Goebbels, Joseph Paul

Born Oct. 29, 1897, in Rheydt; died May 1, 1945, in Berlin. One of the major war criminals of fascist Germany.

Goebbels joined the National Socialist Party (Nazi; fascist) in 1922. From 1927 to 1933 he was the editor of the Nazi newspaper Der Angriff. In 1928 he took over the propaganda work of the Nazi Party. After the seizure of power by the fascists in 1933, Goebbels was the minister for public enlightenment and propaganda. In 1944 he was the chief of the overall war effort for the Reich. The fascist propaganda directed by Goebbels was based on the precept of racism and the glorification of violence and aggressive wars and was characterized by demagogy and an unprecedented falsification of facts. After the entry of Soviet troops into Berlin, Goebbels committed suicide.