Goebbels’ China Problem

German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels had a big problem in the summer of 1937. War had broken out between China and Japan, and Germany was staying neutral, even though a sizable number of German officers were active in China as advisors to the army’s best divisions. Goebbels was part of a group of Nazi leaders who wanted Germany to sever all ties with China and strengthen relations with Japan instead. But the German public, and its media, seemed to be largely pro-Chinese.

On August 17, 1937, Goebbels reported in his diary that he had given his close associate Alfred Ingemar Berndt the task of getting the German media to “calm down.” He elaborated: “It seems to me that the press is too supportive of China in the East Asian conflict. That’s crazy, both substantially and politically. First of all, the Chinese are losing, and secondly, they are half Bolshevik, whereas the Japanese will one day be able to help us against the Russians.”  Just two days later, Goebbels’ order seems to have made its way through to the various media outlets, as he noted in his diary: “My directive to the press is having an effect. There is a clear decline in the coverage of China.”

On August 23, Goebbels once again raised the issue of the China coverage in the German media, stating that “you always have to be careful that our press does not suddenly slip back into support of China. That’s the sentimental Germans for you. Just like two years ago, when everyone was siding with Abyssinia.”

Goebbels’ view did not represent a consensus in the German establishment, and on August 26, he was alerted to reports from German diplomats in China explaining that the emerging pro-Japanese views in the German press had been noted in China and could have consequences for German economic interests in the country. Goebbels’ reply was to insist on the course he had chosen: “I will not allow myself to be led astray by this. We stick to our position up till now. Berndt must not become weak. We are pursuing Realpolitik. Only Japan is of some use to us. What happened to Abyssina will happen to China, not as completely, but still.”

Categories: Media, War

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