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    Goebbels: A Biography
    Goebbels: A Biography
    Goebbels: A Biography
    Audiobook28 hours

    Goebbels: A Biography

    Written by Peter Longerich

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    As a young man, Joseph Goebbels was a budding narcissist with a constant need of approval. Through political involvement, he found personal affirmation within the German National Socialist Party. In this comprehensive volume, Peter Longerich documents Goebbels' descent into anti-Semitism and ideology and ascent through the ranks of the Nazi party, where he became an integral member Hitler's inner circle and where he shaped a brutal campaign of Nazi propaganda.In life and in his grisly family suicide, Goebbels was one of Hitler's most loyal acolytes. Though powerful in the party and in wartime Germany, Longerich's Goebbels is a man dogged by insecurities and consumed by his fierce adherence to the Nazi cause. Longerich engages and challenges the careful self-portrait that Goebbels left behind in his diaries, and, as he delves deep into the mind of Hitler's master propagandist, Longerich discovers first-hand how the Nazi message was conceived. This complete portrait of the man behind the message is sure to become a standard for historians and students of the holocaust for years to come.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    TranslatorLesley Sharpe and Alan Bance
    Release dateMay 19, 2015
    ISBN9781622315345
    Goebbels: A Biography

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    Reviews for Goebbels

    4/5

    9 ratings4 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I think that this is definitely Peter Longerich's best book. This is first of all a biography of Goebbles, and he is found on almost every page. Not a rehash of the usual history of the The Reich. Very refreshing, thought provoking, and not dry (something Longerich is rather known for). Brilliant psychological profile of Goebbles. Very interesting character. Definitely one of the most intelligent, yet tortured personalities of Nazi Germany. The book actually gets better and better as it moves toward the insane end of the Propaganda Minister's life. I loved the short chapters, broken up into smaller sections. Many chapters are 2 to 5 pages long with titles, subheadings, and explanatory notes where necessary. The book is also strictly chronological (I hate how some authors skip all over the place in the timeline). Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Goebbels – A masterpiece BiographyGoebbels by Professor Peter Longerich is a masterpiece biography with outstand research that over seven hundred pages covers all aspects of Joseph Goebbels. This biography delves in to the dark heart of Goebbels and shines a light upon aspects of his life that we think we know with excellent scholarship and we find out how important Goebbels was within the Third Reich.Using Goebbels own diaries which he started in 1925, as he was then a failed novelist and playwright to when he died in the Hitler bunker in April 1945. Goebbels had originally struck a deal to publish his dairies and even though some were published in 1948, most were carried off to Moscow and was not published fully until 2008.There have always been rumours that somehow Goebbels how the club footed propagandist had a very healthy love life and not just with his wife, Magda. He was also a midget lothario who was a narcissist with a profound need for attention and admiration, something he used to attract many women within the Reich. But the narcissistic tendencies of Goebbels also tended to overstate how important he actually was, though he was conceited and very insecure. Especially in respects to whether Hitler was having an affair with Magda, one thing is certain that Hitler often had to act as the marriage guide counsellor to the pair.Chapter ten which deals with the years between 1933 and 1939 is interesting is that we are able to see how that the once free press of Germany fell under Goebbels’ censorship and control in the growing dictatorship. What Longerich does well is that he teases out the role Goebbels played in the Holocaust in the use of the anti-Semitic propaganda and the agitation that he encouraged. We also learn that he uses the ability to whip up anti-Semitic feelings across the country as a way to always get back in to Hitler’s good books.We also get the confirmation that Goebbels was left out of the loop in the conduct of the war that Germany was raging, but this gave him time and space to hone his skills as the first ‘spin doctor’. Something that we do learn is that unlike other leading Nazis Goebbels did not have a power base independent of Hitler, except towards the end of the war when he was urging Hitler to fend off the challenges to his authority.What we do learn through the dairies and Longerich’s writing that Goebbels had no redeeming qualities other than being a calculated liar who never once took a brave decision in his career or life. Even his suicide is not as grand as he would have liked especially as he knows the Russians are closing in, he asks for a soldier to shoot him as he does not think the poison will kill him.This is an excellent biography that opens up the lurid world that Goebbels lived and operated in, there is no admiration for the man, which is understandable, but the facts are laid bare and we can see Goebbels for what he was. A narcissist who had a constant need to be desired and admired, who exaggerated his own importance a man who should have hung at Nuremberg.
    • 4/5
      "And when we're victorious who will question our methods. We have done so many things that we must win because otherwise our whole nation, with us at the forefront with everything that is dear to us, would be eradicated."Whoo, if you're looking for a bit of light reading then this is not for you. If you're looking for a comprehensive and interesting biography of Goebbels then this is the book for you. Not only does Peter Longerich manage to cover Goebbels' life and his role in The Third Reich but he also manages to cover the early days, rise, and activity during the war of the NSDAP.Much has been written about Goebbels before this biography but Longerich really manages to get a more complete look at Goebbels' life, motivations, and role in the government based mostly upon Goebbels' diaries, which were first published in full in 2006. By using Goebbels' diaries as a source Longerich can show just how narcissistic, and dependent Goebbels was on Hitler. Others have tried to portray Goebbels in just one light when Longerich shows that Goebbels was a complex man. Even though not much is known about Goebbels before 1923 (besides what Goebbels has written himself) Longerich provides a great picture of that time using what sources are available to us.What I really enjoyed about this biography was the fact that not only readers get to learn about Goebbels' life and his role as Propaganda chief, they also get to read about the early days of the NSDAP and its rise and rule until the end of WWII. You really get an insiders view into the NSDAP (through Goebbels' eyes) and get to see how certain decisions were made and get to see different people's roles in the NSDAP. Goebbels didn't have as big a role (or as successful a role) in his propaganda ministry as he would have lead people to believe. In fact, he was as big a confidant to Hitler as he would have wanted everyone to believe.My only real complaint about this book was that it could be a bit dry at times but that definitely did not happen that much. I would highly recommend this book if you are looking to learn more about Goebbels and the NSDAP. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley.
    • 3/5
      This book concentrates on the life of Joseph Goebbels before and during the Nazi Reich and World War II in Germany. It deals at length with the psychological motivations of the man, their roots or beginnings, and their manifestations as Goebbels roll as sycophant to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party. As the major influence in Nazi Germany's propaganda, Goebbels was instrumental in creating the nationalistic mood, antisemitic feelings, and determination of many Germans to continue to fight in the face of the obvious defeat which awaited the Reich. The writing is clear and easy to follow, the author's conclusions concerning Joseph Goebbels' psychological profile are well stated and supported; unfortunately this is not the stuff of which an entertaining war story thriller are made. I liked the book for it's ordered presentation, detail, and understanding, but it is not a summer beach book for the majority. Better than good background reading for those who wish an understanding of the National Socialist Party, and its key influences.