Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death

printedfour pictorial posters: they targeted the farming community, city dwellers, women,and vested interests.59 A glossy photogravure magazine illustrated with pictures ofthe Führer would round off his campaign package. True, its title, Flamethrower, wasunlikely to attract the female fear-of-war vote—but he still had a lot to learn aboutthem. (‘The woman,’ Hitler had lectured him, ‘is man’s partner in sex and work…Man is the organizer, woman his aide and executrix.’60)Then the election got dirtier. The government banned Goebbels’ free-newspaperstunt. Infuriatingly, their opponents obtained details of Hitler’s lavish Kaiserhof expenses.61 Goebbels called the bill a forgery.62 He retaliated by claiming to have annihilatingmaterial on Severing’s ‘womanizing’, but declared that, after consulting withthe Führer, they would not release it. In fact neither he nor Hitler had evidence tojustify criticising their opponents on this score.GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 263The moratorium ended on Sunday April 3. While Hitler set out by plane, Goebbelsspoke three times that day at Wiesbaden, then at Frankfurt. On the fourth he andHitler addressed 150,000 people in the Berlin Lustgarten, then fifty thousand morein Potsdam. In Goebbels’ absence police chief Grzesinski suddenly ordered the gauHQ in Hedemann Strasse padlocked, and banned the election posters that Goebbelshad designed for the upcoming Prussian campaign.63VOTING was on April 10, 1932. Though again failing to defeat Hindenburg, Hitler nowclearly emerged as a statesman of equivalent stature. His vote increased to 13,418,547(Hindenburg won with 19,359,983 votes.) The Nazi vote in Berlin had grown bytwo hundred thousand, attracting thirty-one percent of the vote in the capital ascompared with 36·8 percent nationwide. The communist won only 3,706,759. Seenin this light, Goebbels should have been delighted; but in the privacy of his apartmenthe made no secret of his disappointment. According to her mother, Magdachose this moment to reveal that she was four months pregnant. Any elation at thiswas tempered by the announcement that the defence minister Groener had bannedthe S.A. and S.S. nationwide and ordered their immediate dissolution.64Polling in Prussia, the next round of elections, would be on April 24. Goebbelsnow directed his propaganda venom at Otto Braun and Carl Severing, and theirpolice minions Grzesinski and ‘Isidor’ Weiss.65 He devised more new techniques,including loudspeaker trucks illegally broadcasting the Horst Wessel anthem. Onestunt tickled the fancy of the international press: his posters cheekily announced apublic debate with Chancellor Brüning in the Sport Palace. In fact he had obtainedrecordings of a recent Brüning speech in Königsberg, from which he played extractsto his audience, together with his own devastating replies. Brüning’s humourlessresponse was to sue Goebbels for infringing the copyright in his intellectual assets.66After dropping dark hints in Angriff that he had some dirt on Severing, he detected asoftening in Vorwärts’ line. Struggling with ’flu and a 40°C fever he addressed a hundredthousand people in the Lustgarten. On election eve one of his S.A. men was264 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICHshot dead with a bullet between the eyes. The next day saw every swastika flag inPrussia draped in mourning.These were the Goebbels methods, and thanks to them the Nazi party increased itsnumbers in the Prussian parliament from six seats to 162; with 38·3 percent of thevotes they were the strongest party. In Bavaria meanwhile the Nazis had swollenfrom nine seats to forty-three, in Württemberg from one to fifty-one, and in Anhaltfrom one to fifteen.In Anhalt German’s first Nazi prime minister was appointed. Elsewhere, Brüning’sallies were still strong enough to form a coalition against the Nazis and stay in power.‘We’ve got to get into power sooner or later,’ wrote Goebbels in understandablefrustration at this outcome. ‘Otherwise our victories in all these elections will be thedeath of us.’671 National Union Catalog pre-1956 Imprints, 317ff. JG, Vom Kaiserhof zur Reichskanzlei. Einehistorische Darstellung in Tagebuchblättern (vom 1. Januar 1932 bis zum 1. Mai 1933). (Berlin,1934), cited hereafter as Kaiserhof.2 JG’s ‘Tagebuch für Ferien und Reisen,’ May 22, 1932—Dec 17, 1935, is in box 1 of theMoscow archives (Goebbels papers, Fond 1477); the missing diaries for the Kaiserhof periodare on a dozen microfiches in box 4, his original manuscripts of the Era of Struggle(Kampfzeit) around 1930 will be found in box 3,—vol.i on 21, and vol.ii on 15 microfiches.3 Diary, Jun 8; Kaiserhof, Jun 7, 1932.4 Kaiserhof, Jan 4, 1932.5 Ibid., Jan 9, 24, 1932; when JG speaks at the Reichstag, it too is ‘overflowing’ (Mar 23,1932).6 Ibid., Jan 4, 1932.7 Ibid., Jan 9, 1932.8 Ibid., Jan 7, 1932.9 Ibid., Jan 12, 1932; see e.g., Jan 6, and May 28, 1932.10 Ibid., Jan 19, 1932.11 Ibid., Jan 30, 1933.12 Ibid., Jan 6, 1932.13 Ibid., May 10, 18, 19, 1932.14 Ibid., May 10, 1932.15 Diary, Jun 14; Kaiserhof Jun 14, 1932. The unpubl. diary of Apr 11, 1934 shows thatHitler advised JG to flatter Göring in the book (Moscow archives).GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 26516 Kaiserhof, May 4, 19, 1932.17 Kaiserhof, Jan 22, 1932 records his indignation when the press speculates on his familylife.18 Ibid., Jan 5, 1932. Yet according to a note by Staatssekretär Hermann Pünder, chief ofthe Reich Chancellery, dated Apr 16, 1932, the party was receiving substantial protectionracketpayments (‘Terror-Abwehrprämien’) from the Jewish businessmen Oskar Tietz (ownerof the Hermann Tietz superstore) and Schapiro of the Sport Palace (Akten der Reichskanzlei.Weimarer Republik, vol.iii, [Boppard 1990] No.722, p.2455)19 Diary, May 22, and see Jun 8, 11, 12, 1932.20 Diary, Sep 19, 1932.21 Diary, Oct 5, 1932.22 Section Ia police report on the No.6 SA Standarte (regiment) function at the Clouconcert hall on Jan 4, 1932 (NA film T581, roll 523; BA file NS.26/1224).23 Kaiserhof, Jan 7, 1932. Hindenburg had taken office on May 5, 1925; the constitutionlimited his term to seven years.24 VB, Jan 19, 1932.25 According to the Statistisches Jahrbuch der Stadt Berlin, 8th year, 1932, page 8; published byBerlin city statistical office.26 Kaiserhof, Jan 8; police dossier, report dated Jan 13, 1932.27 Weiss to JG, Jan 25; Angriff, Jan 26, 1932.28 Police circular No.71 to all Regierungspräsidenten Jan 28, 1932 (DBC, JG’s file; author’sfilm DI-81).29 Angriff, No.17, Jan 26, 1932. For the trial of the murderers Stolt et al., see LandesarchivBerlin, Rep.58, item