Joseph Goebbels

Paul Joseph Goebbels (pronounced [ˈpaʊ̯l ˈjoːzɛf ˈɡœbl̩s] (listen); 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the Gauleiter (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945. He was one of Adolf Hitler's closest and most devoted acolytes, known for his skills in public speaking and his deeply virulent antisemitism, which was evident in his publicly voiced views. He advocated progressively harsher discrimination, including the extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust.

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Joseph Goebbels
Portrait by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1933
Chancellor of Germany
In office 30 April 1945 – 1 May 1945
President	Karl Dönitz
Preceded by	Adolf Hitler
Succeeded by	Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk (as Leading Minister)[1]
Reich Plenipotentiary for the Total War Effort
In office 23 July 1944 – 1 May 1945
Chancellor	Adolf Hitler (1934–1945)
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Reichsminister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda
In office 14 March 1933 – 30 April 1945
Chancellor	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Werner Naumann
Stadtpräsident of Berlin
In office 1 April 1943 – 1 May 1945
Preceded by	Ludwig Steeg
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Reichsleiter
In office 2 June 1933 – 1 May 1945
Führer	Adolf Hitler
Gauleiter of Berlin
In office 26 October 1926 – 1 May 1945
Führer	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Ernst Schlange
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	Paul Joseph Goebbels (1897-10-29)29 October 1897 Rheydt, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Germany)
Died	1 May 1945(1945-05-01) (aged 47) Berlin, Nazi Germany
Cause of death	Suicide
Political party	Nazi Party (1924–1945)
Spouse	Magda Ritschel ​ (m. 1931)​
Children	Goebbels children
Alma mater	University of Bonn University of Würzburg University of Freiburg University of Heidelberg (PhD, 1921)
Occupation	Propagandist politician
Signature
Joseph Goebbels' voice Joseph Goebbels' famous speech in the Sportpalast in Berlin Recorded on 18 February 1943
^ Formally titled "Leading Minister" or "Chief Minister" (Leitender Minister)

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Goebbels, who aspired to be an author, obtained a Doctor of Philology degree from the University of Heidelberg in 1921. He joined the Nazi Party in 1924, and worked with Gregor Strasser in its northern branch. He was appointed Gauleiter of Berlin in 1926, where he began to take an interest in the use of propaganda to promote the party and its programme. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Goebbels's Propaganda Ministry quickly gained and exerted control over the news media, arts, and information in Nazi Germany. He was particularly adept at using the relatively new media of radio and film for propaganda purposes. Topics for party propaganda included antisemitism, attacks on the Christian churches, and (after the start of the Second World War) attempting to shape morale.

In 1943, Goebbels began to pressure Hitler to introduce measures that would produce "total war", including closing businesses not essential to the war effort, conscripting women into the labour force, and enlisting men in previously exempt occupations into the Wehrmacht. Hitler finally appointed him as Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War on 23 July 1944, whereby Goebbels undertook largely unsuccessful measures to increase the number of people available for armaments manufacture and the Wehrmacht.

As the war drew to a close and Nazi Germany faced defeat, Magda Goebbels and the Goebbels children joined Hitler in Berlin. They moved into the underground Vorbunker, part of Hitler's underground bunker complex, on 22 April 1945. Hitler committed suicide on 30 April. In accordance with Hitler's will, Goebbels succeeded him as Chancellor of Germany; he served one day in this post. The following day, Goebbels and his wife committed suicide, after having poisoned their six children with a cyanide compound.