There was no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals would never be converted and would anyway always yield to the stronger, and this will always be “the man in the street.” Arguments must therefore be crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts, not the intellect. Truth was unimportant and entirely subordinate to tactics and psychology."Goebbels didn’t say it. It is instead taken from Hugh Trevor-Roper’s introduction to Final Entries 1945: The Diaries of Joseph Goebbels (New York, Putnam’s, 1978), p. xx. It is a reasonable summary of Goebbels’s views— but he never would have put it in that way. As I’ve observed before, in public he always maintained that propaganda had to be truthful.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Another Misattributed Goebbels Quotation
A visitor to my site asks about this quotation, allegedly by Goebbels, which is cited often on the Internet:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
what about this quote "Let me control the media and I will turn any nation into a herd of pigs"? is this also a fraudulent quote?
ReplyDeleteThanks. I hadn't seen this one before. It is almost certainly fabricated. I'll do a little more investigation and post my findings.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely fabricated. No one who cites it gives a source, and the books that use it are not the sort that inspire confidence.
ReplyDeletenone the less true - whomever might have said it. and so true of this time we live in.
ReplyDeleteOh, no doubt about the fact that it accurately describes the approach of effective propagandists. One need only watch Donald Trump in action.
DeleteI have a question about another alleged Goebbels quote: "Accuse the other side of that of which you are guilty". Did he say anything like this? This seems to run into the same issue as your main quote where you'd be a pretty shit propaganda minister to admit you're making false accusations.
ReplyDelete