1940 (IfZ, Irving collection).58 See e.g. Halder’s diary Jul 2, 3, and comments under interrogation; Major Hasso vonEtzdorf, diary, Jul 10, 1940; Bernd von Lossberg, private letter of Sep 7, 1956 (Irving collection);Jodl’s speech to the gauleiters on Nov 7, 1943 (ND: 172–L).59 For JG’s preparations for the homecoming and speech see ZStA Potsdam, Rep.50.01,RMVP, vol.7.60 British analysis of German propaganda output, Jul 1–16, 1940 (PRO file FO.898/30).61 Diary, Jul 5, 1940.62 Ibid., Jul 6, 1940.63 RMVP programme for the Führer’s return from the battlefield in BA file NS.10/26.64 Diary, Jul 7, 1940.65 Darré diary, Jul 8, 1940 (BA, Darré papers, vol.65a).66 Diary, Jul 9; Bormann diary, Jul 8, 1940.67 G Sander, ‘Unbekanntes über Goebbels’ Rolle im Krieg’, Unser Land Illustrierte, a wellinformedsupplement to Deutsche Bauernzeitung (Cologne-Deutz) Oct 16, 1949 (IfZ archives);Semler diary, ‘Jul 24, 1941.’68 Diary, Mar 6, Jun 7, Dec 6, 1940; Hans Dieter Müller (ed.), Facsimile Querschnitt durchDas Reich (Munich, 1964), and ‘Das Reich. Porträt einer Wochenzeitung,’ in Der Spiegel, Aug19, 1964, 32ff.GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 60569 See e.g. the remarks by a captured bomber navigator on Feb 18, 1941: ‘The bestmagazine is Das Reich. It costs thirty pfennigs. It’s got all sorts of interesting things aboutpolitics, economics, art and the armed forces.’ CSDIC(UK) report SRA.1360 in PRO fileWO.208/4123.70 Diary, Feb 26, 1941.71 Conversation between Lieutenant-General Lindner, air raid protection section, Reichair ministry, and Lieutenant-General Veith, Military Governor of Brunswick, Apr 29, 1945.CSDIC(UK) report SRGG.1149 (PRO file WO.208/4169).72 Diary, Jul 19, 1940; some were unimpressed. Milch wrote in his diary, ‘6 P.M. entry ofa Berlin division before Fromm, Goebbels. Awful.’ (Author’s film DI-59).73 MinConf., Jul 19, 1940.74 Ibid., Feb 8, 1940.75 Diary, Jul 23, 1940.76 Ibid., May 3, 1940.77 Canaris memo, Sep 12 (IWM file AL.1933); RSHA department heads conferences Sep1939 (NA film T175/239); Heydrich memo of May 1941 (VfZ, 1963, 197ff); David Irving,Hitler’s War (London, 1991), 222ff.78 Diary, Jan 16, 1940.79 The journalist was Wladyslaw Studnicki. Diary, Feb 9, 13, 21, 23, Jul 26, 1940.80 His informant was Gauleiter Arthur Greiser. Diary, Mar 13, 1940.81 Diary, Mar 14, 1940.82 Ibid., May 1, 1940; Jan 31, 1941. Bouhler, as chief of the Führer’s private chancellery,had found himself in charge of the infamous ‘T4-Aktion.’83 Ibid., May 9, 1940; on Jul 4, 1940, Hans Frank, governor-general of Poland, reportedto JG . ‘Jewish Problem almost beyond solution,’ he noted. Ibid., Jul 5, 1940.84 Ibid., Jun 6; MinConf., Jul 19, 1940.85 MinConf., Jul 19; and see diary, Jul 23, 1940. Jewish population statistics were chronicallyvague. In Sep 1940 Hinkel would report that there were still 71,800 Jews in Berlin; theplan was to expel 60,000 in the first four weeks after the war, and the rest four weeks later.86 Diary, Jul 26; he had seen Hitler on his return from Bayreuth at midday on Jul 24,1940.87 Ibid., Jul 20; for Hitler’s speech see Verhandlungen des Reichstags, vol.460, 65ff.88 MinConf., Jul 19, 1940.89 Diary, Jul 22, 1940.90 MinConf., Jul 20, 1940; Boelcke, 421.91 Delmer, Die Deutschen und ich, 420ff; JG diary, Apr 3, 1941.92 Diary, Jul 21, 1940.93 MinConf., Jul 22, 1940.94 Diary, Jul 23–24, 1940.95 Ibid., Jul 24, 1940.96 Ibid., Jul 25, 1940.97 MinConf., Jul 24, 1940.98 Diary, Jul 26, 1940: ‘The Führer’s still pondering on it.’606 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH
Goebbels39: Breaking EvenTHE short campaigning weeks of the English summer flitted past unused. Hitler allowed Reichsmarschall Göring’s two thousand bombers to tackle onlyBritain’s war industries, shipping, and ports. Dr Goebbels hungered for the day whenthey would be unleashed on London.Britain’s intransigence dominated his diaries. ‘Feelers from here to Britain withoutresult,’ he recorded on the first day of August 1940. ‘Via Spain as well. London islooking for a catastrophe.’1He began his own war in the air. There was no limit to his evil inspiration. Hismischief-making black transmitters went into stage two of their campaign, advisingBritish listeners on how to defend themselves against Nazi poison-gas attacks, andhow to make Molotov cocktails (a few days later the same transmitters warned thatsome designs had been found spontaneously igniting).2 Listeners were lectured onhow to detect the ‘Fifth columnists’ in Britain .3 The transmitters ‘denied’ rumoursthat a hundred thousand British army uniforms had fallen into Nazi hands at Dunkirk,then spread word that thousands of agents wearing these uniforms had alreadybeen parachuted into Britain.4 Then they began broadcasting strings of meaninglessciphers to these non-existent Fifth Columnists.5 Studying photographs in British societymagazines Goebbels devised a particularly cruel scheme to alienate the workingclass: his transmitters announced that Churchill was provided funds for twentythousand working-class children to be evacuated to Canada like the privileged chil-GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 607dren of the rich and influential; families were to take their children to a meetingplace in the centre of London, on the basis of first-come, first-saved. ‘There’s goingto be some pushing and shoving there,’ cackled the minister heartlessly.6 His ‘English’transmitters also ordered all gas masks to be handed in for special filters to beinstalled.7 They followed with educational broadcasts for those English listeners whohad not yet witnessed German air force Schrecklichkeit at first hand.8In the air war however the British were now taking the initiative, although Göring’sbomber bases were much closer to London than the British were to Berlin. Churchillsent his squadrons to Hamburg and announced it had been ‘pulverised’.9 The Americanpress seized upon that word. Goebbels flew two planeloads of neutral journaliststo the port to see for themselves that it was undamaged.10Goebbels began to feel ill. He felt overworked and under-nourished, his nerveswere frayed, his eyes swam from scanning the incoming dispatches for any signs thatBritain was collapsing.11 The doctors diagnosed a nervous complaint resulting fromoverwork and vitamin deficiency.12 The Gestapo reported gloomily that the Germanpublic was keyed up, waiting for Göring’s Grand Slam, but that many people secretlyfeared they were in for a second winter at war.13Hitler returned to Berlin on Aug 4. He explained to Goebbels that he was about tolaunch sudden and unheralded mass air raids on Britain and ordered the propagandabarrage to be intensified. Goebbels postponed a trip he had been planning to
