Customer Reviews

Joseph Goebbels: Nazi Propaganda Minister (Holocaust Biographies)

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I suppose the target audience for this slim little volume on Hitler's Propaganda Minister is for teenagers, or perhaps for people with a minimal interest in the subject matter. There is no way to do justice to Goebbels in 112 pages, especially when the font size is large and the lines are triple spaced. Goebbels was an extremely complex, brilliant, devious man, but you'll not encounter much of him here. Roberts inexplicably decided not to conduct any real research for this book, or include any primary source material. He used very little of Goebbels' WWII diaries, and uses nothing from the 1920's diaries, which David Irving included in his infinitely superior biography of the man.

Certain aspects of Goebbels public life are almost entirely ignored, such as his oratorical capacities, his "Totaler Krieg" speech in 1943 Berlin and his editorship of the Nazi Party newspaper. There is emphasis upon Goebbels' knowledge of the Nazi genocide, but there still is no original material or analysis. A disappointing book all around.

If you are not interested in learning about Goebbels, then I would suggest this book. I didn't realize that it was a children's book when I bought it. I actually thought that it would be worth reading...

Like the other books in this series on Holocaust/Nazi figures, this is a good introduction for middle school students on one of the people behind the greatest evil of the 20th century. I haven't seen any other books on Goebbels for a youthful age group.

Highly recommended as supplementary material for students being introduced to the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. Reading/interest level might extend into high school.