Das Erwachende Berlin [Book]

Paul Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945) was born in Rheydt, Germany, to Friedrich Goebbels, and Katharina Maria Odenhausen. He was the third of five children and the family members were strict Catholics. Goebbels had polio as a child, which left him with a deformed foot that hindered his ability to walk and exempted him from military service during World War I(1914-1918). He graduated from the University of Heidelberg in 1920 with a doctorate in German literature. In 1924, Goebbels joined the Nazi Party and became the editor of the Nazi paper, Völkische Freiheit (Folkish Freedom) in Ebersfeld, Germany. Goebbels rose swiftly through party ranks due to his organizational talent, deft use of propaganda techniques, and tireless work ethic. In 1926, Adolf Hitler appointed Goebbels Nazi Party chief (Gauleiter) for Greater Berlin. In 1928, Goebbels was elected to the Reichstag, representing the Nazi Party from Berlin. When Hitler and the Nazi Party ascended to power in 1933, Goebbels was appointed the Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The ministry exerted control over film, radio, theater, and the press, and was responsible for promoting Nazi ideology and antisemitism. Goebbels created a massive propaganda campaign to win the loyalty of German citizens and their acquiescence in Nazi anti-Jewish measures. His propaganda praised values such as loyalty to the Führer and racial purity, and the persecution of Jews and other “dissident” groups. Goebbels was a chief instigator of Kristallnacht, the violent attack on the Jewish community in Germany on November 9, 1938. During World War II, Goebbels advocated for total war and used the propaganda ministry to keep public morale high. With allied troops advancing inside Berlin, Hitler, Goebbels, and several high ranking Nazis, their families, and staff members, were living in Hitler’s underground bunker. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide, leaving Goebbels as Reich Chancellor, which he held until May 1 when Goebbels killed himself and his family inside the bunker.

The book was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Ilse Zimmerman, the wife of Kurt Zimmerman.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ilse Zimmerman