Hitler's Favourite Child

Can a lie become the truth even for those who started the lie? Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes accepted as truth.” But what about Goebbels himself? Having said what he said, he obviously knew that he was spreading lies - about Jews, communists, the Roma people, Black people and about the superiority of the "Aryan race". Did these lies become true for him?

Goebells had 6 children. The eldest was Helga. She, like her 5 other siblings, became the "perfect Aryan" poster child of Nazi Germany. Their photographs and videos were widely used in Nazi propaganda to show what the children of "Aryan" families looked like. Their images with Hitler were constantly displayed to foster “racial pride”.

Hitler did not have children. His Propaganda Minister's children were his ticket to reach the hearts of families who wanted to see a caring and dependable family man in their leader. Whether real or fake, his affection and care was brought out through the pictures and videos taken with the children of Goebbels. Helga was Hitler's favorite child. He is said to have given her a lot of attention - going to the park, chatting, drinking hot chocolate together and attending concerts. She is often pictured close to him and compared to her siblings, she quite clearly has the most special place.

Goebbels was very proud of his children. They were the future of the race experiment he was part of - a race experiment where the "Aryans" were the only people worthy of living and they were the most superior of all. They were undefeatable. The fuehrer was their leader. The fuehrer was invincible.

But this was based on falsehoods that the powerful propaganda machine of Hitler, led by Goebbels, manufactured and repeated again and again. Despite the all-pervasive aura of Hitler which never seemed to diminish, he killed himself in a bunker at the end of the war. His supremacist experiment failed.

What happened to the poster children of Nazi Germany? What happened to the six children of Goebbels, who he used for propaganda for the fuehrer? What happened to the fuehrer's favorite child, Helga, with whom he was photographed a thousand times, walking, playing, drinking hot chocolate and attending galas?

The fuhrer left behind death for her and her siblings. They were all killed by their father. The Nazi experiment had failed despite years of aggressive and calculated propaganda. The fuehrer had killed himself. His Propaganda Minister had tried to make his leader immortal through all the words and imagery he used. But Nazism had failed and Hitler's suicide was the biggest testament to it.

All that was left now was shame and fear. Goebbels arranged for a dentist to inject his six children with morphine to make them unconscious so an ampule of cyanide could be then crushed in each of their mouths. Once the children were unconscious, their mother, Magda Goebbels and Hitler's personal doctor administered the cyanide. The youngest child was four-year-old Heidrun, called Heide and the eldest was Hitler's favorite child, Helga, who was 12-year-old at the time.

Nazis wanted to get rid of "others" that they deemed unworthy of living while they claimed to protect and promote their own "perfect" race. In the end, Nazism killed both.

Propagandists are not safe from the hateful world they create. It is the huge and resourceful propaganda machine that makes them look unmatched, unparalleled and unsurmountable. But they are none of these. The story of Nazi Germany is a proof of that. It also proves that propaganda can only fool people to an extent. The injustice and inhumanity of autocratic and dictatorial rule becomes unpalatable even to those who may have supported it initially. When this happens and enough people start to speak the truth, propaganda is defeated.

We invite you to explore with us the many possibilities of defeating hateful and misleading propaganda. It harms all of us. It spares no one - those it attacks, those who believe in it and those who propagate it. Join us tomorrow to learn how facts, figures and logic are a great weapon against propaganda and how a medical doctor has successfully used it in India for over three decades. Dr. Ram Puniyani is speaking in the first Peace Praxis lecture at EST 10 am, CST 9 am, India time 8.30 pm TOMORROW, March 6. Reserve your spot here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0P_XK3gCTDCIx6Htm0ALJA

Remember that we must learn to defend peace. It is a knowledge system. It needs to be studied. It needs to be practiced. Join us. Peace Needs All of Us.

Shirin,
for Peace Vigil
PeaceVigil.net
YouTube