PAUL JOSEPH GOEBBELS

Birth: October 29, 1897—Death: May 1, 1945

Quotation: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

Goebbels was a German politician and Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda during the Nazi regime (1933-1945). He was one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers. Along with his zealous and energetic public speeches, Goebbels was known for his virulent anti-Semitism, and perfection of the so-called Big Lie technique of mass Propaganda.

Goebbels became a Nazi party member in 1924 in during the French occupation of the Ruhr. He was appointed regional party leader of Berlin, were he put his propaganda skills to full use, combating the local socialist and communist parties with the help of Nazi papers and the paramilitary SA. By 1928 he had risen in the party ranks to become one of its most prominent members. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Goebbels was appointed propaganda minister. One of his first acts was to order the burning of books by Jewish or anti-Nazi authors. He quickly gained full control of every outlet of information in Germany. Following his appointment, his attacks on German Jews became ever fiercer, helping to provoke the Night of Broken Glass(1938). Goebbels did everything in his power to prepare the German people for a large scale military conflict. During World War II, he increased his skill and influence through shifting alliances with other Nazi leaders. By late 1943, the war had turned into a disaster for the Axis powers, but this only provoked Goebbels to intensify the propaganda by urging the Germans to accept the idea of total war and mobilization. Goebbels remained with Hitler in Berlin to the very end, and following the Führer's suicide he served as the Third Reich's final Chancellor for one day. In his final hours he allowed his wife, to kill their six young children with poison. Shortly after, Goebbels and his wife both committed suicide.

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