(Paul) Joseph Goebbels

Goebbels, (Paul) Joseph (1897–1945), Nazi propagandist. Appointed minister of propaganda by Hitler in 1933, Goebbels skillfully organized political campaigns and used the mass media (cinema, radio, newspapers) to promote Nazism throughout Germany until the end of World War II. He committed suicide with his family in Berlin in 1945.

See also: Nazism; World War II.