--- title: Joseph Goebbels url: https://propagandaarchive.org/quotes/joseph-goebbels/ description: 15 verified quotes from Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister, with sources. section: FRAME --- ![Illustration: an interwar radio-and-newsreel intelligence collage with a 1930s map of Europe and propaganda poster proofs.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/detail/hero-interwar.jpg) [Quotes](https://propagandaarchive.org/quotes/) · Germany # Joseph Goebbels ![Joseph Goebbels in 1933](https://propagandaarchive.org/regimes/images/nazi-germany/joseph-goebbels.jpg) [Photo](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1968-101-20A,_Joseph_Goebbels.jpg): Heinrich Hoffmann, CC BY-SA 3.0 de Propaganda Minister · Germany On the regime page: [Nazi Germany](https://propagandaarchive.org/regimes/nazi-germany/#joseph-goebbels) 15 quotes, oldest first. [Filter with other speakers](https://propagandaarchive.org/quotes/#speaker=joseph-goebbels). 1. > “We do not want to be a movement of a few straw brains, but rather a movement that can conquer the broad masses. Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — January 9, 1928 · Speech · Berlin — Early speech to party members in Berlin on how propaganda should be practised, years before Goebbels held government office. It is part of the text Bytwerk uses to show Goebbels's view of popular propaganda. — Speech "Erkenntnis und Propaganda" (Knowledge and Propaganda), Berlin, 9 January 1928, published in Signale der neuen Zeit. 25 ausgewählte Reden von Dr. Joseph Goebbels (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1934), pp. 28-52; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb54.htm) 2. > “We go into the Reichstag to supply ourselves at the arsenal of arms of Democracy with its own weapons. We become Deputies of the Reichstag to paralyze the Weimar way of thinking with its own support. If the Democracy is so stupid as to give us free tickets and Deputies' pay for this sham "service," that is its own affair. We will not worry about it. Any lawful means will do if it serves to revolutionize today's conditions.” — English: Office of United States Chief of Counsel, translation of Nuremberg document 2500-PS. Original-language text not found. — April 30, 1928 · Article — Article written by Goebbels in the weeks before the May 1928 Reichstag election, in which the Nazi Party won its first seats, explaining why a party that rejected the Weimar Constitution would stand for parliament. — "Was wollen wir im Reichstag?" (What Do We Want in the Reichstag?), Der Angriff, 30 April 1928, reprinted in Der Angriff: Aufsätze aus der Kampfzeit (Munich: Franz Eher Nachf., 1936), pp. 71-73, document 2500-PS, in Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality, Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, vol. 5 (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1946), p. 236 [Source](https://archive.org/details/naziconspiracyag05unit) 3. **Content note:** Antisemitic characterisation of Jews as a destructive race. The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “Richard Wagner once called the Jews the “plastic demon of decomposition” and Theodor Mommsen meant the same when he saw them as the “ferment of decomposition.” In contrast, the Aryan sees himself as a creative creature. There may be a certain tragedy inherent in the nature of the Jews, but is it our fault that this race works destructively among the peoples and is a constant danger to their domestic and international security?” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — 1933 · Speech — Speech at the first Nuremberg rally after the Nazi takeover, answering foreign press criticism of Germany's racial policies. — Speech "Rassenfrage und Weltpropaganda" (The Racial Question and World Propaganda), Nuremberg Party Rally 1933, in Reichstagung in Nürnberg 1933 (Berlin: Vaterländischer Verlag C. A. Weller, 1933), pp. 131-142; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb41.htm) 4. > “It would not have been possible for us to take power or to use it in the ways we have without the radio and the airplane. It is no exaggeration to say that the German revolution, at least in the form it took, would have been impossible without the airplane and the radio.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — August 18, 1933 · Speech · Berlin — Speech at the opening of a radio exhibition in Berlin, six months after Hitler became Chancellor, when Goebbels was Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. A cheap radio set, the Volksempfänger, had just been introduced. — Speech "Der Rundfunk als achte Großmacht" (The Radio as the Eighth Great Power), Berlin, 18 August 1933, in Signale der neuen Zeit. 25 ausgewählte Reden von Dr. Joseph Goebbels (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1938), pp. 197-207; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb56.htm) 5. **Content note:** States that the government has a duty to subordinate institutions, including radio, to its goals. The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “A government that has determined to bring a nation together so that it is once more a center of power in the scales of great world events has not only the right, but the duty, to subordinate all aspects of the nation to its goals, or at least ensure that they are supportive. That is also true for the radio.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — August 18, 1933 · Speech · Berlin — From the same radio-exhibition speech, on the government's claim to direct the content of broadcasting. — Speech "Der Rundfunk als achte Großmacht" (The Radio as the Eighth Great Power), Berlin, 18 August 1933, in Signale der neuen Zeit. 25 ausgewählte Reden von Dr. Joseph Goebbels (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1938), pp. 197-207; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb56.htm) 6. > “Propaganda is a means to an end. Its purpose is to lead the people to an understanding that will allow it to willingly and without internal resistance devote itself to the tasks and goals of a superior leadership. If propaganda is to succeed, it must know what it wants. It must keep a clear and firm goal in mind, and seek the appropriate means and methods to reach that goal. Propaganda as such is neither good nor evil. Its moral value is determined by the goals it seeks.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — September 1934 · Speech — Speech at the 1934 Nuremberg Party Rally in which Goebbels, as Propaganda Minister, set out his definition of propaganda. — Speech at the Nuremberg Party Rally, 1934, published in Der Kongress zur Nürnberg 1934 (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1934), pp. 130-141; English translation by Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb59.htm) 7. > “The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — January 12, 1941 · Article — Weekly lead article in which Goebbels accuses the British government of misreporting ship losses and air raids. It is the nearest verified Goebbels text to the "big lie" sayings often credited to him. — "Aus Churchills Lügenfabrik" (From Churchill's Lie Factory), Das Reich, 12 January 1941, reprinted in Die Zeit ohne Beispiel (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1941), pp. 364-369; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb29.htm) 8. **Content note:** Antisemitic accusation; refers to the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe. The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “The historic responsibility of world Jewry for the outbreak and widening of this war has been proven so clearly that it does not need to be talked about any further. The Jews wanted war, and now they have it. But the Führer’s prophecy of 30 January 1939 to the German Reichstag is also being fulfilled: If international finance Jewry should succeed in plunging the world into war once again, the result will be not the Bolshevization of the world and thereby the victory of the Jews, but rather the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe. We are seeing the fulfillment of the prophecy. The Jews are receiving a penalty that is certainly hard, but more than deserved. World Jewry erred in adding up the forces available to it for this war, and now is gradually experiencing the destruction that it planned for us, and would have carried out without a second thought if it had possessed the ability. It is perishing according its own law: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — November 16, 1941 · Article — Lead article in Das Reich, written shortly after Jews in Germany were required to wear the yellow star. It was also read over the radio. It invokes Hitler's Reichstag speech of 30 January 1939. — "Die Juden sind schuld!" (The Jews Are Guilty!), Das Reich, 16 November 1941, reprinted in Das eherne Herz (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1943), pp. 85-91; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb1.htm) 9. **Content note:** Defends the compulsory yellow star in antisemitic terms. The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “One of these measures is the institution of the yellow star that each Jew must wear. We wanted to make them visible as Jews, particularly if they made even the least attempt to harm the German community. It is a remarkably humane measure on our part, a hygienic and prophylactic measure to be sure that the Jew cannot infiltrate our ranks unseen to sow discord.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — November 16, 1941 · Article — From the same Das Reich article, on the requirement that Jews in Germany wear a yellow star. — "Die Juden sind schuld!" (The Jews Are Guilty!), Das Reich, 16 November 1941, reprinted in Das eherne Herz (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1943), pp. 85-91; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb1.htm) 10. > “Fourth: The English maintain that the German people is resisting the government’s total war measures. It does not want total war, but capitulation! (Shouts: Never! Never! Never!) I ask you: Do you want total war? If necessary, do you want a war more total and radical than anything that we can even imagine today?” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — February 18, 1943 · Speech · Berlin, Sportpalast — Speech to an invited audience after the surrender at Stalingrad, calling for total war, with a series of questions put to the crowd. The text is the printed version, which differs in places from the spoken one. — Speech "Nun, Volk, steh auf, und Sturm, brich los!" in the Berlin Sportpalast, 18 February 1943, printed in Der steile Aufstieg (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1944), pp. 167-204; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb36.htm) 11. **Content note:** Antisemitic claim that Jews stand behind Bolshevism. The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “Behind the oncoming Soviet divisions we see the Jewish liquidation commandos, and behind them terror, the specter of mass starvation and complete anarchy. International Jewry is the devilish ferment of decomposition that finds cynical satisfaction in plunging the world into the deepest chaos and destroying ancient cultures that it played no role in building.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — February 18, 1943 · Speech · Berlin, Sportpalast — From the same Sportpalast speech, in the part describing the danger of a Soviet advance into Europe. Bytwerk notes that in the spoken version Goebbels begins to say "extermination" of the Jews and breaks off mid-word. — Speech "Nun, Volk, steh auf, und Sturm, brich los!" in the Berlin Sportpalast, 18 February 1943, printed in Der steile Aufstieg (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1944), pp. 167-204; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb36.htm) 12. > “I ask you: Is your confidence in the Führer greater, more faithful and more unshakable than ever before? Are you absolutely and completely ready to follow him wherever he goes and do all that is necessary to bring the war to a victorious end?” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — February 18, 1943 · Speech · Berlin, Sportpalast — Fifth of the ten questions put to the Sportpalast audience after the surrender at Stalingrad, following the 'total war' question. It is preceded in the printed text by the claim that the English say the German people have lost faith in the Führer. — Speech "Nun, Volk, steh auf, und Sturm, brich los!" in the Berlin Sportpalast, 18 February 1943, printed in Der steile Aufstieg (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1944), pp. 167-204; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb36.htm) 13. **Content note:** Refers to "the wiping out of the Jewish race" as a process that "can no longer be halted". The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “None of the Führer’s prophetic words has come so inevitably true as his prediction that if Jewry succeeded in provoking a second world war, the result would be not the destruction of the Aryan race, but rather the wiping out of the Jewish race. This process is of vast importance, and will have unforeseeable consequences that will require time. But it can no longer be halted. It must only be guided in the right direction.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — May 9, 1943 · Article — Lead article of spring 1943 that, according to Bytwerk, set the tone of an antisemitic propaganda campaign and was recommended to propagandists as a model. — "Der Krieg und die Juden" (The War and the Jews), Das Reich, 9 May 1943, reprinted in Der steile Aufstieg (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1944), pp. 263-270; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb37.htm) 14. **Content note:** Antisemitic claim that Jews stand behind capitalism and Bolshevism. The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “One could not understand this war if one did not always keep in mind the fact that International Jewry stands behind all the unnatural forces that our united enemies use to attempt to deceive the world and keep humanity in the dark. It is, so to speak, the mortar that holds the enemy coalition firmly together, despite its differences of class, ideology, and interests. Capitalism and Bolshevism have the same Jewish roots, two branches of the same tree that in the end bear the same fruit.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — January 21, 1945 · Article — According to Bytwerk, Goebbels's last lengthy published attack on the Jews. — "Die Urheber des Unglücks der Welt" (The Creators of the World's Misfortunes), Das Reich, 21 January 1945, pp. 1, 3; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb64.htm) 15. **Content note:** Predicts slaughter of nations under Soviet rule; antisemitic remark about the press. The words are shown as they were said or written. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was) — > “If the German people lay down their weapons, the Soviets, according to the agreement between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, would occupy all of East and Southeast Europe along with the greater part of the Reich. An iron curtain would fall over this enormous territory controlled by the Soviet Union, behind which nations would be slaughtered. The Jewish press in London and New York would probably still be applauding.” — English: Randall Bytwerk, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin University. Original-language text not found. — February 25, 1945 · Article — Article written after the Yalta Conference. Bytwerk notes that it uses the phrase "an iron curtain" for the result of a Soviet advance, before it was popularised by Churchill in 1946. — "Das Jahr 2000" (The Year 2000), Das Reich, 25 February 1945, pp. 1-2; English translation by Randall Bytwerk [Source](https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb49.htm) ## Often attributed, not verified These words circulate under Joseph Goebbels’s name but could not be traced to a source. They are listed so readers can check them, not as Joseph Goebbels’s words. - > “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” — Misattributed Usually said to come from: Joseph Goebbels (also given as 'a lie told often enough becomes the truth') — No source in the Bytwerk German Propaganda Archive texts consulted, the IMT transcript or Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression vols. 1-8 for any form of this wording in Goebbels's name. The phrase 'big lie' is Hitler's (Mein Kampf, vol. 1, ch. 10, of the Jewish press and Versailles), who used it of opponents. The closest verified Goebbels text is the Das Reich article of 12 January 1941, which says 'The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it.' - > “A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.” — Apocryphal Usually said to come from: Joseph Goebbels — No German original or dated source found in any of the primary collections consulted; widely repeated in quotation sites without a citation. - > “Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” — Unverifiable Usually said to come from: Joseph Goebbels — Not found in the Bytwerk-hosted Goebbels texts consulted or in the IMT record; often given without a citation.