Magda Goebbels [Paperback]

Anja Klabunde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Magda Goebbels was arguably the most contradictory and intriguing of the women who lived alongside the top-ranking Nazis. Beautiful and intelligent, she went from being deeply in love with Zionist leader Victor Chaim Arlosoroff to marrying Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of propaganda. She turned from being a devoted mother of 6 and role model of Nazi family values to becoming a Medea who poisoned her young children. Anja Klabunde’s impeccably researched biography explores how such an intelligent and charming woman could fall victim to fanaticism. The result is an absorbing account of a life that mirrors the tragedy and illusion of Germany in the first half of the 20th century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

* 'Never less than gripping' - Michael Burleigh, Mail on Sunday * 'Klabunde has pieced together a chilling story that confirms the outsider's greatest fears about those within the Nazi Party elite' - Rosemary Goring, Glasgow Herald * An engaging and lucid account of a supposed anomaly: a cultivated woman at the heart of the Nazi regime' - Literary Review

From the Publisher

Magda Goebbels (1901­1945) was arguably the most contradictory and intriguing of the women who lived alongside the top–ranking Nazis. Beautiful and intelligent, she went from being deeply in love with Zionist leader Victor Chaim Arlosoroff to marrying Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of propaganda; she turned from being a devoted mother of six and role model of Nazi–family values to becoming a Medea who poisoned her young children. Anja Klabunde’s impeccably researched biography explores how such an intelligent and charming woman could fall victim to fanaticism. The result is an absorbing account of a life that mirrors the tragedy and illusion of Germany in the first half of the 20th century.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075153448X
• ISBN-13: 978-0751534481
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 4.8 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sleeping with the Devil!!!...., January 26, 2006

By 

S. Henkels (Devon, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magda Goebbels (Paperback)

And producing 6 beautiful children! This is indeed one of the strangest biographies you'll ever read, not to mention fascinating thruout! Magda was educated at a Catholic school, had charm, beauty, and polish in abundance, and was the stepdaughter to a Jewish father..Friedlander was her maiden name.She fell for a leading German Zionest in early 1920's, then married a leading German industrialist, and divorced him to marry one of the three most infamous Nazis (along with Hitler and Himmler). Traveling in the highest of social circles, she became the ideal German mother, producing a child about every year with Goebbels, who was known for his incredible infidelities, not to mention anti-semitism, and general nastiness. Even so, obviously he had charm and personality. Anyway, just look at the family photo Mr. and Mrs. Goebbels, and you may agree a more beautiful set of children, including 5 girls, is a true rarity. Also, do not miss the photo of the 1943 audience of Goebbel's "Total War" speech. The entire audience, including Magda and her 2 daughters, is completely bewildered, possibly scared, during this "Total War" speech. This book is about perfect in showing how a German woman could sell her soul to the devil, her hubbie and Hitler. WE all know the horrifying ending, but this is still a truly fascinating, unique, if sometimes repellent read throughout!

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Story, January 9, 2007

By 

Felicia Graber "Holocaust survivor" (MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magda Goebbels (Paperback)

Very few people, even WWII expert, know a lot about this woman, Magda Goebbels. I was astounded to learn about her background, her relationship with Arloseroff during her youth, her flirtation with conversion to Judaism and her relationship/admiration with Hitler. The book seems to be thouroughly researched although I guess that there are quite a few "artistic" addition to make the book more readable. It flows very smoothly and you often have the feeling that you are reading a novel. A lot about Magda's life cannot be explained rationally although the author tries to make some sense of her actions. The fact that she murdered six of her seven children because "life is not worht living without the Fuehrer" cannot be explained by any rational person.
I found this book fascinationg and frightening. It did give me an insight however into the mindset of the people who followed Hitler: empty, unfullfilled lives without any values, morals or goals, drifters who were looking for a "guru" to fill their empty shells.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fundamental Information Incorrect or Fictionalized, April 23, 2010

By 

Slow Reader (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magda Goebbels (Paperback)

As an historian, alarms went off when I noticed the novelization filler-in style of the book - at (Klabunde's)the author's own admission in the forward, 'Every now and again I have transposed the action into dramatic scenes, in order to visualise and heighten certain impressions." If an author admittedly novelizes something like, 'Magda enjoyed the fragrance of the perfume shop,' that's not very scholarly, but it doesn't really have too much of an impact on Magda as an historical figure. So, I was willing to give the author some leeway - even down to her historically incorrect assumption that the women in the Nazi leadership's lives had much, if any influence on their public lives... until I got to page 63. Klabunde clearly states that Joseph Goebbels' left leg had certain deformities due to childhood illness, and how he walked with a limp and so forth. It was Goebbels' RIGHT leg which was affected - common historical knowledge. The repetition of "left" leaves no doubt that this wasn't just a printer's error. If the author got such a fundamental and simple fact incorrect about the major player in Magda's life, I am no longer hazily skeptical about the other "facts" in the book - I can't believe a word in it without cross-referencing other sources. Only for those so interested in Magda Goebbels that they would take the time and effort to do so. The one star is for the photo section.