26, 28, 1944.32 JG, air war notice No.151, Jul 14, 1944 (NA film T84, roll 322, 1419f).33 Oven, ‘Jul 1, 1944,’ 377.34 As JG himself noted, diary, Jul 8, 1944.35 Hanke married Freda Baroness von Fircks (formerly married to von Johnston), daughterof a landowner, on Nov 25, 1944 (Dr Bernhard Kortüm to Milch, Mar 6, 1950, in Milchpapers; and author’s interview with the late Freda Rössler.36 Ebermayer & Meissner, Revue, No.20, May 17, an No.26, Jun 21, 1952.37 JG’s speech, ‘Das Vaterland ist in Gefahr,’ in VB,Ê Jul 8, NYT, Jul 9, 1944.38 JG, ‘Der Krieg in der Sackgasse,’ Das Reichˆ, Jul 9, 1944.39 W J Donovan to FDR, Jul 15, 1944 (FDR Libr., PSF box 168).40 Ditto, Jul 12 (Ibid.); cf. Oven, Jul 4, 1944,’ 378, and JG diary, Jul 23, 1944.41 Ibid., Jul 11; Oven, 390ff.—Speer suggested the committee might comprise Himmler,Lammers, Keitel, Sauckel, JG and himnself, but not Bormann. On Jul 6–8 Speer had drawnHitler’s attention to the under-utilized manpower still latent in the domestic economy andthe armed forces. Speer’s notes, Jul 10, 1944.—See too JG’s correspondence with Unruh atthis time (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.50.01, vol.862).42 Oven, ‘Jun 23,’ 368.—In NYT on Jul 16, 1944, George Axelsson mocked that thecurrent rumour of a twelve-ton rocket ‘smacks of Jules Verne.’43 Oven, ‘Jul 11, 1944,’ 390.44 Diary, Jul 11; Speer had received a letter from his chief economist Kehrl, dated Jul 10,1944, drawing attention to under-utilized manpower in the cities. Cf. Peter Longerich,‘Joseph Goebbels und der totale Krieg,’ VfZ, 1987, 289ff.838 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH45 Speer to Hitler, Jul 12; Speer chronicle, Jul 1944.46 Diary, Jul 15, 1944.47 Schmundt suggested Manstein as Zeitzler’s successor.—Dr Weber confirmed in an interviewwith the author that he had signed a sick-note for Zeitzler to cover his ‘retreat’.48 JG to Hitler, Jul 18, 1944 (BA file NL.118/107); Longerich, writing in 1987, is incorrectin calling this ‘an unknown memorandum.’ Oven’s ‘diaries,’ published in Buenos Aires,1950, vol.ii, 89, refer to it, and I used the actual text in Hitler’s War (New York & London,1977), based on the French version on NA film T84, roll 272.49 They were certainly not filmed: The Nazi microfiche camera-operator assigned a serialnumber to each glass fiche (plate), and wrote this number also on the top left corner of thefirst diary page filmed on that plate. For example page 55 of the entry for Sep 10, 1943 is thefirst page filmed on fiche 118 of 1943, and the page is endorsed 118 and mikrokopiert as well(NA film T84, roll 265).—In box No.72 of the Moscow collection (‘Fond 1477’) are twentycomplete fiches, serial numbers 121–127 and 129–140, covering the period from June toJul 18 and Jul 23–24 (fiche 128 is for Jul 15). Jul 25–31, 1944 is covered on the fiches 141–144 in box No.73.50 At 4:55 P.M. on Jul 19; see W J Donovan to FDR, Jul 22, 1944 (FDR Libr., PSF box168).51 The page for Jul 20, 1944 is also missing from the Milch diary.52 He confirmed this to Luftwaffe General Barsewisch, whose MS is in the Irving collection(IfZ).—Guderian confirmed to Milch (diary, Oct 28, 1945) that he had known of thebomb plot as early as Jul 18, 1944 (author’s film, DJ-59).GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 839
Goebbels54: ValkyrieTHE day started routinely. The Goebbels ministry once again lectured outpoststhat the word propaganda was not to be used synonymously with ‘lies, dupingthe public, hypocrisy, and rabble-rousing.’1 At nine A.M. the court martial of ColonelMartin, Goebbels’ liaison officer to the Wehrmacht, began; Goebbels’ enemies, whowere legion, had rigged the bench to ensure that his man got a stiff sentence.2 AfterGoebbels presided over his regular eleven o’clock conference Speer came over toshow to the Cabinet ministers assembled in the theatre of the propaganda ministrysome graphs demonstrating how arms output was increasing.3 Goebbels rounded offwith a few well-chosen words and took Speer and Funk back to No.20 Hermann-Göring Strasse for a chat.4At one o’clock the intercom buzzed. ‘Herr Minister is wanted by the Führer’sHQ—Lorenz is on the line.’ Heinz Lorenz was Dietrich’s deputy at the Wolf’s Lair.He said: ‘Herr Minister, there has been an attempt on the life of the Führer. He hasordered an immediate announcement broadcast that he is alive and well.’ (The radionews was Goebbels’ exclusive domain.) Lorenz dictated the proposed text down theline.5 Goebbels had a direct phone link to the HQ via the Winterfeld-Strasse telephoneexchange. Not many people were aware of that—least of all, apparently,those who had just tried to kill Hitler.6Although Lorenz shortly phoned again to stress the urgency, Goebbels seemed notto grasp that point at all. He chose caution. A plot against their Führer? ‘You’ve got tosoften such a psychological shock,’ he explained, and detailed Hans Fritzsche to draft840 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHa well-modulated commentary to that end.7 Troubled by a recurring ear-ache, heturned to other business;8 he dispatched a telegram of condolences to Leni Riefenstahlon the death of her father, then withdrew, evidently for his regular nap.9Nothing is known about his actions for several hours. It is true that soon after theassassin’s bomb exploded at Hitler’s feet at 12:45 P.M. he had ordered all regulartelephone links cut while Himmler and Göring were called in.10 Goebbels had hisown secret line; yet he appears to have done nothing more about the news until fiveP.M. Did he perhaps speculate on Hitler being dead?11 Was he waiting to see whichway the cat jumped?BY mid-afternoon suspicion at the Wolf’s Lair had narrowed to Colonel Claus CountSchenk von Stauffenberg, Fromm’s one-eyed chief of staff: he had slipped out ofHitler’s conference and flown pell-mell back to Berlin. Upon arrival there he assuredFromm, General Olbricht, and their fellow plotters that he had seen Hitlerdead. The plotters’ signals began to go out at four o’clock, putting the army’s operationValkyrie, which Goebbels had already encountered after that air raid eight monthsbefore, into effect. The scenario was that recalcitrant Nazis had bumped off theirbeloved Führer, necessitating martial law. The city commandant General Paul vonHase ordered Remer’s guards battalion to cordon off the government district, andhe detailed
