Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death

chew and he met obstructionism all the way. Ludicrously,Rosenberg still refused to disband his ministry for occupied eastern territories.53 The Nazi upper echelons were interested only in their own well-being. OnJanuary 26 Goebbels drew Hitler’s attention to the corruption and blackmarketeeringGOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 879in Denmark—General von Hanneken had shipped ham, lard, and furniture to Paris,then used the truck to pick up wines and spirits for his own use (instead of urgentlyneeded spare parts); Hanneken’s motor launch had consumed a thousand litres ofgasoline during July 1944—a month in painful memory.54 On March 20 Goebbelspointed out to Hitler that the airforce which had had 172 active generals in 1941 stillhad 327 despite its reduction in size.55 His campaign against Göring continued unabated,and unavailing, almost to the end.WHEN he had returned to Berlin from Hitler’s HQ on January 5 the first completeprint of the epic movie ‘Kolberg’ had just arrived from Ufa’s colour laboratories.Goebbels viewed it privately that evening. Its gigantic battle scenes and the heroicperformances by its stars were among the finest ever filmed by the German movieindustry. The public premieres were held on January 30 at the Tauentzien Palacetheatre and at Ufa’s movie theatre on Alexander Platz, directly after the broadcast ofwhat was to prove Hitler’s last speech (it lasted only sixteen minutes). The moviewas a stunning success, particularly at the ‘Alex’—there were fifteen curtain callsfor the stars.56 It was also shown that day to the troops holding out in Hitler’s Atlanticfortress La Rochelle, where a fighter plane had delivered it only hours before. ‘Thefilm is so well suited to our times,’ wrote one of Hitler’s personal staff, ‘that onewould almost ascribe clairvoyant powers to those whose brainchild it is—it wasbegun as far back as 1942.’57 Goebbels had the film flown into the fortresses of Breslauand Danzig, and as more copies became available they were sent to embattled UpperSilesia and the bridgeheads of Frankfurt-on-Oder, Neisse, and Königsberg. Copieswere also provided for the personal use of Göring, Himmler, Dönitz, and Guderian,who were evidently as much in need of moral sustenance as these fortresses.58880 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH1 Diary, Oct 7; Oven, ‘Oct 2, Nov 11, 1944.’2 Diary, Oct 12, 1944.3 NYT, Oct 5, 1944.4 Oven, ‘Oct 4, 1944,’ 490f.—Ohlendorf confirmed to Milch after the war that Speerapproved the falsification of arms production figures. (Milch diary, Aug 28, 1945). UnitedStates Strategic Bombing Survey report No.59, The Defeat of the German Air Force, 37ff came tothe same conclusion.5 Letter intercepted by ABP (foreign letter intercept office) from Justizrat Victor Fränkl,Locarno, to H R Morgenthau, Oct 4, 1944 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.50.01, vol.796).6 On which see VB, Sep 26, 1944.—See PID analysis of JG’s usage of the Morgenthau plan,DE.2/DIS.202 (Hoover Libr., Lerner papers); Der politische Soldat, No.14, Oct 1944 quotedthe Swiss journal Vaterland as predicting a ‘field of death from Kiel to Konstanz.’ Willi Krämer,circular No.66, Dec 8, 1944 (NA film T84, roll 169, 6532f).7 W J Donovan to FDR, Oct 17 and 25, 1944 (FDR Libr., PSF box 169).—The controversywas too juicy for even Goebbels’ opponents in Moscow to eschew and the next issueof Freies Deutschland, No.9–10, Moscow, Oct/Nov 1944 also polemicized against Morgenthau& Co, ‘the representatives of millions in Gold.’ (Yivo, Occ E–FD–2).8 Oven, ‘Oct 11, 1944,’ 493.9 Diary, Dec 2; Heinz Linge, Hitler’s appointments register, Oct 15–16, 1944 (NA filmT84, roll 387).10 JG reported the ‘Bismarck’ remark to Speer. FIAT interrogation of Speer, Jun/Jul 1945,pt.ii, No.19.11 Oven, ‘Oct 15, 1944,’ 500ff.12 On Oct 29, 1944 (diary) JG would write: ‘Of course, the Führer set out this operationin detail to me on my last visit to Führer’s HQ. It’s been gone over quite adequately in thesepages too.’13 Diary, Oct 24, 1944.14 Führer decree on the formation of a German Volkssturm, Sep 25, 1944 (RGBl., 1944, I,72f.)15 JG broadcast, Oct 27: MNN, Oct 28; NYT, Oct 28. Donovan to FDR, Nov 1, 1944 (FDRLibr., PSF box 170).16 Albrecht to his wife, Oct 27 (IfZ, Irving collection); JG diary, Oct 29, 1944.17 Corporal Felix to Mrs [Anneliese] von Ribbentrop, Nov 11, 1944. Ribbentrop initialedits first page and sent it over to the Gestapo (NA film T120, roll 4673, 4788ff).18 Diary, Oct 29, 1944.19 Sündermann, ‘Aug 6, 1944,’ 93.20 Hadamowsky to JG, Aug 7, 1944 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.62 Re 3, vol.1); Sündermann,‘Aug 7, 1944,’ 97.21 The film was ‘Verräter vor dem Volksgericht.’ The first part, five acts, ran for 105 minutes;the second, also five acts, for 105 minutes; a silent roll showing the hanging of Witzlebenet al. in four acts ran for 20–25 minutes. Their current location is unknown.—Reichsfilmintendant (Hinkel) to Naumann, Aug 31, 1944 (BA file R.55/664); and Lindenbornto JG, Jan 17, 1945 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.50.01, vol.831).GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 88122 Note by Leiter F. (of Hinkel’s staff), Oct 21, 1944 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.50.01, vol.831).—The film shown at the Nuremberg trials, ‘Proceedings against the Criminals of Jul 20, 1944,’was edited from unreleased Deutsche Wochenschau newsreel footage confiscated by OMGUSat the offices of AFIFA in Tempelhof.23 SS Sturmbannführer Ulenberg (RMVP) to Hinkel, Mar 5 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.50.01,vol.831). Die Nation, Feb 14, 1945 published an alleged photo of Witzleben and Hoepnerhanging.24 JG to Hitler, draft, Oct 25 (BA film NL.118/106); diary, Oct 29. He named Dr HermannKappner (envoy in Stockholm), Miss Schacht, a niece of Dr Hjalmar Schacht; envoy DrZechlin, Consul Schwinner, Dr Wilhelm Klein and Bruno Fiebinger. He heard (diary, Oct30, 1944) that Hitler had read the letter out approvingly at his next war conference.25 Diary, Oct 30, 1944. Taubert however said the material hardened the will to resist andhelped ‘the worldwide defamation of bolshevism’ (Taubert report, Yivo, G–PA–14).26 Albrecht, private letter to his wife, Nov 12; see too Dittmar’s diary, Nov 12; NYT, Nov13; and Donovan to FDR, Nov 15, 1944 (FDR Libr., PSF box 170).—For the day’s Volkssturmceremonies see BA file R.55/1287.27 Willi Krämer, circular, Nov 1944 (NA film T84, roll 169, 6550f).28 NYT, Nov 24, 1944.29 JG, in Das Reich, Dec 2; cited in Donovan to FDR, Dec 4, 1944 (FDR Libr., PSF box170).30 Morell diary, Nov