Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death

Dr Goebbels laid down strict rules about when this was permissible:it was to be used only as a defensive tactic, never to fake successes; official organs likenews agencies and radio stations were never to be used to spread lies, and theirsource was to be immediately camouflaged; and Germany’s domestic radio and presschannels must never be burdened with them, they were to be propagated only bytheir overseas broadcasters.24Perhaps his most enduring method was to pick up the enemy’s most lethal propagandaweapon, like a ticking bomb, and fling it back in his face. During the humiliatingBritish retreat to Dunkirk in May 1940, he made devastating use of the British584 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHsoldiers’ ditty about hanging about the washing on the Siegfried Line.25 For a whileMr Churchill’s famous V-for-victory device caused Goebbels headaches: the B.B.C.hammered it out in Morse code as the opening bar of Beethoven’s Fifth symphony,and it appeared overnight as graffiti on walls all over occupied Europe. In July 1941he hit on the solution. ‘I’m taking over that letter V for ourselves,’ he announced inhis diary, delighted at the simplicity of the solution. We’re going to say it stands for aGerman victory. Like a dream!’26 Three years later he would reload that ‘V’ and fireit back at London, this time standing for Vergeltung, revenge.RIBBENTROP still stood in his way. On February 17, 1940 the British violated Norwegianneutrality to board an unarmed homebound German fleet auxiliary, the Altmark.27There were rich propaganda pickings for both sides, but Churchill won the race byfive hours because the foreign ministry in Berlin sat on the dispatches.28 Livid withrage Goebbels ordered his editors to concentrate on the Altmark incident. ‘Eventhose newspapers normally accustomed to sparing the nerves of their readers are touse italic and bold faces,’ he dictated.29The rivalry between the two ministries was an odd situation. Goebbels had a largeforeign section, with which he pursued his own foreign policy; he even had, based inthe Stock Exchange building in Hamburg, his own foreign intelligence agency drawinginformation from its own agents all over neutral and occupied Europe.30Ribbentrop’s foreign ministry had its own sections for press, cultural policies, andpropaganda. Since Hitler had his own press chief, Dietrich, three conflicting ‘official’viewpoints often appeared in the same editorial office.31 Goebbels was unable toprevail upon Hitler to remedy this anomalous position. He had yet to outlive theharm done by the Lida Baarova episode.He often saw Hitler however over lunch. On March 1, 1940 Hitler delivered athree hour monologue to the gauleiters explaining why the weather still precludedany operations in the west. ‘The Führer is a genius,’ concluded Goebbels afterwards.‘He’s going to build the first Germanic people’s empire.’ He went on debating withHitler until one A.M. that night. Back at Schwanenwerder it took him hours to get toGOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 585sleep, what with the vivid plans and day-dreams.32 By a decree later that month hewas confirmed as a permanent member of the Cabinet-like ministerial council forReich defence along with Himmler, Bouhler, Johannes Popitz, and Milch.33 True,they had no idea what Hitler was planning. But Goebbels’ trust in him was complete.‘Big question,’ he wrote on April 2, 1940, referring to Yellow. ‘When does it start?’Like Ribbentrop, Hess, Dietrich, and every other top civilian he was totally in thedark about Hitler’s real next operation, against Scandinavia.34 He continued topolemicize about the western powers’ ‘plans to enlarge the war’ through the firstweek in April, while going about his other humdrum business.35 Addressing editorson the fifth he dropped opaque hints about their plans for the New Europe. ‘Todaywe say Lebensraum and anybody can make of that what he wants.’36 He inspected agreat new German invention, the tape recorder.37 And he laboured at his propagandamills. He had established several ‘black’ transmitters, to carry his subversive messagesdirectly to millions of French and British radio listeners, eroding their confidencein victory and spreading rumour and confusion.38 His French transmitters were codenamedConcordia and Humanité, the latter being a ‘communist’ station run by hisbrilliant broadcasting expert Dr Adolf Raskin.39 His trump card was the Irish broadcasterWilliam Joyce, whose overstated English accent earned him the nicknameLord Haw-Haw. Around the world the mocking, intellectual content of his broadcastsgained him millions of listeners.40At Gutterer’s suggestion Dr Goebbels rocketed over the French lines millions ofpornographic postcards: one, a translucent illustrated postcard entitled Le Tommy, òuest-il resté? (‘Where’s Tommy?’) implied British hanky-panky at the rear while theFrench soldier was valiantly holding the line. The face of the postcard showed trenches,barbed wire, and a bloodstained French soldier; but held up to the light, the hiddenpicture revealed a nude man in bed with a woman, with a picture of her husband inFrench uniform on the wall.41 Other rockets showered the French with familiar glossyblack cartons of cigarette paper that bore however the slogan, ‘Why die for Danzig?’and with each sheet arguing that Britain had lured the French into this war. Hitlerwas dubious, reminding Goebbels that leaflet propaganda had not helped the Nazi586 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHparty into power. But, he conceded, leafleting flights helped to conceal that theLuftwaffe was taking aerial photographs of vital enemy locations.42Despite Hitler’s current refusal to forewarn him of his strategic intentions, Goebbelshad become a personality of world stature. When the American magazine Life invitedhim to contribute four articles he dictated his own terms.43 His propaganda stagedmany coups that spring. In Warsaw the Nazis had captured Polish diplomatic documentswhich with a little creative editing by Goebbels illustrated Roosevelt’s meddlingin pre-war European affairs. A French newspaper published a photograph ofRoosevelt’s emissary Sumner Welles visiting the French prime minister; behind themwas a map of Europe on which the French had divided up Germany, Italy, and Yugoslaviaamong their neighbours. Goebbels reissued the map, with a few deft embellishments,for the foreign press.44 Throughout that otherwise quiet first week of Aprilthe French and British capitals rang with recriminations and denials. But the worldalready had an even more stunning Hitler coup to cope with.NOT until late on April 8, 1940 did Hitler send for Goebbels and inform him, duringa stroll in the Chancellery gardens,