Joseph Goebbels
(Rheydt, Germany, 1897 - Berlin, 1945) German
politician. Son of a wealthy Catholic family, he
received a careful education and soon stood out for
his brilliant intelligence. A physical defect in the legs
exempted him from joining the ranks in World War
I. In 1921 he graduated in Germanic philology from
the University of Heidelberg and tried to live as a
writer and journalist, but had little success.
In parallel, his views were drifting towards
approaches increasingly closer to National
Socialism, until he eventually joined the Nazi party
in 1923. After a rapid ascent to the power dome, in 1926 he was appointed Gauleiter
(zone leader) of Berlin, a position in which he began to show his ability as a provocative
speaker and skilled propagandist in a series of local campaigns.
In 1930 he became the head of the Propaganda Division; Goebbels moved his
regional strategy to a national level and established the principles of manipulation of
the masses through propaganda. With Hitler's coming to power, he was appointed
Minister of Popular Illustration and Propaganda, a position from which he tried to win
the will of the Germans in favor of the Nazi party.
With the outbreak of World War II, its propaganda activity increased considerably, in
an effort to keep the morale of the army and the German people high throughout the
conflict, while justifying the atrocities committed by the regime. In this sense, he
became one of the strongest defenders of the views of Nazism and Hitler's closest
collaborator. The fact that the course of the war was definitely against the Reich only
accentuated his fanaticism. Finally, before the imminent fall of Berlin, he poisoned his
six children before committing suicide with his wife in Hitler's bunker.
Role in World War II: The Total War
In the early stages of the conflict Goebbels was responsible for prohibiting any
information that was not of German origin. He publicized the glorious victories of the
Wehrmacht in the campaigns of France and North Africa with posters and speeches
that extolled the Aryan race over the rest.
When the first defeats arrived in the Eastern Front, he promoted firm faith that there
was no rival for the Third Reich, there was no doubt of defeat. For the conviction of
the German social mass, he used euphemisms with which he hid the painful situations
in which the Reich armies were.
In 1943, at which time it was a very complicated task to convince citizens of the
possibility of victory, Goebbels chose to make Germans aware that they should defend
their country. Thus on February 18, 1943, through a speech at the Sports Palace in
Berlin he proclaimed the Total War.
Heinrich Himmler
Leader of Nazi Germany (Munich, 1900 Lüneburg, Hannover, 1945). He was an
agronomist by profession and a German
ultranationalist by paternal influence. After
the First World War (1914-1918), in which he
enlisted as a soldier, he militated in
nationalist movements, before joining Hitler
during the failed coup d'etat that he starred in
Munich (1923).
In 1929 Hitler put him in charge of the
"Defense Squads" that constituted his
personal guard, the Schutzstaffel or SS
(about 280 men). Himmler made this armed group the basis of his power, providing
him with an extremely useful information service in the political struggle (1931) and
expanding it to some 52,000 men on the eve of the conquest of power.
After the access of Adolf Hitler to the government (1933), Himmler was appointed head
of the political police (Gestapo) in 1934. In alliance with Göring he eliminated that
same year Röhm, head of the rival paramilitary organization of the SS within Nazism
( the "Assault Sections" or SA), during the purge known as the "Night of the Long
Knives" (June 30, 1934).
That coup strengthened his power, allowing him to convert the SS into the elite body
of the Reich, while granting him control over the concentration camps and the German
police as a whole (1936). He therefore held the maximum responsibility in the bloody
repression of dissidents and opponents that the Nazis carried out, as well as in the
persecution against the Jews.
Role in World War II
During the war, Himmler's main role was that of Commander in Chief of the SS. He
focused his efforts on achieving the Aryan purity that he and Führer himself enacted
and wished with such fervor. For this he developed an extensive network of
concentration camps and extermination camps where the mostly Jewish and Gypsy
prisoners exploited until they died or systematically killed them. His obsession was to
clean Europe of the "Jewish rats."
However, although he was not commander of the use, he did not participate in
numerous battles, if he took over the armies of the Vistula during the brief period of
siege to Berlin.
In 1944 when there was no chance of victory for the Third Reich tried to negotiate
peace with the allies behind the Führer which led him to be expelled from the Nazi
Party. Once Germany surrendered Himmler tried to escape under a false identity but
was captured by the allies. In May 1945 he committed suicide.
George Smith Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was an American military
considered genius in tactics and one of the most feared by
the Nazis; Despite his strong personality, his wild comments
made him lose his goal of being considered the most
accomplished military in the United States.
Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in California, United States. He descended
from a long military tradition. Apparently he suffered from an undiagnosed case of
dyslexia, so it took five years to graduate from West Point, where he graduated in
1909.
During World War I, Patton was in command of the newly created American Tank
Corps, until he was wounded by a machine gun and had to withdraw from hostilities.
While on duty in Washington, Patton met and formed a great friendship with
Eisenhower, who would play a huge role in his future military career.
At the start of World War II, Patton was transferred to North Africa. After a first defeat
against the German Afrika Korps, he got a counteroffensive that together with the
British army, commanded by B. Montgomery, successfully expelled the Germans from
North Africa. Patton never agreed with Montgomery, establishing a tough rivalry for
fame and conquest on European stages.
After the success in Africa, Patton was assigned the invasion of Sicily. His job was to
free the western part of the island while General Montgomery had to free the eastern
one. Determined to prevent his rival Montgomery from taking the glory, Patton quickly
advanced on the Sicilian west, freeing Palermo to later take the east to Messina,
always ahead of Montgomery.
His fiery speeches were his main enemies on the war stage. While visiting hospitals
in Italy and praising the wounded soldiers, he slapped and verbally humiliated two
soldiers who suffered combat fatigue and had no visible wounds. Because of this
action, Patton was removed from public opinion for some time. However, the soldiers
preferred to be under his command than under another, because they considered it
their best option to leave the military scene alive.
Role in World War II
Its history in World War II is governed by the competition it maintained with its British
"alter ego", Bernard L. Montgomery. Both fought on the same fronts, both for victories
and for fame, although they never had a good relationship, their separate leadership
allowed the Allied victory.
He was in command of the I American Armored Corps in Africa where Montgomery
commanded the British armies. He helped him win the battles of El Alamein and
reduce and defeat the German Afrika Korps. Both commanders cooperated in the
invasion of Sicily by attacking each one by a flank.
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