In comparison to Goebbels, Himmler was the Reich Fuhrer of the SS and Hitler’s body guard which meant that he spent a lot of time with Hitler. In addition to this his personality and hard work further enhanced his influence, sources 2 and 3 show that Himmler’s hard work and determination inspired others to do the same, moreover he was respected amongst others: “the painstaking hours of work that Himmler put in demanded from his subordinates inspired respect. But Himmler also exerted charm; there are too many accounts of his seemingly genuine concern for his people and their families to doubt this.” This source signifies that Himmler knew exactly what people would want and hear and therefore this gave him the power and knowledge to improve his influence amongst. Furthermore his cold-blooded ruthlessness and organisational expense made him one of Hitler’s most valued henchmen. This was due to the fact that the SS were good at interpreting the will of the Fuhrer and further enhancing the influence of Himmler. Additionally likewise to Hitler, Himmler was also obsessed with the idea of an Aryan race. This common philosophy brought Himmler and Hitler much closer and he was always seen “working towards the Fuhrer,” as it is clearly stated in source 1: “it is above all because Himmler was directly responsible to the Fuhrer in his capacity as Reich SS […] that he could easily escape from simultaneous responsibility to the Reich Minister of the Interior, or even indeed reverse this relationship.” This emphasises that Himmler’s manipulative and cunning skills enabled him to directly gain access to Hitler although “his subordination to Frick was more of less purely nominal.” This exemplifies that even though in theory he was under Frick, he never followed this aspect of the theory. Unlike Goebbels, Himmler was always true to Hitler and would have never betrayed him. Until it became clear that Hitler was making mistakes. However Goebbels didn’t even want Hitler in the Nazi party during the early stages and staggered taking over leadership when the Reich begun to collapse.
In contrast to the relationship with Hitler of both Nazis, the use of propaganda played a significant role in the Third Reich to ensure that Goebbels is more influential. This was due to the fact that Goebbels ensured that his propaganda appealed to all groups of people and, as a result, it attracted people from a wider range of social and economic backgrounds than any other party. This was because the propagandist “must always be in a position to speak to people in language that they understand. These capacities are the essential preconditions of success.” This emphasises that Goebbels knew how to use propaganda in a way that it is relevant to individual sections of the population in order to gain mass support. The significance of this results in further influence of Goebbels and thus the development of his power within the Third Reich.
Although Goebbels’s role in the Third Reich was a crucial segment in developing his influence, Himmler also played a major role in the Third Reich. Being the head of the SS was a very important role in the Third Reich. This is because although Goebbels may have had the use of propaganda perfected it was Himmler with the help of the SS and the base in Bavaria extended his control as a political police of Germany and his use of terror kept Germany together and made the Nazi party more powerful so that it can stay in power. Before Himmler became the leader of the SS he was a chicken farmer, which enabled him to gain connexions with the average German people and hence develop his influence upon others. His role during the Night of the Long Knives of the purging of the SA displays the extent to which Himmler can go in order to increase his power: “To have to shoot one’s own comrades, with whom one had stood side by side for eight or ten years in the struggle for an ideal, and who then failed, is the bitterest thing that can happen to a man.” This statement highlights the destruction of the external enemies which has made him more influential and concludes that he will do anything to gain power, hence people should be afraid. However this source cannot be trusted because it is a speech given by Himmler and therefore can be seen as being biased. It emphasises that Himmler did not want to carry out the atrocities but he had no choice. In spite of this one is aware of Himmler’s cunning and manipulative character, thus it can be said Himmler is only saying this speech to make the disastrous things seem acceptable and to display his false sympathies for the external enemies to the people of Germany, so that his influence can be extended to a greater extent.
On the contrary to this, the impact of the policies used by both the Nazis also increased their influence amongst the German people. Goebbels being the minister of propaganda and popular enlightenment was able to inflict Nazi ideas to the German people as he had complete control over radio, press, cinema, and theater as Goebbels believed that “the finest kind of propaganda does not reveal itself: the best propaganda is that which works invisibly, penetrating into every cell of life in such a way that the public has no ideas of the aims of the propagandist”. This statement illustrates the use of propaganda in everyday life in order to persuade and convince the German people to support the Nazis and their actions. In addition he also played a major role in exploiting the Reichstag fire in 1933 and in organising the burning of the books in May 1933 and events of Kristallnacht in November 1938.
However in comparison to this, the impact of Himmler’s policies also played an imperative role in the enhancement of his influence. This is predominately due to the fact that the SS where totally dedicated to what they regarded as the supreme virtues of Nazi ideology, loyalty and honour. The impact of the policies enabled Himmler to ensure that the SS where economically independent by forming companies to exploit the labour in the concentration camps. In addition to this the attitudes of the SS influenced the character of Himmler, who in 1933 over took the ideology and propaganda.
Overall both these Nazis have displayed their determination and hard work in order to obtain the highest level of influence amongst the German people. They have been able to develop relationships with Hitler in order to play a crucial role in the Third Reich and have displayed the impact of their policies. However although both have been successful in achieving this, I personally disagree with the statement that “Goebbels was more influential than Himmler” because throughout my examination I have discovered that Himmler had the power to gain the greatest influence as he was head of the SS which must have been a hard role to play but instead he managed to use terror in order to influence the German people. Moreover he was able to overtake Goebbels’s propaganda in 1933 whereas Goebbels was not able to overhaul Himmler and the SS.
