Historical Notes Jottings from the Third Reich

Goebbels' diaries shed new light on Hitler's inner circle

"May this book help me to be clearer in spirit, simpler in thought, greater in love." Unlikely as it may seem, so begin the voluminous diaries of one of modern history's most diabolical figures: Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda for the Third Reich. Despite these noble intentions, the entry soon reveals the ugly disposition of the man who became a fanatical member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle. Jews, fumed the 26-year-old Goebbels, "suck the blood from our veins. ((They are)) scoundrels, traitors . . . vampires."

Glimpses of Goebbels' extensive chronicles have dribbled out piecemeal over the past 39 years, but...

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