Goebbels or G�bbels, (Paul) Joseph 1897-1945
German Nazi politician

Born in Rheydt, the son of a Rhenish factory foreman, he was educated at a Catholic school and Heidelberg University. A club foot absolving him from military service in World War I, he won a number of scholarships and attended eight universities. He became Hitler's enthusiastic supporter, and was appointed editor of the Nazi sheet V�lkische Freiheit and led the Nazi Party in Berlin in 1923. With the F�hrer's accession to power 'Jupp' was made head of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. A bitter anti-Semite, he had a gift for mob oratory which made him a powerful exponent of the more radical aspects of the Nazi philosophy. Wartime conditions greatly expanded his responsibilities and power, and by 1943, while Hitler was running the war, Goebbels was virtually running the country. He retained Hitler's confidence to the last, and in the Berlin bunker he and his wife committed suicide after they had taken the lives of their six children. His diaries now represent a major historical source.

Bibliography: Helmut Heiber, Goebbels (1972)