Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death

Goebbelsstill drafted his own defence speech and looked foward to the court hearing setdown for the last day of May 1930. On the eve of the trial however Goltz broughthim the unwelcome news that two of the three judges were Jewish. He challengedthem right away, but his motion was denied. ‘Then,’ he recorded immodestly in hisdiary, ‘I speak: ninety minutes and I am in tip top form. The whole court is deeplyimpressed. The prosecutor demands nine months’ prison. Goltz speaks, very effective.Then I wind up with a brief, juicy speech.’Incidentally [Goebbels said in his closing speech] I wish to contradict my defenceattorney on only one point. I do not ask for an acquittal, because given the182 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHcomposition of this court I consider that fruitless, and since I am conscious of myrights I consider it unworthy to plead for what is my right.44After a two hours recess the judges announced their verdict—a trifling fine ofeight hundred marks. Their judgement all but exonerated Goebbels, who wrote, “Icould have yelped with joy.” Only the cartoon was considered libellous inasmuch asit portrayed one arm of Hindenburg’s presidential throne as a Jew-nosed, Star-of-David wearing gargoyle. No longer mentioning that the judges who had served himso fairly were themselves Jewish, Dr Goebbels recorded in his diary only the wonderfulpropaganda effect of this ‘victory.’ The news even made the far-away columnsof the New York Times.45He had lunched during the long recess with Hermann Göring, and noticed that theaviator was by no means comfortable with Goebbels’ attack on the old warrior. Hisattitude to Göring was now one of scorn tinged with envy. Relying on his war recordGöring had established himself firmly in Berlin’s society; still lacking home comfortsof his own, Goebbels often spent his evenings with Hermann and Carin and one orother of the Nazi princes.46 His own principles had begun to fray under from exposureto the corrupt, blue-blood loving Göring. He must have realized that Göringcould only finance his life-style with hefty bribes from the aviation industry, preciselythe kind of behaviour that Goebbels thundered against when detected in Jewslike the financiers Max Sklarek or Julius Barmat. In March Göring grandly offered toprocure a new car for Goebbels; this offer proved as empty as the apartment he hadpromised earlier.47They had disparate interests. Goebbels would spend an evening with Hermann andCarin Göring reading ‘Blood Seed’ to them. Göring would talk about aerial dogfightsand the beginnings of the Movement.48 Goebbels had no permanent lady companion;his diaries record only that he told Erika unfeelingly that he needed more thanjust one woman around him.49When Easter came in 1930 Göring invited him along to visit his Swedish in-laws.They made a memorable couple—the swaggering aviator and the diminutive figureGOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 183limping at his side. It was Dr Goebbels’ first trip overseas. Every time he awoke thetrain seemed to be passing a boulder strewn landscape. The Swedes themselves madeup for it. He lusted greedily after the statuesque blonde women, and concluded thatthey were superior to their menfolk. The Swedish men were doormats, from theirmonarch downwards. ‘It makes you weep, how numb the blond race has become,’ hewrote, seeking to rationalize his feelings. ‘German on the outside, half-Jews within.’50When he left the Görings he decided that Carin was ‘on the verge of’ tears andadded, using his coded doublespeak, ‘She is fond of me’ (meaning, he was of her);and more meaningfully, ‘I revere her like a mother.’ Hermann Göring,’ he decided,‘was a good sport.’51Hitler’s birthday came during the absence. Goebbels did not write his customaryeulogy. He was still aggrieved about Hitler and the Strassers. By mid March sales ofthe Strassers’ new daily National Socialist in Berlin were soaring, and both Angriffand Völkischer Beobachter were in difficulties. Reluctant to carry out his threat of resigning,Goebbels wrote: ‘Munich, and that includes the Chief, have run out of creditwith me.’ He added, ‘Hitler hides away, he takes no decisions.Ê .Ê . he just lets thingsdrift.’52 His office manager Franz Wilke returned from Munich with more emptyHitler promises.53 Himmler came and assured Goebbels that Hitler really wantedhim as Reich Propaganda Director. Goebbels had heard that before.54 He had broodedfor months on Hitler and his broken promises. ‘He doesn’t dare make a move againstStrasser,’ he noted. ‘What’s going to happen later when he has to act the dictator inGermany?’55 When Hitler suddenly surfaced in Berlin for a conference with Hugenbergon ways of bringing the government crisis to a head, Goebbels tackled him, takingalong Göring for moral support. He frankly accused Hitler of slackness. A secondmeeting with Hitler left Goebbels with the impression that he was losing his nerve.In the event, Hugenberg’s party refused to join Hitler in forcing a vote of confidence.56The government’s crisis peaked on April 12. Brüning just survived, his majorityreduced to seven. Since Hitler had again come to Berlin in eager anticipation, Goebbelsonce again tackled him about the Strassers’ rival newspaper: they could never engagein serious politics, he warned his Chief, without control of the press. Hitler184 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHcalled Otto Strasser his ‘greatest disappointment,’ which sounded encouraging. Butstill he did not act. Not for the first time, Goebbels urged him to expel both Strassersfrom the party; otherwise they might find their party split as hopelessly asHugenberg’s. Hitler accepted the logic—‘but there’s a big difference between acceptingand acting,’ commented Goebbels sourly. ‘The Strasser rot,’ he decided, ‘hasgot to be stopped.’57 On April 14, Brüning’s majority slumped to three; but again hesurvived, and Hitler returned to Munich. None of their opponents wanted an electionfrom which only the Nazis and Communists were likely to profit.AS the depression bit deeper Hitler’s party had begun to expand. It ended 1930 with389,000 registered members. Dr Goebbels doubled his gau’s membership, althoughthe wealthier districts were still sparsely represented: the huge West End Ortsgruppe(local) extending from Schloss Strasse to Pichelsdorf and from the grimy Siemensstadtindustrial suburb to Halensee still yielded only forty-five members.Late in April 1930 Goebbels learned in Munich that Hitler had at last reprimandedGregor Strasser. Hitler confirmed that he had issued an