Battle for Berlin

Germany’s short-lived Weimar Republic appears in the historical record as little more than an interregnum between Germany’s defeat in the First World War and the rise of Adolf Hitler’s new order in 1933. While often overlooked, the situation on the ground in the 1920s and 1930s was anything but lacking excitement. The weak and unpopular Republic was unable to prevent radical groups of every stripe from battling it out for control of the country, sometimes with propaganda, and sometimes with fists, knives, bombs, and guns.Nowhere was this struggle more heated and ferocious than Berlin, the political heart of Germany and thus a necessary objective for anyone who would direct the future of the nation and its people. Joseph Goebbels, appointed Gauleiter (district leader) for Berlin in 1926, would prove instrumental in the party’s conquest of the city, leading to his future roles as Reich Minister of Public Engagement and Propaganda and as one of Hitler’s closest lifelong confidantes. Through his unrivaled talent for organization and propaganda, Goebbels transformed the dysfunctional Berlin chapter of the NSDAP into the most powerful political force in the capital, decisively breaking the communist stranglehold on the city’s working-class districts.Antelope Hill is proud to present Battle for Berlin by Joseph Goebbels, now available in English for the first time. This vital historical primary source from the perspective of one of the most important German statesmen of the twentieth century is a must-read for scholars and enthusiasts alike.