Joseph Goebbels (Rheydt, Germany, 1897 - Berlin, 1945) German politician. Son of a wealthy Catholic family, he received a careful education and soon stood out for his brilliant intelligence. A physical defect in the legs exempted him from joining the ranks in World War I. In 1921 he graduated in Germanic philology from the University of Heidelberg and tried to live as a writer and journalist, but had little success. In parallel, his views were drifting towards approaches increasingly closer to National Socialism, until he eventually joined the Nazi party in 1923. After a rapid ascent to the power dome, in 1926 he was appointed Gauleiter (zone leader) of Berlin, a position in which he began to show his ability as a provocative speaker and skilled propagandist in a series of local campaigns. In 1930 he became the head of the Propaganda Division; Goebbels moved his regional strategy to a national level and established the principles of manipulation of the masses through propaganda. With Hitler's coming to power, he was appointed Minister of Popular Illustration and Propaganda, a position from which he tried to win the will of the Germans in favor of the Nazi party. With the outbreak of World War II, its propaganda activity increased considerably, in an effort to keep the morale of the army and the German people high throughout the conflict, while justifying the atrocities committed by the regime. In this sense, he became one of the strongest defenders of the views of Nazism and Hitler's closest collaborator. The fact that the course of the war was definitely against the Reich only accentuated his fanaticism. Finally, before the imminent fall of Berlin, he poisoned his six children before committing suicide with his wife in Hitler's bunker. Role in World War II: The Total War In the early stages of the conflict Goebbels was responsible for prohibiting any information that was not of German origin. He publicized the glorious victories of the Wehrmacht in the campaigns of France and North Africa with posters and speeches that extolled the Aryan race over the rest. When the first defeats arrived in the Eastern Front, he promoted firm faith that there was no rival for the Third Reich, there was no doubt of defeat. For the conviction of the German social mass, he used euphemisms with which he hid the painful situations in which the Reich armies were. In 1943, at which time it was a very complicated task to convince citizens of the possibility of victory, Goebbels chose to make Germans aware that they should defend their country. Thus on February 18, 1943, through a speech at the Sports Palace in Berlin he proclaimed the Total War. Heinrich Himmler Leader of Nazi Germany (Munich, 1900 Lüneburg, Hannover, 1945). He was an agronomist by profession and a German ultranationalist by paternal influence. After the First World War (1914-1918), in which he enlisted as a soldier, he militated in nationalist movements, before joining Hitler during the failed coup d'etat that he starred in Munich (1923). In 1929 Hitler put him in charge of the "Defense Squads" that constituted his personal guard, the Schutzstaffel or SS (about 280 men). Himmler made this armed group the basis of his power, providing him with an extremely useful information service in the political struggle (1931) and expanding it to some 52,000 men on the eve of the conquest of power. After the access of Adolf Hitler to the government (1933), Himmler was appointed head of the political police (Gestapo) in 1934. In alliance with Göring he eliminated that same year Röhm, head of the rival paramilitary organization of the SS within Nazism ( the "Assault Sections" or SA), during the purge known as the "Night of the Long Knives" (June 30, 1934). That coup strengthened his power, allowing him to convert the SS into the elite body of the Reich, while granting him control over the concentration camps and the German police as a whole (1936). He therefore held the maximum responsibility in the bloody repression of dissidents and opponents that the Nazis carried out, as well as in the persecution against the Jews. Role in World War II During the war, Himmler's main role was that of Commander in Chief of the SS. He focused his efforts on achieving the Aryan purity that he and Führer himself enacted and wished with such fervor. For this he developed an extensive network of concentration camps and extermination camps where the mostly Jewish and Gypsy prisoners exploited until they died or systematically killed them. His obsession was to clean Europe of the "Jewish rats." However, although he was not commander of the use, he did not participate in numerous battles, if he took over the armies of the Vistula during the brief period of siege to Berlin. In 1944 when there was no chance of victory for the Third Reich tried to negotiate peace with the allies behind the Führer which led him to be expelled from the Nazi Party. Once Germany surrendered Himmler tried to escape under a false identity but was captured by the allies. In May 1945 he committed suicide. George Smith Patton George Smith Patton, Jr. was an American military considered genius in tactics and one of the most feared by the Nazis; Despite his strong personality, his wild comments made him lose his goal of being considered the most accomplished military in the United States. Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in California, United States. He descended from a long military tradition. Apparently he suffered from an undiagnosed case of dyslexia, so it took five years to graduate from West Point, where he graduated in 1909. During World War I, Patton was in command of the newly created American Tank Corps, until he was wounded by a machine gun and had to withdraw from hostilities. While on duty in Washington, Patton met and formed a great friendship with Eisenhower, who would play a huge role in his future military career. At the start of World War II, Patton was transferred to North Africa. After a first defeat against the German Afrika Korps, he got a counteroffensive that together with the British army, commanded by B. Montgomery, successfully expelled the Germans from North Africa. Patton never agreed with Montgomery, establishing a tough rivalry for fame and conquest on European stages. After the success in Africa, Patton was assigned the invasion of Sicily. His job was to free the western part of the island while General Montgomery had to free the eastern one. Determined to prevent his rival Montgomery from taking the glory, Patton quickly advanced on the Sicilian west, freeing Palermo to later take the east to Messina, always ahead of Montgomery. His fiery speeches were his main enemies on the war stage. While visiting hospitals in Italy and praising the wounded soldiers, he slapped and verbally humiliated two soldiers who suffered combat fatigue and had no visible wounds. Because of this action, Patton was removed from public opinion for some time. However, the soldiers preferred to be under his command than under another, because they considered it their best option to leave the military scene alive. Role in World War II Its history in World War II is governed by the competition it maintained with its British "alter ego", Bernard L. Montgomery. Both fought on the same fronts, both for victories and for fame, although they never had a good relationship, their separate leadership allowed the Allied victory. He was in command of the I American Armored Corps in Africa where Montgomery commanded the British armies. He helped him win the battles of El Alamein and reduce and defeat the German Afrika Korps. Both commanders cooperated in the invasion of Sicily by attacking each one by a flank.
