Goebbels: A Biography (110 page)

119.
TB, 28 April 1931.

120.
A few days before his trip to Munich he had contemplated resignation as Gauleiter; he wasn’t the Party’s “drain cleaner”: TB, 22 and 25 April 1931.

121.
TB, 10 and 20 May 1931.

122.
TB, 9 May 1931.

123.
Joseph Goebbels, “
Der Nazi-Sozi
,” 18f.

124.
VZ
, 9 May 1931, “Adolf Legalité. Hitlers Bekenntnis.”

125.
TB, 9 May 1931. Joseph Goebbels, “
Der Nazi-Sozi”
second edition (Munich 1931).

126.
TB, 20 June 1931, on the conversation with Karin Göring, 18 June 1931.

127.
TB, 27 June 1931, also 28 June 1931.

128.
Der Angriff
, 30 June 1931; TB, 30 June 1931.

129.
TB, 30 June 1931.

130.
TB, 3 July 1931, see also 4 July 1931, where he expressed his determination to kill off the “agency.”

131.
See also TB, 19 February 1931 concerning a further visit from Magda. On Magda’s previous life, see Jungbluth,
Die Quandts
, 196ff. On Magda Quandt/Goebbels, see also Klabunde,
Magda Goebbels;
Meissner,
Magda Goebbels
.

132.
Jungbluth,
Die Quandts
, 46ff.

133.
On the marriage, see Jungbluth,
Die Quandts
, 67ff.

134.
On the divorce, see Jungbluth,
Die Quandts
, 90ff.

135.
TB, 23 February 1931.

136.
TB, 26 and 27 February 1931.

137.
TB, various entries in March 1931, especially 10, 15, and 22.

138.
TB, 26 March 1931.

139.
TB, 17 June 1931.

140.
TB, 12 March, 4 and 9 April 1931.

141.
TB, 12 April 1931.

142.
TB, 13 and 14 April 1931.

143.
TB, 17 April 1931.

144.
TB, 18–22, 25, and 30 April, 8, 10, 11, and 15 May 1931.

145.
TB, 22–31 May 1931.

146.
TB, 31 May 1931.

147.
TB, 11 June 1931.

1.
TB, 6 July–5 August 1931. The diaries from 20 August 1931 to 21 May 1932 have been accessible only from 2004 and have already been used in Thacker,
Goebbels
, 121ff.

2.
TB, 12 July 1931.

3.
TB, 26 July 1931.

4.
TB, 26 July 1931.

5.
TB, 13, 24, and 31 July 1931.

6.
TB, 17 July 1931.

7.
TB, 27 July 1931.

8.
TB, 5 and 7 July 1931.

9.
Berghahn,
Stahlhelm
, 169, 172f.; Schulz,
Von Brüning zu Hitler
, 433ff.

10.
TB, 10 August 1931.

11.
Der Angriff
, 15 August 1931, “Lachen links.”

12.
TB, 19 and 21 August 1931.

13.
TB, 24 August 1931.

14.
Schulz,
Brüning
, 554.

15.
TB, 12, 16, and 22 August 1931.

16.
TB, 24 August 1931.

17.
TB, 25 August 1931.

18.
TB, 26 August 1931.

19.
TB, 27 August 1931.

20.
TB, 4 September 1931.

21.
TB, 4 September 1931.

22.
TB, 14 September 1931.

23.
TB, 16 September 1931.

24.
Wagener,
Hitler aus nächster Nähe
, 375f.

25.
Ibid., 392ff.

26.
According to Wagner, Hitler had contemplated a partnership with Magda only after the death of Geli Raubal (who died in September) and his conversation with Magda took place on the way to the big SA demonstration in Braunschweig, which, however, occurred only in October 1931. Wagener,
Hitler
, 392ff. However, the Goebbels diaries make it clear that the Hitler-Goebbels arrangement was reached before Geli’s suicide. There had been speculation about a triangular Hitler-Goebbels-Magda relationship in the secondary literature before the publication of the complete version of the Goebbels diaries, for example in Klabunde,
Goebbels
, 238ff., and in Reimann,
Dr. Joseph Goebbels
.

27.
TB, 5, 10, 15, and 26 October 1931.

28.
TB, 20 September 1931.

29.
Reuth,
Goebbels
, 206; Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 121f. Friedrich,
Hauptstadt
, 318ff.

30.
TB, 18 September 1931.

31.
See the reports of the
VZ
, 19–24 September 1931; TB, 18–26 September.

32.
TB, 25 September 1931.

33.
In the text, Helldorff.

34.
TB, 27 September 1931.

35.
TB, 30 September 1931.

36.
TB, 8 and 9 November 1931; on the trial, see
VZ
, 8 and 9 October, 8 November 1931; Reuth,
Goebbels
, 207.

37.
LA Berlin A Rep 358-01/20, vol. 3, Verdict, 9:2.32 LG III Berlin; TB, 23 January 1932; Goebbels,
Vom Kaiserhof zur Reichskanzlei
, 22 January 1932, where Goebbels made rather more of the scene;
VZ
, 17 and 24 December 1931, 23 and 26 January 1932; see also Reuth,
Goebbels
, 207.

38.
The first mention of the planned meeting is in the 3 October 1931 entry in the TB.

39.
TB, 5 October 1931.

40.
TB, 12 October 1931; Pyta,
Hindenburg
, 631; Brüning,
Memoiren
, 391f.

41.
Jones, “The Harzburg Rally of October 1931.”

42.
Ursachen und Folgen
, Michaelis and Schraepler (eds.), vol. 8, nos. 1784a and c;
Politik und Wirtschaft in der Krise, 1930–1932
, Maurer and Wengst (eds.), no. 341, report by Blank to Reusch, 12 October 1931 and
VZ
, 13 October 1931, “Die Front der Fronde, mit weiteren Einzelheiten zum Tagungsverlauf.”

43.
Kopper,
Hjalmar Schacht
, 191ff.

44.
TB, 19 October 1931.

45.
TB, 19 October 1931;
VZ
, 19 October 1931 (E=Evening edition), “Braunschweiger Treffen.”

46.
Der Angriff
, 21 October 1931, also in Goebbels,
Der Angriff
, 211–12; TB, 20 October 1931.

47.
TB, 25 October 1931.

48.
TB, 30 and 31 October 1931.

49.
TB, 1 November 1931.

50.
TB, 8 November 1931.

51.
TB, 1, 3, 23 and 26 October, 3 and 5 November 1931.

52.
TB, 13 December 1931: “My sitting room and bedroom are very nice and have been prepared with a lot of loving care.” See also 16, 17, and 21 November 1931.

53.
TB, 22 November 1931

54.
TB, 29 November 1931.

55.
TB, 11 December 1931.

56.
TB, 14 December 1931.

57.
TB, 18 and 19 December 1931;
Die Rote Fahne
, 18 December 1931, “Wir gratulieren Herr Goebbels!.”

58.
TB, 20 December 1931; Reuth,
Goebbels
, 210f.; Meissner,
First Lady
, 110f.; Jungbluth,
Die Quandts
, 116ff. According to the privately published memoirs of Günther Quandt, which Jungbluth was able to look at, Quandt had known nothing about the wedding preparations of his ex-wife.

59.
TB, 1 September 1931, concerning a conversation with Helldorf. The hitherto autonomous sub-group Greater-Berlin was amalgamated with the Gau storm Brandenburg. See also Engelbrechten,
Armee
, 190f.

60.
TB, 9 December 1931.

61.
Schulz,
Brüning
, 610ff.

62.
TB, 9 December 1931.

63.
TB, 1, 10, and 13 December 1931. The second ban was somewhat reduced:
Der Angriff
did not in fact come out between 10 and 14 December.

64.
Reuth,
Goebbels
, 212f.; Schulz,
Brüning
, 704ff.

65.
The exploratory discussions were undertaken by Groener, Schleicher, and Meissner. Pyta,
Hindenburg
, 649f.; there are numerous details in the Brüning memoirs, 468f., 495ff. Meissner had already been putting out feelers to Göring in December.
Akten der Reichskanzlei. Die Kabinette Brüning I und II
, Koops (ed.), no. 599, Vermerk Meissner über den Empfang Görings beim Reichspräsidenten am 11. Dezember 1931; see Pyta,
Hindenburg
, 649.

66.
Kabinette Brüning I und II
, no. 617: Vermerk Pünder über Besprechung des Reichspräsidenten mit dem Reichskanzler, 5 January 1932.

67.
Kabinette Brüning I und II
, no. 626, Vermerk StSekr Pünder über die Wahl des Reichspräsidenten: 8, 10, and 13 January 1932. Brüning,
Memoiren
, 501, on 6 January 1932. See also Pyta,
Hindenburg
, 653f.

68.
Kabinette Brüning I und II
, no. 623, Hitler to reich chancellor, 12 January 1932 concerning a conversation with Groener on 6 January 1932 as well as a memorandum for the president, published in Poetsch-Heffter, “Vom Staatsleben unter der Weimarer Verfassung,” 102ff. (
VB
, 19 January 1932) and in:
RSA
IV/3, doc. 8, 15 January 1932; statement by Brüning of 22 January 1932 (
Kabinette Brüning I und II
, no. 642); Hitler’s reply, 25 January 1932, published in Poetsch-Heffter, “Vom Staatsleben,” 108ff. (VB, 29 January 1932).

69.
TB, 6–11 January 1932.

70.
See Goebbels, TB, 13 January 1932. The German Nationalist politician, Reinhold Quaatz, who was well-informed about the conversation, noted in his diary on 14 January about Hitler: “Driven by growing discontent in his party, he wanted to get out of Brüning’s clutches and on Monday evening suddenly, using very inadequate means, tried to force Hindenburg to dismiss Brüning. At the same time, he wanted to appear to the outside world as the one at the center of events and to discredit Hugenberg. Result: complete failure.” Weiss and Hoser (eds.),
Die Deutschnationalen und die Zerstörung der Weimarer Republik
, 168ff.

71.
TB, 20 January 1932.

72.
See also TB, 20 January 1932.

73.
TB, 20 January 1932.

74.
TB, 23 January 1932.

75.
TB, 28 January 1932.

76.
Goebbels discussed the matter intensively with Hitler during a visit to Munich and during a visit by Hitler to Berlin: TB, 3 and 10 February 1932.

77.
TB, 23 February 1932;
Der Angriff
, 23 February 1932, “Schluß jetzt! Deutschland wählt Hitler!” (headline);
VZ
, 23 February 1932 (M=Morning edition), “Hitler und Duesterberg proklamiert.”

78.
TB, 22 February 1932.

79.
Verhandlungen Reichstag
, V. LP, vol. 446, 2252.

80.
Verhandlungen Reichstag
, V. LP, vol. 446, 2254.

81.
Verhandlungen Reichstag
, V. LP, vol. 446, 2346ff., 2353. See also TB, 26 February 1926.

82.
TB, 20 January 1931; Paul,
Aufstand
, 74.

83.
TB, 1 March 1932.

84.
TB, 1 and 5 March; see Reuth,
Goebbels
, 215f.

85.
BAB, NS 26/287, NSDAP Reich propaganda headquarters memorandum of 13 March 1932.

86.
Paul,
Aufstand
, 95ff., 248ff.

87.
TB, 27 February 1932; Engelbrechten,
Armee
, 207.

88.
Der Angriff
, 31 March, 1 and 4 April (quotation) 1932.

89.
TB, 2–5 March 1932.

90.
Excerpts from it appeared in the
Münchner Post
of 9 March 1932, which was also a Social Democratic paper; TB, 6 March 1932.

91.
TB, 7 March 1932.

92.
TB, 8 and 10 March 1932.

93.
TB, 17 March 1932; Hitler expressed the same view a few days later to Goebbels (28 March 1932).

94.
TB, 14 March 1932; see also Reuth,
Goebbels
, 216f.

95.
TB, 16 March 1932.

96.
TB, 16 March 1932.

97.
TB, 16 and 17 March 1932;
VZ
, 16 March 1932, “Hitler also had to make a statement to the Investigating Committee of the Thuringian parliament, which was investigating Frick’s failed attempt to gain German citizenship for Hitler by appointing him as a civil servant.”

98.
TB, 19 March 1932. Also 23 March 1932: “It’s difficult to work with him. Too unpredictable. Big plans but can be implemented only with difficulty and against opposition.”

99.
TB, 20 March 1932.

100.
TB, 29 March 1932.

101.
However, Hitler’s “flight over Germany” received barely a mention in Goebbels’s diaries (there was only the entry for 6 April 1932), while in his 1933 “Kaiserfhof” edition he emphasizes it as a “decisive innovation”: 18 March, 5 and 7 April 1932. On the “flight over Germany,” see also Reuth,
Goebbels
, 217f. On the flight, see the reports in
Der Angriff
, which reported it between 2 and 7 April as headline news.

102.
TB, 5 April 1932. On the lifting of the ban on demonstrations, see 2 April 1932.

103.
TB, 6, 7, 9, and 10 April 1932.

104.
Pamphlet
“Wenn Hindenburg gewählt wird, dann […]. Ja, was dann?.”
On the election campaign, see BAB, NS 26/290, in particular the guidelines signed by Goebbels and issued to the Gau headquarters for the second campaign as well as the draft leaflets (sent on the same day) and the circular of 7 April 1932.

105.
Schulz,
Brüning
, 758.

106.
TB, 16 and 18 March 1932;
VZ
, 18 March 1932, “Goebbels bei einer anständigen Handlung ertappt”;
Der Angriff
, 17 March 1932, interview with Dr. Goebbels.

107.
Engelbrechten,
Armee
, 212.

108.
TB, 24 March 1932.

109.
TB, 8 April 1932.

110.
TB, 11 April 1932; see Reuth,
Goebbels
, 218.

111.
Thus for the “Kaiserhof” version of his diary, which he published in 1933, he cut the passages in which he had criticized Hitler’s irregular working methods, replacing sections dealing with the situation before Hitler’s decision to run, when he was still uncertain about his candidature, with various passages praising Hitler’s leadership qualities. TB, 19 and 23 March;
Kaiserhof
, 4 and 10 February, 18 and 22 March 1931. He omitted Hitler’s surprise at his defeat in the first round (TB, 14 March,
Kaiserhof
, 13 March 1931), and turned the criticism expressed by leading Party members of his own propaganda into “enthusiasm” (
Kaiserhof
, 19 March 1931) and gave great weight to the “flight over Germany” (see note 101).

112.
TB, 15 April 1932. There are already references to the impending ban on 12 and 13 April 1932. For examples of disguise in the form of associations, underground
organizations, and continuation of SA duties, see Engelbrechten,
Armee
, 216ff.; Reuth,
Goebbels
, 218.

113.
TB, 25 April 1932; see also Reuth,
Goebbels
, 220f.

114.
TB, 15 April 1932, concerning a conversation with Hitler: “Personnel issues relating to Prussia: Strasser Prime Minister, Göring Interior and Darré Agriculture. Strasser? Göring? Him to compensate him for not getting the Reichswehr. I’m getting indoctrination [Volkserziehung] for the Reich. That’s my field and I’m looking forward to it. Helldorff [correct spelling: Helldorf] Berlin Police President. Schultz [correct spelling: Schulz] Minister for Labor Service.” TB, 24 April 1943 (concerning 20 April.): “Helldorff: He’s been to see Schl. […] Is only acceptable for us for the R, if the Prussian IM has an incumbent who knows what he’s doing. Str. and Gör. are completely out of the running. Helld.’s very eager to have me. I object. That’s not my kind of position. They’ll have to drag me to do it if they want me.” TB, 24 April 1932 (concerning 22 April): “Röhm and Helldorf come and see me. Röhm moans a lot about Strasser and Schultz [correct spelling: Schulz]. […] Göring too crude and boastful […] Göring is to be Prime Minister, me IM. I agree. But the others will have to manage it.” TB, 24 April 1932 (concerning 23 April): “Röhm and Helldorf. […] Strasser’s ruled out.”