lost control when he heard but was forced to cover up for Goebbels.’ Hitler ordered the
widow paid 500 marks per month from police compensation funds. (Memo by CIV Corps
region III, Frankfurt, Mar 25, 1948: NA RG.319, IRR, file G8172121, Otto Strasser). The
death was listed as ‘suicide’ on the Nazi death roll (NA film T81, roll 90). However, the
Reich student-Führer Gustav Scheel told Karl-Heinrich Hederich once when drunk that
Franz A Six (a student friend since Heidelberg who had however married Scheel’s fiancée)
had murdered Strasser. Hederich repeated this claim to Dr Werner Hagert (Interrog of
Hagert, Sep 5, 1947: NA film M.1019, roll 23); unfortunately Hederich, interrogated Oct
23 and Dec.16, 1947 (ibid., roll 25) was not asked about this.
13 Unpubl. diary, Jul 1, 1934. See the documentation on Schleicher’s murder (with proof
that his phone was bugged), in VfZ, 1953, 71ff.
358 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH
14 Author’s interview of Christa Schroeder, Jun 6, 1976.
15 Unpubl. diary, Jul 1, and 4: ‘The public is right with us. A huge wave of enthusiasm goes
through the land. The rebels got public opinion quite wrong.’
16 Broadcast, Jul 1; Phipps to Simon, Jul 2, 1934 (PRO file FO.371/17707).
17 Unpubl. diary, Jul 4, 1934.
18 Ibid., Jul 6: ‘S.A. question with Lutze. S.A.’s reputation needs a lift. I send a telegram
along these lines to Lutze. The S.A. is to be retained. It’s very downcast today;‘ and see Jul 7,
1934.
19 Schaumburg-Lippe, War Hitler ein Diktator? 46f; JG, unpubl. diary, Jul 4, 1934.
20 BA file R43I/1469. ‘One can now see clearly again,’ wrote JG (unpubl. diary, Jul 4).
‘Events came dramatically to a head. The Reich was on the edge of an abyss. The Führer
saved it.’
21 Ibid., Jul 4, 1934.
22 Ibid. Jul 6, 1934.
23 Ibid., Jul 14, 1934.
24 Bella Fromm diary, Jul 15, 1934 (loc. cit.); she identified her source as a ministry employee,
‘Max K.,’ who described JG as being shrewd, unscrupulous, perverse, cynical, moody,
and lascivious, driven by hatred of Schacht and the American journalist Dorothy Thompson
(the feeling was mutual); and as being involved in desultory love affairs with Maria Stahl and
Edith von Coler, subsequently the mistress of Hanns Johst and Darré.
25 Heydrich to JG, Nov 30, 1936 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep. 50.01, Diewerge papers, vol.994).
26 Unpubl. diary, Jul 7, 1934.
27 JG broadcast, Jul 10, publ. in Berliner Börsenzeitung and The Times, Jul 11; see JG unpubl.
diary, Jul 11, 1934.
28 Lochner to Bety, Jul 22 (loc. cit.); JG diary, Jul 13, 1934.
29 Renzetti to Mussolini, Jul 14, 1934 (Mussolini papers, NA film T586, roll 419, 9433).
30 Diary, Jul 18, 1934. Lutze deduced that Röhm had been set up by his enemies, and
Hitler bamboozled. See Lutze’s diary, the testimony of Wilhelm Brückner (IfZ: Irving collection),
and an SS officer’s report to Himmler on Lutze’s later remarks (NA film T175, roll
3, 1892ff).
31 But at Bayreuth on Jul 21, a relaxed Hitler told JG more details about Röhm. ‘Terrible!
I am horrified,’ noted JG in unpubl. diary, Jul 22, 1934.
32 Ibid., Jul 9, 1934.
33 Ibid., Jul 14, 1934.
34 Ibid.—Ernst Hanfstaengl, ‘I was Hitler’s Closest Friend,’ in Cosmopolitan, Mar 1943.—
Revue, No.19, May 10, 1952.
35 Unpubl. diary, Jul 11, 1934.
36 Ibid., Mar 17, Apr 11, 1934.—See too Der 25. Juli 1934 im Bundeskanzleramt in Wien.
Forschungsergebnisse und Dokumente (Vienbna, 1965).
37 Ibid., Apr 28, 1934.
38 Ibid., Jul 24, 1934.
39 Ibid., Jul 26: ‘Mountains out of molehills.’ He was seeing Hela Strehl quite often (ibid.,
Aug 2, 8) and, in Magda’s absence, Ello Quandt (‘Long parlaver with Ello. Talks about her
[crumbling] marriage’—Aug 20, 1934)
GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 359
40 Adam MS (IfZ file ED.109/2); on the Dollfuss murder see Helmuth Auerbach’s paper in
VfZ, 1964, 201ff.
41 Unpubl. diary, Jul 26, 1934.
42 Ibid., Jul 28, 30, 1934. On Jul 28 Hitler told JG he had broken it off with Mussolini, and
was going to deal with Yugoslavia instead. On Jul 31 JG noted, after seeing Hitler: ‘Italy still
mean. We’ll repay her later.’ And on Aug 31: ‘Discussed Italy question with [Prince] Philipp
of Hesse. Mussolini’s a puzzle to me.’
43 Ibid., Jul 28, 1934.
44 Ibid., Jul 31, 1934.
45 Cabinet, Aug 1, 1934; unpubl. diary, Aug 2; RGBl., 1934, I, 747; Lammers papers, NA
film T580, roll 266.
46 Unpubl. diary, Aug 2, 1934.
47 Ibid.; rumours of a Hindenburg ‘testament’ dictated in his own favour by the wily Papen
proved at first unfounded, ‘so Papen loses out’ (ibid., Jul 31, Aug 4). A few days later the
rumours caused Hitler and JG fresh alarm (ibid., Aug 8). The document, published on Aug
15, betrayed Papen’s authorship but was innocuous (ibid., Aug 16, 1934).
48 Ibid., Aug 8, 1934.
49 Diary, Aug 22, 1934.
50 Unpubl. diary, Aug 20, 1934.
51 Berliner Morgenpost, Sep 9, 1934.
52 Berliner Volkszeitung, Nov 11, 1934.
53 Verbiestert. Unpubl. diary, Jul 4, 1934.
54 Hamburger Tageblatt, Aug 26, 1934.
55 Berliner Lokalanzeiger, Sep 17, 1934.
56 Ibid.
57 Ernst Hanfstaengl, report on JG for President Roosevelt, Jul 16, 1943 (FDR Libr. PSF
box 126)
58 Dr Carl von Eicken’s consultation notes, Aug 1934 (NA film ML.131).
59 JG to Bormann, Aug 17, 1934 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.90, Go 1, vol.3).
60 Daimler Benz to JG, Nov 7, 1934 (ibid.)
61 RMVP budget files (ZStA Potsdam, Rep. 50.01, vol.1059).
62 Farmers: Rheinisch-Westfälische Zeitung, Oct 1; labour service, 12 Uhr Blatt, Oct 24;
youth, ibid., Nov 2, 1934.
63 Deutsche Zeitung, Nov 20, 1934.
64 US interrogation of Weiss, Aug 31, 1945 (NA file RG.332, Mis–Y sect., box 116).
65 Note by Bitterfeld NSDAP Kreisleitung, Sep 14, 1934 (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.50.01,
vol.1175).
66 Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Dec 1, 1934.
67 Ibid., Dec 12, 1934. On Jul 2, 1934 (unpubl. diary, Jul 4) he gave Erich Hilgenfeldt,
chief of the NSV, directions for the coming Winter Relief: ‘It’s got to be really big.’
68 Borresholm, 101f.
69 Figures announced by JG, Berliner Lokalanzeiger, Oct 9, 1934.
70 12 Uhr Blatt, Oct 15, 1934.
71 Ibid., Nov 8, 1934.
360 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH
72 Berliner Volkszeitung, Dec 24, 1934.
73 Magda Goebbels correspondence with Martha Hillig (ZStA Potsdam, Rep.90, Go 2,
Magda Goebbels, vol.2).
74 Cabinet meeting, Dec 13, 1934, 4:15 P.M. (Lammers papers; NA film T580, roll 266).
75 Unpubl. diary, Dec 15, 1934 (Moscow archives, Goebbels papers, box 5); in January
(unpubl. diary Jan 4) he found Hitler still poorly. ‘Got to find a good doctor.’
76 Ibid., Feb 4, 1935.
77 Diary, Dec 25, 1934.
78 Ibid., Sep 17, 21, 24, 1934.
79 Behrend, loc. cit., No.18, May 3, 1952; Ebermayer and Meissner, Revue, No.23, Jun 7,
1952.
80 Wilhelm Fürthwängler on Hindemith’s opera ‘Mathis der Maler,’ in DAZ, Nov 25, 1934;
&nbs
p; cf. Joseph Wulf, Musik im Dritten Reich (Frankfurt, 1983), 373ff. A scene in this opera portraying
the public burning of heretical writings was evidently the cause of the Nazis’ discontent.
—As recently as Jun 25, 1934 JG had publicly praised Hindemith as one of Germany’s
up and coming musical talents.
81 Described in a 50pp MS by Detig for Dr Karl Silex, Feb 1970 (in Fritz Tobias archives);
and see Detig’s affidavit, Jul 3, 1948 (StA Nuremberg).—JG diary, Jan 2, 1935.
GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 361
Goebbels
24: While Crowds Exult below.
WHEN you drive through Germany today,’ Goebbels had said at the end of
November 1934, ‘you hear the hammering of the machinery and the singing
of the sirens, you see the cargo ships once more majestically gliding down the
rivers and the heavy laden freight trains, and you notice how the country lanes are
being widened and the new autobahns laid down… These are great times that we
have created.’1 Before a different audience he emphasized Germany’s ‘absolute desire
for peace’, a theme to which he returned in his New Year’s broadcast—the coming
international plebiscite on the disputed Saar territory would allow Germany to
arrive at a lasting peace with ‘the great French people.’2
Hitler had faced the New Year with a collapse of self-confidence. Recalling Goebbels
back from his Black Forest vacation, he demanded he do something. Foreign newspaper
were full of lies about fresh plots against him. Hitler ordered the entire German
leadership to hear him speak in the State opera house on the third. Together, Goebbels
and Göring—now thick as thieves again—drafted a declaration of loyalty for Göring
to read out to Hitler. Goebbels felt that Hitler’s voice was still not up to the task. But
it went down well.3 At one point Hitler threatened to put a bullet in his own brains
if his subjects refused to work in harmony. 4 Goebbels was worried by all this. He felt
that Hitler was still unwell, and decided to find a doctor for him. ‘I think he needs me
now,’ he told his unpublished diary.
362 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH
With Magda staying down in the Black Forest, he stayed up until two A.M. after the
Hitler speech entertaining Ello Quandt; on the following day, January 4, he took
Hitler out to Babelsberg to tour the Ufa studios. For a while he, Hitler, and Streicher
strayed around the lavish set built for ‘Barcarole’, a romantic film set in Venice at the
turn of the century, the story of the frenzied love of a young man for the wife of a
cruel older man. The top Nazis were all eyes—not for Germany’s leading heartthrob
Gustav Fröhlich, but for the actress playing opposite him, a Czech girl of twenty,
Lida Baarova.5
Hitler takes an immediate shine to her; he persuades himself that she looks like
Geli Raubal and invites her to tea at the chancellery.6 She arrives with tear-streaked
cheeks. Gustav Fröhlich, her lover in real life as well as on the screen, a jealous and
possessive thirty-two year-old, has instructed her to phone him every fifteen minutes
from the Führer’s chancellery, and that puts paid to that. Hitler asks Lida why
she does not take up German citizenship. Her reply is simply, ‘Why should I?’7 Up in
his private quarters a few days later, Hitler mopes until three A.M. about how lonely
and joyless his life now is—‘Without women,’ observes Goebbels, ‘without love,
still filled with memories of Geli.’8
DISCUSSING foreign policy after that visit to the film studio on January 4, 1935, Hitler
predicted to Goebbels that France would start turning the screw on Germany if and
when she lost the Saar. They had a tough year ahead.9 Goebbels adopted honeyed
language. ‘In rapprochement lies order,’ he lectured, opening the Saar exhibition in
Berlin on the sixth. ‘In war lies only ruin and destruction. For Europe there can be
no third way.’10
The historic plebiscite on the future of the Saar would be held one week later. His
opponents, a clamouring ragbag of communists, Jews, freemasons, and disgruntled
emigrés, were no match for him. His propaganda line was clear—the Saar was tied
by blood to the German fatherland. To abide by the international rules, a local ad hoc
‘German front’ had to fight the campaign. Goebbels provided a weekly illustrated
magazine, telling the catholic Saar electorate that the bolsheviks were the sworn
GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH 363
enemy of God. In neutral Geneva his ministry’s anti-Comintern unit set up a religious
front, Pro Deo, which formally received the anti-bolshevik exhibition that he
had prepared in Berlin and sent it on to the Saar camouflaged with Swiss certificates
of origin.11 In the Saar, the catholic clergy publicized the exhibition from their pulpits.
‘The Saarbrücken clerics never guessed whose errands they were running,’ wrote
Eberhard Taubert.
His opponents warned the Saar, ‘A vote for Germany is a vote for Hitler!’ This
slogan backfired badly, because over 90·5 percent did just that. Hitler telephoned
Goebbels from Berchtesgaden, saying he sincerely hoped this meant peace with France.
Goebbels had all Germany decked out with flags in an instant. That evening, January
15, he took Generals Blomberg and Fritsch back to his villa, and they all phoned
Hitler again. Afterwards, they all discussed Germany’s long-range foreign policy.12
Word reached London a few days later that Goebbels had said on this occasion that
the overwhelming Saar vote virtually obligated Hitler to bring back all the scattered
German peoples into the Reich. Goebbels had particularly indicated Memel and
Austria. ‘We’ve got everything ready in the propaganda ministry,’ he was quoted as
saying.13
The Saar plebiscite was proof of what could be achieved bloodlessly, by propaganda
alone. On Sunday January 20 Hitler again had lengthy confidential discussions
with Goebbels, mapping out his next moves: ‘First project concerns Britain,’ recorded
the diarist Goebbels. ‘Guard their Empire, in return for thirty years alliance.’
14
At the time such a deal was not impossible. There was a mutual fascination between
Britain’s old, and Germany’s new, rulers. In December 1934 Goebbels and
Hitler met Lord Rothermere at the Ribbentrop’s. The British newspaper baron was
already a convinced admirer of Hitler. “A real Englishman,” Goebbels described him.
“John Bull. Really wonderful opinions. If only all the English thought the same way.”
Rothermere criticised Versailles, he applauded Hitler’s rearmament and demand for
colonies, and he criticised Versailles and diplomats. Britain’s ambassador in Berlin,
the hard-drinking Sir Eric Phipps, almost swooned with rage. After Goebbels got to
364 GOEBBELS. MASTERMIND OF THE THIRD REICH
work on him, Rothermere pronounced him “the greatest propagandist in the world.”
Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death Page 59
