Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death

us any more,’ commented Goebbels. When Hitler said much thesame to France’s ambassador, the latter replied stiffly that ‘on his word as an officer’France would be obliged to fight.Undeterred, at 3:02 P.M. Hitler issued the secret executive order for ‘White’, theattack on Poland at dawn. Japan’s ambassador briefly saw him after that—a frostymeeting under the circumstances.THE Japanese ambassador was followed by the Italian, Bernardo Attolico. Embarrassed,he conveyed to Hitler the shocking news that Italy, his new ally, would notjoin in this war.‘There you have it,’ commented Goebbels acidly. ‘As I always feared and probablyknew too ever since Venice. Italy wants out.’It was a hideous new situation: Hitler had to cancel all his orders for ‘White’.Goebbels rushed out a ‘supplemental’ directive to his editors revoking the middaydirective. The new instructions called for ‘press discipline’ and ‘caution’—editorswere to hold back their stories on the Poles’ military actions and terrorism.59 Aphotographer snapped Hitler and Bormann with Otto Dietrich and Dr Goebbels, allin plain clothes; the propaganda minister was looking at his feet, baffled.60 ‘The Führer,’recorded Goebbels, ‘is brooding and thinking things over. It’s a hard blow for him.But he’ll find a way out, even from this devilish situation. He’s always found onebefore and he’ll do so this time too.’ As grim-faced generals dashed this way and that,Goebbels hurried back to his ministry to throw his whole machinery into reverse aswell. It took him until midnight; Magda, ashen-faced with worry, came to be withhim. Everything depended on maintaining the pressure, he decided: on keeping astiff upper lip.554 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHSo he wrote afterwards, recording this eventful day.61 And that was the directive heissued at next morning’s press conference. It adumbrated for the first time ‘preventive’German operations, but forbade speculation on dates and deadlines; there mustbe no talk of ‘one minute to twelve’, or ‘an attack is expected hourly.’ The tamenewshounds there thus led briefly back to their kennels.62Not surprisingly the Wehrmacht was in a foul mood—they had been all set toattack. Gauleiter Forster phoned from Danzig, depressed by this unexpected turn ofevents. Dino Alfieri phoned Goebbels from Rome, asking it if was true that Hitlerwas to broadcast; Goebbels called the rumour a foreign fabrication.63He too was in two minds—Britain had now signed her pact with Poland, encouragedevidently by Italy’s defection. When the French and British ambassadors bothasked to see Hitler, Goebbels clutched at straws—‘Perhaps we’ll manage to extricateourselves from the current sticky situation,’ he wrote. ‘We’ve got to be verycunning now.’The introduction of food rationing confronted him with serious propaganda problemsarose. He harangued Herbert Backe, Darré’s Staatssekretär, in the middle ofthat night about the minute fruit and tea rations allowed for, then gave vent to hisfeelings about the secretiveness of the foreign ministry. The whole world knew, hegrumbled, that the British and French amnbassadors had been to see Hitler, butGermany’s own radio said nothing—which forced German listeners willy-nilly intothe arms of the B.B.C.64 After that he sat up until three A.M. reading further worryingreports on public morale.65The embassy wiretap reports which he read the next day, Sunday August 27, gavecause for cautious optimism; but not the one-page digest on morale that Guttererhad compiled for Hitler from their propaganda agencies throughout the Reich. Inshort, the whole population was against war. The document, typed out in half-inchcharacters on the special typewriter used for the short-sighted Führer, was dynamite.Goebbels, aware of his own precarious position, had no desire to hand it overhimself. He took Gutterer along with him to Hitler’s lunch table wearing his blackS.S. Brigadeführer’s uniform. Hitler read the document, purpled with rage, and tookGOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 555Gutterer through into the winter-garden. But Himmler, joining them there, soberlybacked the propaganda official: his own Gestapo morale reports painted just thesame picture. Both men had reports of anti-war demonstrations in Vienna. Goebbelssaid nothing.66Later that day Hitler reviewed the whole situation with him. ‘It is very grave,’recorded Goebbels, adding the familiar nostrum: ‘But the Führer will pull us through.On Poland, our minimum demand is Danzig and a corridor across their corridor.Maximum—that’s a matter of record. The Führer can’t abandon our minimum demand.And he’ll get his way. It’s become a matter of honour. Nobody can say whatwill transpire. The Führer is glad we don’t have a monarchy any more. The Italybusiness has been declared top state secret. Death penalty for treason.’Hitler spoke to all the Reichstag deputies at five P.M. in the ambassadors’ suite ofthe Chancellery. He appealed for courage, and was rewarded with an ovation. Hetold them that Danzig and the Corridor were his minimum demands. If war came, hewould be in the front line. ‘As long as I live,’ he said dramatically, ‘there is to be notalk of capitulation.’ He justified his controversial deal with Stalin as being a pactwith the devil to drive out Beelzebub.67FOR the next five days Dr Goebbels held the editors like acrobats frozen in mid-leap:in suspended animation until Hitler gave the order for White to proceed. It was noteasy. Germany must not lose the initiative. He released to the front pages a welter ofstories about visits of ambassadors and exchanges of letters. The wiretaps meanwhileshowed a further deterioriation in the situation.68The press conference on August 28 was long and difficult. Goebbels still forbadenewspapers to play up ‘Polish terrorism’. Birger Dahlerus, Göring’s secret emissary,had brought word from London that the British might swallow Hitler’s minimumdemands but they would insist on a guarantee of Poland’s frontiers. They could adjournthe issue of colonies until later. A long peace with Britain would follow, whichmight set Germany at loggerheads with Italy: ‘But Rome left us the lurch,’ reflected556 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHGoebbels. ‘And Moscow would also have to guarantee Poland’s frontiers’—whichStalin would never do.Tipped off by Rome, London must surely know of Hitler’s present predicament.Chamberlain believed he could let Germany stew in her own juice. (‘Italy is standingwell back,’ Goebbels wrote contemptuously. ‘Her diplomats promise to fight with usto the last drop of ink.’69)Consumed by these anxieties, Goebbels had long worried talks with press chiefOtto Dietrich—he too saw the gravity