Final Entries, 1945: The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels

This is an extremely valuable account of the final days of the Nazi regime, written by the ultimate insider, Propaganda Chief (and ultimate believer given his entire family's bunker suicide) Dr. Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels spent much time on his diary, and volumes going back as early as 1923 have been published, in both German and English. This is the final volume and covers the period from February through April 1945. There is a fine introduction by the editor, the late Hugh Trevor-Roper (author of a widely-recognized account of Hiter's last days), and he has as well added helpful annotations throughout explaining various terms or developments as background to Goebbels' account. While the book contains a number of essential maps and pictures, I found it handy to have at hand a copy of Beevor's "The Fall of Berlin 1945" which has better maps as well as additional photographs. The format of each entry is the same: an initial section addresses the "military situation," and then Goebbels adds a usually somewhat lengthy more general narrative. I found it unnecessary to review the military situation section, because Goebbels would comment on important developments in his more general narrative. I found it interesting to compare Goebbels' account with that in "Hitler's Table Talk." Yes, the top Nazi leadership really believed the British might drop out of the war; that the Russians might end up going at the Americans; that a negotiated resolution short of complete surrender might be possible; and that the American people would repudiate FDR and the British repudiate (as they did after the war) Churchill. At the very same time as the military situation is turning to ashes, Goebbels and Hitler both believe that somehow (perhaps as a result of the new jet fighters) Germany will prevail if it can just hold on a bit longer (frequent allusions are made to how Frederick the Great did just that). Intense infighting did occur during the last months: Goebbels is after Goering's hide, and he is not too impressed with Speer and other top officials either. But his worshipful fixation on Hitler only diminishes on a few occasions. Well, he did go down with the ship. This paperback edition is printed on fine paper with very clear typography--a pleasure to read. It contains an extensive chronology, a nice photo section, and both place and name indices. At around 360 pages, the narrative moves along at a good clip and is almost always quite interesting. Goebbels could write very well. It is an old saying that "there is no substitute for being there," and this fascinating volume validates that piece of wisdom.

In the closing weeks of the European component of WWII, Goebbels's attitude towards the Jews remained unchanged: (April 3, 1945): "The Jews have applied for a seat at the San Francisco Conference. It is characteristic that their main demand is that anti-Semitism be forbidden throughout the world. Typically, having committed the most terrible crimes against mankind, the Jews would now like mankind to be forbidden even to think about them." (p. 305). However, Jews were not the only scapegoats; nor were they the only ones blamed for starting WWII. On March 18, 1945, Goebbels referred to Poland's losses to, of all things, "...Polish arrogance in August 1939..." and having failed to accept the "...extraordinarily generous [German] proposals at that time..." [Sic!] (p. 165). Goebbels engages in an even more overt blame-the-victim mentality towards Poles when, in his entry of March 30, 1945, he quips about: "...Poland, which began this war anyway..." (p. 274). In addition, on March 26, 1945, Goebbels mentioned "...Poland and Russia, the most primitive countries of Europe." (p. 233). In other contexts, Goebbels had various scapegoats coming in handy, as summarized by historian Trevor-Roper: "...castigating whole classes, whole groups, whole nations: the miserable bourgeoisie, the generals, the Luftwaffe, the Churches, the Jews, the Swiss, the Swedes." (P. xxx). It is both sobering and sad to realize that someone of Goebbels's character had a much better grasp of Soviet intentions that did Churchill or Roosevelt. Goebbels even quoted a British newspaper in this regard (March 3, 1945): The Daily Mail just made a truly sensational admission; it says that for two years now I have been the only person to analyze the case of Poland correctly and forecast accurately the way in which England would succumb to the Kremlin. Churchill comes in for criticism of rare severity." (p. 30). In stark contrast to the appeasing attitude of western politicians towards "Uncle Joe" Stalin, Goebbels commented (March 9, 1945): "In the region which was formerly Poland the Soviets are pursuing their bloody reign of terror undeterred by Anglo-American protests. They take not the smallest notice of Churchill and Roosevelt. A new wave of arrests is sweeping across the country, the victims being mainly the Polish nationalists." (p. 88). Also (March 21, 1945): "The Soviets are going quietly on deporting Poles to the interior of Russia. They take not the smallest notice of the Anglo-Americans." (p. 190). The situation under which Poles found themselves was obvious to Goebbels: (March 11, 1945): "Stalin is firmly determined--and no one can understand this--to negotiate with no one over the Polish question. How rigidly he has already imposed his will is evident from the fact that Mikolajczyk, the former Polish Minister-in-exile, now proposes to submit to the dictates of the Kremlin. Under protest admittedly, but what value are such protests today? Anyway the only choice for the Pol

This was the third of three Goebbel War Year diaries that I bought and read. Although not the easiest prose to read -- in part they were not written necessarily to be read but to be perhaps used in a memoir that was destined to never be written -- this and the other two diaries are fascinating books for people fascinated by that era.This diary ends on 9 April 45. According to the introduction he continued writing through at least 22 April 45 when he and his family moved into the bunker. It would be interesting to read any additional entries through 22 April -- and beyond if available -- as the situation became more hopeless. The book does, however, conclude with an epilogue that included his and his wife's last letters to his stepson, the only member of the Goebbels family to survive the war.The term "Jekyll and Hyde" was easily applicable to the first diary and not as easily applicable to this diary. However there term is somewhat applicable. The man -- despite the obvious problems at the fronts -- still has hope. Maybe the hope is flickering but he still has hope. He does realize that military victory is now unattainable but maybe if the military can score one or two major successes they can finagle some kind of a negotiated settlement more favorable than "unconditional surrender". This thought appears to be running through the Nazi government during the February - April 45 timeframe covered in the book.Whereas in the previous two diaries great words are written about great events that resulted in great victories, this time Goebbels write great words about not so great events. The brave German military puts up great resistance to stall an American, or a British, or a Soviet offensive. Nazi forces counterattack and push eight or ten or twelve kilometers. The war is not lost yet! Why are such events important? The longer the war goes on and the more casualties are inflicted upon the enemy maybe the people in the West will grow tired and more conciliatory towards a less than complete defeat of Germany. Or maybe by stretching out the war maybe the Nazis can finagle a separate settlement with the Soviets. Or maybe the western Allies will realize how dangerous the Soviets are -- who are, after all, spreading its Bolshevic tentacles over eastern Europe contrary to previous agreements. Goebbels is hoping that something -- anything -- will happen to preclude what looks like an inevitable defeat.Reading the book one realizes how little hold the government actually had over the people. Even in the previous diaries there were criticisms of the government that was voiced by the people that Goebbels acknowledged. Of course, in 1945 there was little the government could do. The people were unhappy about the air raids for which the government generally and the Luftwaffe specifically had no answer. Althought Goebbels still disliked several of his counterparts in the government like Foreign Minister Ribbentrop his greatest condemnation falls

Having just been through the Iraq war, some of Goebbels musings resonate peculiarly with some of the more grandiose statements that came out of the end of that particular conflict. It is very hard to judge Goebbels as a man from these pages. Even given that they were unedited, this was intended to be the record of a Reich that won the war. This is not a private journal in the sense that he was always intending to rewrite it for history-- and presumably he was smart enough to realize that if he was still around to rewrite it for history then the Hitler regime had in some measure made it successfully through the war. What is interesting for the armchair historian are the places where his real feelings break through the propaganda. Presumably these are the moments that would have been edited out for publication. At times he whines about other nazi officials, at another point he sarcastically remarks that a plan of Hitler's would have been brilliant had it had any chance at all of succeeding. He was clearly a bright man (if an evil one), and it is interesting to watch his mind work in what were obviously (even to him) the final days.

I didn't really know how to rate this book. As a diary? As history? Should I have rated Trevor-Roper's editing?So I rated it a "5", but it hardly matters. I don't think anyone will read Goebbel's diary because it's "popular."My reactions to this book were mixed. I found my opinion of Goebbels as a man and a mind considerably lower after finishing the book. Yes, I knew beforehand that he was a recalcitrant Nazi and mass-murderer. On the other hand, I've read Albert Speer's books, and he always spoke admiringly of Goebbel's intellect. I respect Speer's intellect highly, but I must say that he was wrong about Goebbels. Goebbels in this diary is an ugly, sordid, vicious little man, repeating the same tired mantras again and again, transparently trying to varnish his image for history, and sniping and gossipping about everyone around him. (But then, Speer found himself to be dreadfully wrong about Hitler, too.)Intellect? I hardly found myself able to discern one in this mess.Still, I'm glad I read the book. It adds another dimension to my understanding of the Third Reich, and serves as a counterbalance to the other accounts I've read.But I wouldn't call the experience of reading this book enjoyable.