How Did Joseph Goebbels Contribute To The Holocaust?

The Holocaust was a major event that portrayed the cruelest works of Adolf Hitler back in World War II. Under Hitler’s authority, Joseph Goebbels was one of the most loyal man who devoted his life to help Hitler strengthened the Nazi party. Goebbels shared the same thoughts with Hitler in which words and images were the most important devices to exploit the power of an empire (Joseph Goebbels 1). Joseph Goebbels contributed to the mass genocide of WWII through the impact of obstacles that he overcame from his youth, his credentials, careers and his involvement to the Kristallnacht.
Paul Joseph Goebbels’s youth had many factors which affected his characteristics and personalities. Goebbels was born in Rheydt, Germany, October 29th, 1897. He
Back in WWI, Goebbels was rejected from military service due to his lack of physical abilities (Joseph Goebbels 2). However, he was a very patriotic man with the hope of one day he can devote his life to his country (Simkin). He once said, “The soldier who marches forth to offer his fresh young life for wife and child, hearth and home, village and fatherland, serves the fatherland in the most distinguished and honorable way” (Simkin). Goebbels was willing to give up everything so that he can bring what’s best for his country. He then returned to college and achieved his Ph.D. in German philology in 1920 (Joseph Goebbels 2). Yet Goebbels was unsuccessfully following his dreamed careers of becoming a playwright and novelist due to his “pompous and overwrought” characteristics (America and the Holocaust). In 1924, Goebbels joined the National Socialists German Workers’ Party (Joseph Goebbels 2). From there, he was recognized by Hitler through his great communication skills, talents, and loyalty. In 1926, Hitler promoted him to be the Party district leader and in 1928, he became the propaganda chief (Joseph Goebbels 2). With his ability, Goebbels helped develop the party by establishing the Der Angriff which was a “weekly newspaper that espoused the Nazi Party line” (Joseph Goebbels 1). From there, his contribution to the party became important parts where all plans were
First, with the title of “Propaganda chief,” his power of moving the image of one within public was so huge that it can change the people’s logical ideas about war (Joseph Goebbels 1). Goebbels was in charge of protecting and polishing Hitler’s image in front of the people; the media was at its full potential to publish the best quality and images of the leader so that it can change the people’s point of views (Joseph Goebbels 1). Furthermore, he established project “The Eternal Jew” and redirected the “Jud Suss” in the purpose of extending the hatred of Jews to soldiers. Goebbels depicted the Jews as “parasites who disrupt an otherwise tidy world” in “The Eternal Jew” and insulted them as “self-importance and greed” in the “Jud Suss” (Joseph Goebbels 1). The most crucial work of Goebbels which contributed most to the genocide was his role in instructing and executing the Jews in the Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). In the article Architect of the Holocaust, Darlene R. Stille stated that “the attackers damaged about 7,500 businesses and burned 267 synagogues. Hundreds of Jews were killed. Police officers and firefighters simply stood by,” (30). Goebbels’s works that were related to the genocide were clearly portrayed through many statistics, and facts which condemned the cruelty acts against the Jews of him and his party, the Nazi. The