"Total war". This is how one of the best-known speeches of Joseph Goebbels, Minister for Enlightenment and Popular Propaganda of the Third Reich and, above all, Adolf Hitler's right-hand man during the rise and failure of Nazism, is known. In fact, it was he who assumed the position of Chancellor of Germany after Hitler's suicide on April 30, 1945. He held it for just one day, since after ordering the murder of his six children, he also committed suicide along with his wife. one day later.
Total war is what Goebbels proclaimed when Germany began to see the war as lost after the defeat of Stalingrad. After the stagnation of an eastern front as wide as it was far away and the effective hammering by the allies of the strategic infrastructures of the rear, the Reich had no choice but to take the war to the interior and ask for a sudden effort from the civilian population.
It was no longer a matter of the enemy bombing German cities with ever greater precision and indiscriminate manner, but rather that Germany needed more resources and more effort to sustain its war effort. If it had been clear to the high command that Operation Barbarossa would be a success and the Wehrmacht would penetrate the Soviet Union like a knife into butter, he had not foreseen the consequences of not taking Moscow.
Italy's decision to conquer Greece without Germany forced Hitler to launch Operation Marita and delay the invasion of the Soviet Union. General Winter, the Russian resistance and a massive mobilization did the rest to mark the beginning of the end for Germany, forced to use its last division: a civilian population that Goebbels did not hesitate to mobilize on a historic February 18, 1943 in the Berlin Sports Palace.
The minister delivered this speech, which we offer as an extract, before the 15,000 present devoted to the cause and the millions of Germans who heard it live on the radio or read it in the numerous newspapers that published it a day later in one of the usual operations regime propaganda.
Goebbels did not hesitate to place the responsibility of a more than uncertain victory on his shoulders and, beyond that, he appealed to international public opinion about the dangers of a communism that was advancing unstoppably, driven in some unknown way by Zionism to threaten all of western civilization.
“Only three weeks ago I was in this place to read the Führer's proclamation on the tenth anniversary of the seizure of power and to speak to you and to the German people. The crisis we now face on the Eastern Front was at its height. In the midst of the harsh misfortunes that the nation faced in the Battle of the Volga, we gathered in a mass assembly on January 30 to show our unity, our unanimity, and our firm will to overcome the difficulties we are facing in the fourth year of the war. .
”It was a moving experience for me, and probably for all of you, to be in radio communication with the last heroic fighters in Stalingrad during our powerful meeting here at the Sports Palace. They radioed to us that they had heard the führer's proclamation, and perhaps for the last time in their lives they joined us in raising their hands to sing the national anthems.
"What an example the German soldiers have set in this great age! And what an obligation it imposes on all of us, in particular on the entire German fatherland! Stalingrad was and is the great alarm call of fate for the German nation! A nation that has the strength to survive and overcome such a disaster, even to draw additional strength from it, is unbeatable.
”The German people, raised, educated and disciplined by National Socialism, can bear the whole truth. You know the gravity of the situation and therefore your leadership can demand whatever tough measures are necessary. Yes, even the harshest measures. We Germans are armed against weakness and uncertainty. The blows and misfortunes of war only give us more strength, a firm determination.
”We are facing a serious military challenge in the East. The crisis is for the moment extensive, similar, but not identical in many aspects to that of the previous winter. We must accept things as they are and discover and apply the ways and means to turn things in our favor. There is no point in discussing the seriousness of the situation. I do not want to give you a false impression of the situation that could lead to false conclusions, perhaps giving the German people a false sense of security that is totally inappropriate in the current situation.
“The storm that lashes our venerable continent from the steppes this winter dwarfs all previous human and historical experience. The German Army and its allies are the only possible defense. In his proclamation of January 30, the Führer gravely and forcefully asked what would have become of Germany and Europe if, on January 30, 1933, a bourgeois or democratic government had seized power instead of the National Socialists!
”What dangers would have followed, faster than we could then have suspected, and what defensive powers would we have had to deal with them? Ten years of National Socialism have been enough to make clear to the German people the seriousness of the danger posed by Eastern Bolshevism. Now one can understand why we talked so often about the fight against Bolshevism at our Nuremberg party rallies.
“We raise our voices in warning to our German people and to the world, in the hope of awakening Western humanity from the paralysis of will and spirit into which it had fallen. We tried to open their eyes to the horrible danger of Eastern Bolshevism, which had subjected a nation of almost 200 million people to the terror of the Jews and was preparing a war of aggression against Europe.
”When the führer ordered the army to attack the East on June 22, 1941, we all knew that this would be the decisive battle in this great struggle. We knew the dangers and difficulties. But we also knew that dangers and difficulties always grow with time, never diminish. It was two minutes to midnight. Waiting any longer could have led to the destruction of the Reich and a complete Bolshevization of the European continent.
“It is understandable that, as a result of the extensive concealment and deceptive actions of the Bolshevik government, we have not adequately assessed the war potential of the Soviet Union. Only now do we see its true scale. Therefore, the battle that our soldiers face in the East exceeds in its harshness, dangers and difficulties all human imagination. It demands all our national strength.
”This is a threat to the Reich and to the European continent that casts all previous dangers into the shadows. If we fail, we will have failed in our historic mission. Everything we have built and done in the past pales in comparison to this gigantic task that the German Army faces directly and the German people less directly.
“Bolshevism has always openly proclaimed its goal: to bring revolution not only to Europe, but to the entire world, and plunge it into Bolshevik chaos. This objective has been evident since the beginning of the Soviet Union and has been the ideological and practical objective of the Kremlin's policies. Clearly, the closer Stalin and the other Soviet leaders believe they are to realizing their goals of world destruction, the more they try to hide it.
"The goal of Bolshevism is the world Jewish revolution. They want to bring chaos to the Reich and to Europe, using the resulting hopelessness and despair to establish their Bolshevik-covert international capitalist tyranny. I need not say what that would mean for the German people. A Bolshevization of the Reich would mean the liquidation of all our intelligentsia and leadership and the descent of our workers into Bolshevik-Jewish slavery.
”That is a direct threat to the existence of all the European powers. No one should believe that Bolshevism would stop at the Reich's borders, if it were victorious. The goal of their aggressive wars and policies is the Bolshevization of all the lands and peoples of the world. Faced with such undeniable intentions, we are not impressed by the Kremlin's paper statements or the assurances from London or Washington.
”The German people, in any case, are not ready to bow down in the face of this danger. Behind the approaching Soviet divisions we see the Jewish liquidation commandos, and behind them terror, the specter of mass famine and total anarchy. International Jewry is the diabolical ferment of decay that finds cynical satisfaction in plunging the world into utter chaos and destroying ancient cultures that played no part in its construction.
”We also know our historical responsibility. Two thousand years of Western civilization are in jeopardy. The danger cannot be overestimated. It is indicative that when one names it as it is, international Jewry around the world loudly protests. Things have gone so far in Europe that a danger cannot be called a danger when it is caused by the Jews.
”Only the German Reich and its allies are in a position to resist this danger. European nations, including England, believe they are strong enough to effectively resist the Bolshevization of Europe, should it come to that. This belief is childish and not even worth refuting. If the strongest military force in the world is not capable of breaking the threat of Bolshevism, who else could?
”The paralysis of Western European democracies in the face of their deadliest threat is terrifying. International Jewry is doing all it can to foster such paralysis. During our struggle for power in Germany, the Jewish newspapers tried to hide the danger, until National Socialism woke up the people. It is the same today in other nations. Jewry is revealed once again as the incarnation of evil, as the plastic demon of decadence and the bearer of a destructive chaos of international culture.
“This explains, by the way, our consistent Jewish policies. We see the Jews as a direct threat to all nations. We don't care what other peoples do about the danger. However, what we do to defend ourselves is our own business and we will not tolerate the objections of others. Jewry is a contagious infection.
“Enemy nations may raise hypocritical protests against our anti-Jewish measures and cry crocodile tears, but that will not stop us from doing what is necessary. Germany, in any case, has no intention of bowing to this threat, but of taking the most radical measures, if necessary, in good time.
”My firm conviction is that we cannot overcome the Bolshevik danger unless we use equivalent, though not identical, methods. The German people are faced with the gravest demand of war, namely, finding the determination to use all our resources to protect all we have and all we will need in the future.
"Total war is the demand of the hour. We must put an end to the bourgeois attitude that we have also seen in this war: Wash my back, but don't get me wet! The danger we face is enormous. The efforts we make to fulfill it must be just as enormous. The time has come to take off our kid gloves and use our fists. We can no longer make partial and careless use of the war potential at home and in the significant parts of Europe that we control.
”We must use all our resources, as quickly and fully as possible from an organizational and practical point of view. Unnecessary worry is totally out of the question. The future of Europe depends on our success in the East. We are ready to defend it. The German people are shedding their most valuable national blood in this battle. The rest of Europe should at least work to support us.
”There are many serious voices in Europe that have already realized this. Others still resist. That can't influence us. If the danger faced them alone, we might see their reluctance as minor literary nonsense. But the danger confronts us all, and we must all do our part. Those who do not understand this today will thank us on their knees tomorrow for courageously and firmly assuming the task.
”Everyone knows that if we lose, everything will be destroyed. The people and the leadership are determined to take the most radical measures. The broad working masses of our people are not unhappy that the government is too ruthless. If anything, they're unhappy because he's too considerate.
“The total war effort has become a matter for the entire German people. No one has an excuse to ignore their demands. A storm of applause greeted my call for total war. Therefore, I can assure you that the leaders' measures are fully in accordance with the wishes of the German people at home and at the front. The people are ready to bear any load, even the heaviest, to make any sacrifice, if it leads to the great goal of victory.
”This naturally assumes that the burdens are shared equally. We cannot tolerate a situation where the majority of the people bear the burden of war, while a small passive portion tries to escape their burdens and responsibilities. The measures we have taken, and those we will still take, will be characterized by the National Socialist spirit of justice.
“We don't pay attention to class or position. Rich and poor, tall and short, must share the burdens equally. All must do their duty in this grave hour, whether by choice or otherwise. We know that this has all the support of the people. We prefer to do too much rather than too little to achieve victory. No war in history has been lost because of too many soldiers or weapons.
”It is time for the slackers to move. They must be shaken from their comfortable tranquility. The alarm must sound across the nation. Millions of hands must be put to work across the country. We will have to make great sacrifices, but they are small compared to the sacrifices we would have to make if individual refusal brought us the greatest national disaster.
"There is, therefore, a series of measures that take into account the optics of war. We have ordered, for example, the closure of bars and nightclubs. I can't imagine that people who are doing their duty for the war effort still have the energy to stay late at night in such places. We have also closed luxury restaurants that demand far more resources than is reasonable.
”Innumerable luxury stores have also been closed. They often offended the buying public. Usually there was nothing to buy, unless perhaps one paid here and there with butter or eggs instead of money. What good are shops that no longer have anything to sell, but only use electricity, heating and human labor that is lacking everywhere, especially in the arms industry.
“We would rather wear worn clothes for a few years than have our people wear rags for a few centuries. What use are fashion salons today? They only use light, heat and workers. They will respawn when the war is over. What good are beauty salons that foster a cult of beauty and take a lot of time and energy? In peace they are wonderful, but in war they are a waste of time. Our women and girls will be able to salute our victorious soldiers returning without their peacetime regalia.
”On the other hand, the government is doing everything possible to give workers the relaxation they need in these difficult times. Theatres, cinemas and music halls remain fully operational. The radio works to expand and improve its programming. We have no intention of inflicting gray winter weather on our people. What serves the people and maintains their fighting strength and work is good and essential to the war effort. We want to remove the opposite.
”The front shares our wishes. All the German people passionately agree. You are no longer willing to put up with efforts that only waste time and resources. You won't stand up to complicated quizzes on every possible topic. You don't want to worry about thousands of minor matters that may have been important in peace, but are not important at all during war.
"Nor does he need to be constantly reminded of his duty with references to the great sacrifices of our soldiers at Stalingrad. He knows what he has to do. He wants everyone, high and low, rich and poor, to share a Spartan lifestyle. The führer gives us all an example that everyone must follow. He only knows how to work and take care of his people. We can't leave everything to him.
”I know that many of our people are making great sacrifices. I understand your sacrifices, and the government is trying to keep them to a necessary minimum. But some must remain, and must be endured. When the war is over, we will build what we are now eliminating, with more generosity and more beauty, and the State will lend a hand.
”I am firmly convinced that the German people have been deeply moved by the fate of Stalingrad. He has faced a harsh and ruthless war. Now he knows the terrible truth and is determined to follow the führer through thick and thin.
“We are all children of our people, forged together by this most critical hour in our national history. We promise you, we promise the front, we promise the führer, that together we will shape the homeland into a force that the führer and his fighting soldiers can trust absolutely and blindly.
”We pledge to do whatever is necessary in our life and work to achieve victory. We will fill our hearts with political passion, with the ever-burning fire that burned during the great party and state struggles. Never during this war will we fall prey to the false and hypocritical objectivism that has brought so much misfortune to the German nation throughout its history.
”When the war began, we turned our eyes only to the nation. What serves your fight for life is good and should be encouraged. What harms your fight for life is bad and must be eliminated and cut. With warm hearts and cold minds we will overcome the main problems of this phase of the war. We are on the road to final victory. That victory is based on our faith in the führer.
”This afternoon I once again remind the entire nation of its duty. The führer expects us to do what will overshadow everything we have done in the past. We don't want to let you down. Since we are proud of him, he should be proud of us.
”The great crises and upheavals of national life show who the true men and women are. We no longer have the right to speak of the weaker sex, because both sexes show the same determination and spiritual strength.
”The nation is ready for anything. The führer has ordered and we will follow him. In this hour of national reflection and contemplation, we firmly and unwaveringly believe in victory. We see it before us, we just need to reach it. We must resolve to subordinate everything to him. That is the duty of the hour. Let the slogan be:
"Now the people rise up and break the storm!"
