence,Jan 24, 1946: NA, OMGUS files, box 117).34 According to testimony by Eugen Maier, one of Otto Dietrich’s staff, on Dec 10, 1947,he subsequently learned that this Aktion had been ‘initiated and launched’ on this occasion byJG and Wagner. (StA Nuremberg, G15). JG’s diary appears to clear Wagner.—See too thetestimony of Dietrich’s aide Heinz Lorenz, Dec 1947 (NA film M.1019, roll 43).35 US First Army interrogation of SA Sturmführer Hans Stech, Apr 18–19, 1945 (NA fileRG.407, entry 427, box 1945R).36 British Consulate report.37 Report of Party Court to Göring, Feb 13, 1939 (ND: 3063–PS).38 Report by SA Gruppe Nordmark, Kiel, on the Aktion of Nov 9/10, 1938 (BDC, file240/I). Kiel learned only that ‘an unidentified official from the NSDAP headquarters(Reichsleitung)’ had uttered these orders at a Munich meeting.—At 11:55 P.M. the GestapoHQ in Berlin also issued an ‘igniting’ signal (ND: 374–PS), as did Eberstein at 2:10 A.M. tohis police commanders at Nuremberg, Augsburg, etc. (BDC file 240/1 and ND: 374–PS)39 Ingrid Weckert.40 First report by Heydrich to Göring (ND: 3058–PS; USA–508).41 I.e., to destroy the biggest synagogue, at No.79 Fasanen Strasse. Leopold Gutterer,telephoned with the news, saved the life of the caretaker who had been dragged out of hishome and beaten. Memoirs, 80f (Lower Saxony state archives, Wolfenbüttel.) — Nine ofBerlin’s remaining twelve synagogues were destroyed that night. H G Sellenthin, Geschichteder Juden in Berlin und des Gabäudes Fasanenstraße 79/80 (Berlin, 1959)42 Unpubl. diary, Nov 10, 1938.43 3052–PS; Karl Wolff is evidently wrong (statement in IfZ file ZS.317) in placing Himmlerin Hitler’s apartment at this time.44 Author’s interview of Col. Nicolaus von Below, May 18, 1968.45 Testimony of Wilhelm Brückner (IfZ, Irving collection).506 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH46 Schaub’s unpubl. memoirs, in the author’s collection (IfZ: ED.100/202); this of coursecontrasts starkly with JG’s version of Schaub’s activities.47 Hederich, loc.cit. He was head of JG’s Abteilung Schrifttum (literature department).48 Fritz Wiedemann, handwritten MS, Feb 1939 (Libr. of Congress, Wiedemann papers,box 604).49 ND:3063–PS; repeated as circular 174, BDC file 240/I. At 3:45 A.M. the Berlin GestapoHQ reversed its previous order (Groscurth papers).50 JG to Hitler, Jul 18, 1944 (BA file N.118/107).51 Joachim von Ribbentrop, Zwischen London und Moskau (Leoni, 1953)52 Unpubl. diary, Nov 10, 1938.53 The recordings are in the Frankfurt radio archives (Ingrid Weckert); see the summary inPRO file FO.371/21637. The VB, Nov 11, 1938 also published the local gau’s proclamationof twenty mass meetings in Munich that night to demonstrate against the Jews, to be addressedby Adolf Wagner and twenty others. The British consul reported, ‘I hear that there isstrong opposition to tonight’s meetings from the Gestapo.’ (Ibid.)54 Gillessen.55 Unpubl. diary, Nov 11, 1938.56 JG, Schnellbrief, quoted in order of