Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, is remembered as one of the most sinister figures of the Nazi regime. While the Nazi party publicly championed traditional marriage and motherhood, its leadership often lived by a different set of rules. Goebbels, in particular, stood out for his predatory and manipulative behavior toward women.
The Nazis officially promoted a conservative vision for German women, encouraging them to be mothers and housewives. The state celebrated marriage and frowned upon divorce, while handing out medals to women who produced large families. Yet behind this public facade, many top Nazi leaders conducted affairs and illegitimate relationships. Hitler never married but lived with his longtime partner. Heinrich Himmler separated from his wife for his secretary. Martin Bormann had ten children with his wife while still pursuing various actresses. Hermann Göring was a notable exception, remaining devoted to his second wife.
Goebbels, however, was the worst offender. His affairs carried a distinctly sinister and manipulative edge, and he used his powerful position to fulfill his sexual desires. On the surface, he appeared to have an enviable marriage. His wife, Magda Goebbels, was an attractive blonde often called the unofficial first lady of the Third Reich due to her close relationship with Hitler. She was a divorced single mother when she married Goebbels in 1931, drawn to his oratory skills, wit, and charisma. Magda also brought the upper-class social connections that Goebbels craved to elevate his own status. The couple would go on to have six children.
Despite this, Goebbels was serially unfaithful throughout his marriage. As propaganda minister, he controlled Germany’s film studios and theaters, giving him the power to make or break a star’s career. Young actresses who resisted his advances risked professional ruin. Psychiatrists who studied his behavior point to deep insecurities as the root cause. Goebbels stood only 1.65 meters tall, or about 5 feet 5 inches, below the average for a man of his time. He also had a deformed right foot that required a leg brace and caused a visible limp, which kept him out of the army during World War I. This set him apart from other Nazi leaders who boasted distinguished war records.
With a sickly, rat-like appearance, Goebbels relied on his intellect, charisma, and biting wit. He was deeply disliked by colleagues and staff, earning the nickname “the poison dwarf.” He was thin-skinned, cold, and held grudges. He misused party funds to maintain a luxury lifestyle but made himself indispensable to Hitler, who protected him. His inferiority complex manifested as exaggerated masculinity, leading him to constantly brag about his sexual conquests. He was as far removed as possible from the Aryan ideal his own propaganda promoted.
Goebbels pursued women through two main avenues: young secretaries and administrative staff in his ministry, and actresses under his control in the film and theater industries. His secretary recalled how he preyed on attractive young female staff members, bedding them and then threatening suicide if they tried to end the affair. Many of these women were virgins and little more than teenagers.
His most notable affair was with Czech actress Lída Baarová, which began in 1937. Magda Goebbels discovered the relationship and complained to Hitler in 1938, prompting the Führer to order Goebbels to end it, especially as Hitler was about to annex the Czech Sudetenland. Baarová’s live-in boyfriend eventually found out and famously slapped her in public, causing a scandal. She was finished as an actress in Germany and labeled a harlot.
While the affair with Baarová appeared consensual, the same cannot be said for all his encounters. Goebbels’s secretary, Karl Hanke, sided with Magda during the Baarová scandal and produced a list of 36 actresses and stars he knew Goebbels had affairs with. Magda herself had an affair with Hanke in retaliation.
Goebbels earned another nickname, “the randy goat of Babelsberg,” a reference to the Babelsberg studios in Berlin, due to his preference for young actresses. The name was supposedly coined by actress Baroness Irina von Münchhausen, who famously rejected his advances and suffered little damage to her career. Others were less fortunate. Actress Anaisa Uig had her new film pulled from cinemas after refusing to sleep with Goebbels, effectively destroying her career. Even established stars were not safe; Charlotte Tila was blacklisted in 1944 after refusing his advances and returning an expensive gift.
Goebbels used his lakeside villa at Bogensee, a 70-room mansion north of Berlin, to conduct many of his seductions. At the end of the war, he remained at Hitler’s side, the only leader besides Martin Bormann to stay until the very end. After Hitler’s suicide on April 30, 1945, Goebbels briefly succeeded him as Reich Chancellor for about one day. Realizing the situation was hopeless, he and Magda chose to die. They first poisoned their six children, then Goebbels shot Magda and himself in the Reich Chancellery garden.