Toward the end of the war they could not exist without each other, as they strengthened and confronted each other. Hitler was sombre, had complex-determined visions and had an ecstatic relationship with the masses. Goebbels used techniques like persuasion, slogans, myths and images.
Propaganda
As the Minister of Propaganda, Goebbels contributed to the rise of Hitler. In the Face of the Third Reich by Joachim Fest it says: “In the view of its capacity for mediumistic communication with the “mind” of the masses..” Goebbels was able to get through to people on a deeper level, perhaps spiritually, getting them to support Hitler. He was able to handle crowds and made use of psychological manipulation.
Goebbels used flags, Seig Hiels, fanfares, marching columns and banners to stimulate people raising their morale’s. He was also able to render the party adherents first then later the whole nation, which enabled Hitler to come to come to power.
Goebbels made Hitler appear as a blessed saviour and named him “der Fuhrer”. He also made Hitler appear as a religious figure, which appealed to the emotions and feelings of the nation.
He also outlawed any criticism for opponents and persuaded people that the party would meet the needs of the masses of the nation by making promises.
Goebbels gave the NSPAP its structure like a class system or hierarchical structure.
He founded Der Angriff paper and used this to pass on his messages and ideas of to the nation as part of his propaganda. In the newspaper he seems to admire Hitler: “When Hitler speaks, all resistance breaks down before the magical effect of his words.” Goebbels said that Hitler was the one to inspire everyone, to bring them hope and that he would bring everybody forward. He described his feelings for the Fuhrer as “holy and untouchable.” Hitler’s position was being formed by the positive endorsement from idolatry. Therefore Goebbels had in Hitler the ideal type to inspire a population.
Goebbels seems to adore and admire Hitler, he is also trying to flatter him, and by doing this he will be in Hitler’s favour as he is forming a good relationship with him. Therefore he will gain power and get to the top.
Hitler rewarded his “faithful, unshakable shield hearer” at the beginning of Goebbels career by making him the partner and organizer of his private social life.
However, there was always much distrust between Hitler and Goebbels because Goebbels always managed to adapt himself to circumstances as he came out surviving bad situations and seemed to make no mistakes, therefore this caused Hitler to distrust Goebbels.
Goebbels had no conscience and only appeared in places where there were opportunities for power “...dependent upon an inner voice but upon an opportunist eye for the bigger battalions.” Goebbels was not independent and had no personality however, he could think for himself and the party: “The only clear brain within the party Old Guard...”
At the beginning of his rise to power as Gauleiter of Berlin he needed the SA’s loyalty. He felt excluded and suffered from not being like everyone else. He offered blind devotion to make up for the lack of characteristics through his exaggerated loyalty to Hitler.
Goebbels wanted power, status and prestige, but his intellectualism and physical deformity combined to make him vulnerable among his rival for power. He also lost favour with Hitler because of his erotic activities.
He spoke about Hitler behind his back, in 1920 he said: “...the petty bourgeois Adolf Hitler show be expelled from the National Socialist Party.” He found Hitler’s talk of Bolshevism, foreign policy, redemption of rights and holidays of the princes and private property “terrible. After Hitler had embraced him, he then said that Hitler was a “genius.”
In 1926, Hitler rewarded Goebbels for his change in front as he said: “He who forsakes the fuhrer withers away”, by making him a Gauleiter.
Goebbels became the most feared, he and tough bodyguards organized beerhall battles, street brawls and shooting affrays, the “Bloody Rise.”
His practice of stirring up fights was a new principal of propaganda, and furthered political agitation as he said that “...propaganda is good which leads to success.” Fest also said that “...blood always makes the best headlines.”
Goebbels concentrated his attacks on the Berlin Police President Bernhard Weiss, who he referred to as “Isodore Weiss”. He attacked the “Isodore System” when the courts forbade him to use the name. He called Police President Karl Zorgiebel the “publicity goy in the Police Praesidium” and called the Reichstag a “stinking dungheap”.
Relationship with other Nazis
Each top Nazi wanted to build up vast power, they were ruthless in enhancing their own position at the expense of their rivals, and therefore there was much competition for Goebbels against the other Nazis for power.
Hitler encouraged feuding between Nazis e.g. Goebbels and Rohm did not have a good relationship with Goring. Goring’s relationship with Himmler, Hess and Goebbels was not good because he believed that they anted to steal power. Goebbels was disliked by all of the Nazis because they called him “Black Dwarf” or “Our little doctor.”
However, Goebbels was closely associated with the let-wing views of Rohm and Strasser and Speer was a close ally to Goebbels. An attempted assassination plot against Hitler resulted in the appointment of he trusted Goebbels to the Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War Mobilisation which increased both peer’s and Goebbels’ influences- it gave Goebbels greater control over production and allowed more scope for change for Speer.
Successes and Failures in Career
Goebbels had many successes in his career, as Hitler was continuously appointing him to different positions and he made his way up whenever he was in his favour or whenever his plots were a success, for example in 1933 he was made President of the Chamber of Culture for the Reich, in 1938 he became the member of the Hitler Council, in 1940 he became the editor of “Das Reich”, and in 1942 he became the Chief of secret proponents of the Final Solution.
He was able to maintain co-ordination in a short time and maintained it through all the phases of the regime. He had a promising beginning and continuously fell importance then towards the war he rose again.
However, Goebbels career was a failure because he had a reputation for being a lair and he embraced Hitler’s theory that a big lie was more credible than a smaller one. He also preferred to be cynical and brutal and appealed to the feelings of envy, revenge and arrogant pride.
Goebbels was of great value to the Nazis regime because he was a skilled Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, made use of his intellectualism and he was associated and knew the right people.
The history of Nazi Germany would not have been the same without him because he kept peoples morale’s up so that there was increased support for the Nazis thus encouraging people to vote for Hitler. He made use of the newspapers to spread around anti-Semitism.
The Kristallnact would never have happened without Goebbels because he managed to use the murder of Ernst Von Rath as an excuse to attack Jewish shops and businesses.
However, you could say that he was no use to the Nazi Party because he was always in and out of favour and he could not be trusted due to his greed for power.