Book Description

Nazi propaganda minister Joseph's Goebbels diaries from January 1932 to May 1933 provide a first-hand chronicle of the tumultuous time which saw Adolf Hitler propelled from his civilian headquarters at the Kaiserhof Hotel into the office of Chancellor of Germany. The day-by-day entries provide riveting reading and reveal long-suppressed facts, such as: - How the Weimar "democracy" forced the Nazis into fighting elections while banning their newspapers and forbidding them to hold public meetings; - The campaign of terrorism and murder waged against the NSDAP by the communists; -The NSDAP's funding; -The clash with the socialist Strasserite wing of the party; -The political intrigues which eventually forced the establishment to offer the post of Chancellor to Hitler after three general elections in one year; -The burning of the Reichstag; - The Jewish declaration of war against Germany and the counter-boycott of Jewish shops in German, organized by the author; and much more. An essential and fascinating account of the Nazi road to power, first published in Germany in 1933, and then in English in 1938 under the title "My Part in Germany's Fight." This new edition has been completely reset and includes 18 appendices containing full English translations of a number articles by the author, taken from his oft-banned newspaper, Der Angriff and from speeches made at the time. Joseph Goebbels was born in 1897 and gained his Ph.D. from Heidelberg University in 1921, writing his doctoral thesis on 19th century romantic drama. He joined the NSDAP in 1924 and founded the party in Berlin, where, with only 200 supporters, he eventually captured the communist-supporting city for Hitler. Appointed minister of propaganda, Goebbels played a leading role in the Third Reich and committed suicide in 1945, loyal to Hitler until the end.