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Das Reich ( German: The Reich ^[1]) was a weekly newspaper founded by Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister of Nazi Germany, in May 1940. ^[2] It was published by Deutscher Verlag.

History

Das Reich was mainly the creation of Rudolf Sparing, Rolf Rienhardt and Max Amann. ^[3]

Its circulation grew from 500,000 in October 1940 to over 1,400,000 by 1944. ^[4]

Aside from a weekly editorial, Goebbels was not involved in the publication. ^[5] Most, but not all, of his articles after 1940 appeared in it. ^[6] In the 1930s his articles had appeared in Der Völkische Beobachter but then he wished to target a more sophisticated and intellectual readership. From May 1940 he wrote 218 editorials. ^[7]

When Allied forces landed in Italy, and Mussolini was briefly deposed, Goebbels decided not to write an editorial. ^[8]

Contents

The paper contained news reports, essays on various subjects, book reviews, and an editorial written by Goebbels. ^[9] Some of the content was written by foreign authors. ^[10] With the exception of Goebbels’ editorial, Das Reich did not share the tone of other Nazi publications. ^[11]

Among other topics, it covered the uncertain casualty lists from Stalingrad, ^[12] distinguished between German and Allied invasions to suggest the latter would be unsuccessful, ^[13] discussed the bombing raids ^[14] and the V-1, ^[15] deplored American culture, ^[16] portrays American morale as poor (though not suggesting they would give up because of it), ^[17] and finally declared that Berlin would fight to the end. ^[18]

Goebbels's editorials covered a wide range of topics. His first bragged of the accomplishments of Nazi Germany, which was then conquering France. ^[19] He spoke with continuing confidence as France fell, of the opportunities the "plutocracies" had missed for peace. ^[20] Later he issued vitriolic anti-Semitic articles, ^{[21] [22] [23] [24]} argued against listening to enemy propaganda. ^[25] encouraged them for total war ^[26] declared England bound to lose the war, ^[27] attacked the still neutral United States, ^[28] discussed the significance of its entry into the war, ^[29] talked about prospects for a new year, ^[30] presented German radio as a good companion (when, in fact, he hoped to lure them from enemy propaganda broadcasts), ^[31] professed to be delighted that Churchill was in command in Britain, ^[32] discussed cuts in food rations and severe treatment for black market dealings, ^[33] urged that complaints not get in the way of the war effort, ^[34] accused Douglas MacArthur of cowardice (ineffectually, as the Germans knew he had been ordered to leave), ^[35] talked of the Allied bombing, ^[36] describes the sinking of Allied ships by German U-boats, ^[37] explained Soviet resistance in Sevastopol as product of a stubborn but bestial Russian soul, ^[38] decried the United States as having no culture, ^[39] urged that Germans not allow their sense of justice be exploited by their enemies, ^{[40] [41]} and claimed that the Allies were as weary as the Axis. ^[42]

His final article in April 1945 called for last-ditch resistance. ^[43]

See also

• Other newspapers of Nazi Germany:
  • Der Angriff ("The Attack"), Josef Goebbels' Berlin-based newspaper
  • Berliner Arbeiterzeitung ("Berlin Workers Newspaper"), Gregor and Otto Strasser's newspaper, representing the Strasserite wing of the Nazi Party
  • Illustrierter Beobachter ("Illustrated Observer"), illustrated companion to the Völkischer Beobachter
  • Panzerbär ("The Panzer Bear"), a tabloid Nazi newspaper intended for the troops defending Berlin from the Red Army
  • Das Schwarze Korps ("The Black Corps"), the official newspaper of Heinrich Himmler's Schutzstaffel (SS)
  • Volkischer Beobachter, the official Nazi newspaper
  • Der Stürmer ("The Stormer"), Julius Streicher's Nuremberg-based virulently antisemitic and frequently semi-pornographic newspaper

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Randall Bytwerk. "Cartoons from Das Reich: 1944-1945". Das Reich 1940–1945. Retrieved August 16, 2006.
• Hale, Oron J., The Captive Press in the Third Reich (Princeton, 1964)
• Robert Michael and Karin Doerr. Nazi-Deutsch / Nazi-German: An English Lexicon of the Language of the Third Reich. Greenwood. 2002.
• Welch, David, The Third Reich: Politics and Propaganda (London, 1993)

External links

• Cartoons from Das Reich: 1940-1941
• Cartoons from Das Reich: 1944-1945