As an history teacher, there was much that I took from this documentary- the rare footage and selected diary excerpts. However, it is far too broad in its focus; no discussion of the Depression except by 1931 and then, suddenly, Hitler becomes Chancellor. Not only does this approach prevent any understanding of the complex forces at work, but it risks giving the wrong impression of Nazi support. By November 1932 the Nazis had lost significant support (falling from 37% to 32%), and the party was in a state of bankruptcy due to Goebbels's propaganda machine. Historians argue that Hitler had peaked and, with the economy improving, he was about to enter the dustbin of history. In fact, he was suicidal. And so his being made chancellor was for him miraculous, and yet no indication is made of this- he simply becomes Chancellor without any explanation. I began questioning the point of the film, for it so simplified the situation that no indication of why Goebbels is considered a propaganda genius by many and is credited for Hitler's electoral successes. He is far more important than the film describes, but one ends up asking why he is the subject. Indeed, the development of the state in a totalitarian regime is not addressed, nor so many crucial events leading up to war that it doesn't bear reciting here, from foreign policy beginning with leaving the League of Nations, creation of the GESTAPO, rearmament and conscription to the Fall of France... incredible! Of course, Goebbels was not involved in foreign policy, but he was instrumental in devising the rationale. And to ignore the marching into the Rhineland to me was incomprehensible, considering this was Goebbels's very homeland. Some of the images have no commentary at all and so their significance too is lost. By the time 1943 comes around without the slightest reference to Stalingrad, I could only question what the point was that the producers had intended to make. An inordinate amount of time was given to the Venice biennial which only reiterates Goebbels's contempt for foreign films. This hardly constitutes an "experiment" and one finishes the film without any insight or awareness of the man and what he tried to revolutionise (to his mind). To me, the Goebbels experiment was radicalising the people which is only hinted here. It was he who initiated the book burnings. He who started the first Jewish boycott. He who launched Reichskristallnacht. So stale is the portrait in this film that his evil machinations and designs get lost in the times, and he comes across instead as sentimental and caught up in others' actions. My website shows his propaganda ministry then and now, as well as other remaining NSDAP architecture: www.tracesofevil.com
18 Reviews
Belsen Was A Gas
valis19491 February 2010
In the fascinating documentary, THE GOEBBELS EXPERIMENT, Kenneth Branagh elicits a dramatic reading from Goebbels's personal journal while the viewer watches vintage film and news clips from the era. Carefully crafted and diligently compiled, the film reveals Joseph Goebbels to be a very human, three dimensional character- equal parts loathsome, and possibly brilliant, yet clearly trapped in a doomed and misguided chapter of world history. Joseph Goebbels was arguably the highest ranking 'non-gangster' of National Socialism's inner circle. Although a virulent anti-semite, and certainly afflicted by megalomania, Goebbels did exhibit a certain degree of intellectualism which was noticeably absent from the rest of Hitler's ruling elite. All historically significant men, and unfortunately, Hitler was one such man, require a facilitator who can translate their fundamental message to the world at large. And, Joseph Goebbels became the perfect individual who aptly aided The Fuhrer to codify, clarify, and disseminate his demented political and social policies. Certainly Goebbels was on the wrong side of history, but this fine film examines his reasons and motivations quite admirably.
Fascinating and educational
jimlacy200314 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
(Contains only mild spoilers, if at all)
I watch a lot of WW2 documentaries. Pretty much everything I can get my hands on. Literally over a hundred of them in my collection.
This has to be one of the best since it has some of the least bias of them all. Here you take sort of a trip through the eyes of Joseph Goebbels him self. One of the highest of Hitlers henchmen and the Nazi party. The entire narrative is spoken from Goebbels diary. So you get his point of view; how he saw him self, the war, Germany, Hitler, and so on.
Where this is great it's a problem with the majority of WW2 documentaries. It's an injustice to just demonize everyone and everything about the German side of WW2. Sure Hitler's Naziism was organized Evil, but the point is you have to see things as they are/were. View the facts and the full data of WW2 to understand how it came about and what transpired. Something everyone the world needs to understand. Less we let this dark history repeat it's self again.
This movie is not the best for new WW2 enthusiasts. It is probably better to watch some other documentaries (and, or, read) that cover who Goebbels was and the over all relation to Hitler and how events unfold over the war. It just sort of adds a lot to over all picture. This is not an epic chronology of the war. And although I found it very entertaining, it is not really an "entertainment" movie. It's more about enlightenment.
One of the neatest things I got out of it was how he looked at "propaganda". How he so zealously and purposely went about it. He went about it as a science and an art. It was not "brain washing", it was not about tricking people into believing something. It was about rallying the German people into a fervor to work and fight harder, to keep them in high spirits, and then on the outside to convince the world to join the Nazi cause. And yes too, those evil attempts to lure the Jewish population into believing the death camps where some sort of "Club Med" vacation - happy time - work place.
Furthermore how he saw films as an excellent propaganda vehicle and then he comments on how the Allies where bad at it in their own films. It dawned on me that yes maybe they are both "propaganda" but then one was more to inform in a democratic, fairly free thinking way, where the other (Goebbels) to more directly say "this is what is is", "this is what is happening", "think this". And how similar bad propaganda is happening today to push political views and so on..
If you are a WW2 history buff then you definitely want to see this film.
I watch a lot of WW2 documentaries. Pretty much everything I can get my hands on. Literally over a hundred of them in my collection.
This has to be one of the best since it has some of the least bias of them all. Here you take sort of a trip through the eyes of Joseph Goebbels him self. One of the highest of Hitlers henchmen and the Nazi party. The entire narrative is spoken from Goebbels diary. So you get his point of view; how he saw him self, the war, Germany, Hitler, and so on.
Where this is great it's a problem with the majority of WW2 documentaries. It's an injustice to just demonize everyone and everything about the German side of WW2. Sure Hitler's Naziism was organized Evil, but the point is you have to see things as they are/were. View the facts and the full data of WW2 to understand how it came about and what transpired. Something everyone the world needs to understand. Less we let this dark history repeat it's self again.
This movie is not the best for new WW2 enthusiasts. It is probably better to watch some other documentaries (and, or, read) that cover who Goebbels was and the over all relation to Hitler and how events unfold over the war. It just sort of adds a lot to over all picture. This is not an epic chronology of the war. And although I found it very entertaining, it is not really an "entertainment" movie. It's more about enlightenment.
One of the neatest things I got out of it was how he looked at "propaganda". How he so zealously and purposely went about it. He went about it as a science and an art. It was not "brain washing", it was not about tricking people into believing something. It was about rallying the German people into a fervor to work and fight harder, to keep them in high spirits, and then on the outside to convince the world to join the Nazi cause. And yes too, those evil attempts to lure the Jewish population into believing the death camps where some sort of "Club Med" vacation - happy time - work place.
Furthermore how he saw films as an excellent propaganda vehicle and then he comments on how the Allies where bad at it in their own films. It dawned on me that yes maybe they are both "propaganda" but then one was more to inform in a democratic, fairly free thinking way, where the other (Goebbels) to more directly say "this is what is is", "this is what is happening", "think this". And how similar bad propaganda is happening today to push political views and so on..
If you are a WW2 history buff then you definitely want to see this film.
Interesting but uneven in what it depicts
kallen9911 October 2005
This is a very interesting and surprisingly engaging film. Branagh reads excerpts from Goebbels' diary or translations of speeches while the film shows newsreel footage, scenes from propaganda films, and bits from theatrical movies. Sometimes the visual footage illustrates Goebbels's words; sometimes it provides an ironic juxtaposition. I have one important reservation. There is no real attempt to include even coverage of events during the period. Quite a few subjects are simply not mentioned. For example, there is no discussion of the German's defeat at Stalingrad, which must have been a gigantic problem for Goebbels as Propaganda Minister. Even more striking, there is very little discussion of Nazi treatment of the Jews. The film includes some early anti-Semitic quotations and a little footage of Kristallnacht, but nothing that I can recall about the Holocaust itself. Perhaps Goebbels' diaries don't include entries about these subjects, but the omission is striking.
Train-wreck fascinating!
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre6 June 2006
SPOILER: The Nazis lose World War Two.
For my quids, Paul Joseph Goebbels was far and away the most interesting and complicated of the Nazi leaders. Goering and Himmler were motivated purely by self-interest; so was Speer, but he was also caught up in Hitler's cult of personality. Goebbels, on the other hand, was no mere stooge. He was an accomplished playwright and poet, who was committed to the National Socialist cause even before Hitler emerged as that cult's leader. In the diary which Goebbels kept from the 1920s until shortly before his death, he frequently questioned Hitler's leadership, and wondered if the movement was travelling the wrong way. (I'm astounded that Goebbels saved those diary entries after Hitler had consolidated his power.) Goebbels married a beauty queen, had six children off her, and juggled simultaneous affairs with multiple mistresses ... quite different from his boss Hitler, who was terrified of physical intimacy. If Goebbels had been the head Nazi, things might have ended very differently.
The simple but riveting film 'The Goebbels Experiment' is constructed round a brilliant idea. Silent newsreel footage — depicting the rise of the Nazi movement, the Third Reich, its glorious zenith and then its inglorious downfall — is shown on screen while Kenneth Branagh reads entries from Goebbels's diaries in chronological order, making no attempt to 'perform' the text as a dramatic role. Goebbels's chilling words speak for themselves.
For me, the most startling moment in this documentary occurred early on, when the Nazi party have successfully manipulated Germany's national election, becoming the duly-elected political force ruling Germany. When this happens, Goebbel openly exults (as did Hitler), saying that the last time he felt this excited was when the Kaiser declared war in 1914. I quite believe that Goebbels sincerely felt this way, but I was pulled up short by it ... because Germany's adventure of 1914 turned out to be a huge mistake, bankrupting the nation and destroying its national currency, as well as toppling the German royal family and humiliating the nation.
Did Goebbels never for one instant stop to think that the Nazi triumph in the national elections might turn out to be as much of a 'victory' as the Kaiser's war declaration ... in other words, an utter failure? Evidently not. We know what happened next. There are no surprises in 'The Goebbels Experiment', but this documentary is train-wreck fascinating, and I strongly recommend it. A full 10 out of 10.
For my quids, Paul Joseph Goebbels was far and away the most interesting and complicated of the Nazi leaders. Goering and Himmler were motivated purely by self-interest; so was Speer, but he was also caught up in Hitler's cult of personality. Goebbels, on the other hand, was no mere stooge. He was an accomplished playwright and poet, who was committed to the National Socialist cause even before Hitler emerged as that cult's leader. In the diary which Goebbels kept from the 1920s until shortly before his death, he frequently questioned Hitler's leadership, and wondered if the movement was travelling the wrong way. (I'm astounded that Goebbels saved those diary entries after Hitler had consolidated his power.) Goebbels married a beauty queen, had six children off her, and juggled simultaneous affairs with multiple mistresses ... quite different from his boss Hitler, who was terrified of physical intimacy. If Goebbels had been the head Nazi, things might have ended very differently.
The simple but riveting film 'The Goebbels Experiment' is constructed round a brilliant idea. Silent newsreel footage — depicting the rise of the Nazi movement, the Third Reich, its glorious zenith and then its inglorious downfall — is shown on screen while Kenneth Branagh reads entries from Goebbels's diaries in chronological order, making no attempt to 'perform' the text as a dramatic role. Goebbels's chilling words speak for themselves.
For me, the most startling moment in this documentary occurred early on, when the Nazi party have successfully manipulated Germany's national election, becoming the duly-elected political force ruling Germany. When this happens, Goebbel openly exults (as did Hitler), saying that the last time he felt this excited was when the Kaiser declared war in 1914. I quite believe that Goebbels sincerely felt this way, but I was pulled up short by it ... because Germany's adventure of 1914 turned out to be a huge mistake, bankrupting the nation and destroying its national currency, as well as toppling the German royal family and humiliating the nation.
Did Goebbels never for one instant stop to think that the Nazi triumph in the national elections might turn out to be as much of a 'victory' as the Kaiser's war declaration ... in other words, an utter failure? Evidently not. We know what happened next. There are no surprises in 'The Goebbels Experiment', but this documentary is train-wreck fascinating, and I strongly recommend it. A full 10 out of 10.
No better than fair
ralphsf9 October 2005
I was really hoping this film would give some real insight to the life of a very complex and horrible person. Unfortunately, it is, for the most part, a chronological retelling of events. It tells you little about his early life, his switch from socialist to Nazi, next to nothing about his joining and rise in the Nazi party, his reaction to events like the Putsch, the Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, the assassination attempt on Hitler. It gives no information about the making of films like "the Eternal Jew" or any of the inner workings at UFA studios. It does show his dislike of Reifenstahl and then, subsequent fawning over her when giving an award, but the commentary is very limited.
I understand they wanted to limit it to his diary entries but they just aren't enough to give a full perspective on Goebbels. No mention is made of his families' and his deaths (portrayed so well in "Downfall") and nothing of his life in the bunker. Too many gaps, way too much left out. There are some interesting comments about his mistrust and jealousies with Himmler and Goering, but all stuff that has been well reported elsewhere. Some of the footage is interesting including pieces I haven't seen before, but really not much that is of an informal nature. If you're hoping to gain more perspective on why someone would do what he did, or even the inner workings of Nazi Germany, sadly you might as well skip this film.
I understand they wanted to limit it to his diary entries but they just aren't enough to give a full perspective on Goebbels. No mention is made of his families' and his deaths (portrayed so well in "Downfall") and nothing of his life in the bunker. Too many gaps, way too much left out. There are some interesting comments about his mistrust and jealousies with Himmler and Goering, but all stuff that has been well reported elsewhere. Some of the footage is interesting including pieces I haven't seen before, but really not much that is of an informal nature. If you're hoping to gain more perspective on why someone would do what he did, or even the inner workings of Nazi Germany, sadly you might as well skip this film.
Reportage-Like Delivery on the Depth's of a Monstrous Soul
CionaodMcGrath4 December 2014
Directed by Lutz Hachmeister and narrated by Kenneth Branagh, this is such a direct and accessible series of insights into the psychopathy of Hitler's propagandist. I found it amazing to see just how narcissistic and arrogant this Goebbels really was and now naively he felt superior to others, despite the very clear limitations of his intellect. It's as if he had almost no interpersonal, nor intrapersonal intelligence whatsoever. How tragic when we see, throughout history, these men who think their grand schemes of globalism and corporate fascism, will amount to anything more than social oppression, violence, and destruction.
Carl Jung often mentioned this "idée fixe" as basis of neurotic dysfunction, the disintegration of human morality and concern for "others as self" in the interest of egomaniac self-preoccupation. Goebbels was not only the architect of the Holocaust, he embodied the male, monomania of racial superiority that clearly was driven by his early failures in the banking industry and his rejection by childhood peers related to the deformity of his paralysed leg. How tragic that such weakness becomes so much self-hatred served upon millions of other, innocent people.
This film depicted a truth that felt like reportage. I found that it worked extremely well as my understanding of the subject was both deepened and broadened. The production quality was excellent.
Carl Jung often mentioned this "idée fixe" as basis of neurotic dysfunction, the disintegration of human morality and concern for "others as self" in the interest of egomaniac self-preoccupation. Goebbels was not only the architect of the Holocaust, he embodied the male, monomania of racial superiority that clearly was driven by his early failures in the banking industry and his rejection by childhood peers related to the deformity of his paralysed leg. How tragic that such weakness becomes so much self-hatred served upon millions of other, innocent people.
This film depicted a truth that felt like reportage. I found that it worked extremely well as my understanding of the subject was both deepened and broadened. The production quality was excellent.
Fine, enlightening documentary
Jonah1414 August 2005
This film basically has the narrator reading from Josef Goebbels diary from the early 20's through to his death in 1945. The film is bookended by the charring corpse of Goebbels, though the film reveals his dead daughters, since Goebbels had them poisoned rather than be captured. You learn a lot of things about Goebbels. He critiqued movies, panning The Battleship Potemkin for being too unsubtle in its propaganda (and obviously being inspired by it at the same time.) He thought Churchill was a better speaker than "that idiot Chamberlain". He was paranoid, often attacking then loving Hitler. You learn that Hitler's favorite men were not friends (Goebbels hates Goring, for example.) This is a must see for anyone interested in the goings-on in the inner sanctum of the Nazis.
Dear Diary...
Horst_In_Translation11 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Das Goebbels-Experiment" or "The Goebbels Experiment" is a collaboration between Germany and Great Britain and this film was made back in 2005, so it had its 10th anniversary last year. This exists with English and German narration and depending which version you watch, you will hear either Kenneth Branagh or Udo Samel. The writer and director is Lutz Hachmeister and these 105 minutes are probably his most known work to-date. The title already says what it is about, namely Joseph Goebbels, one of the big names inevitable linked to Nazi Germany as he was Hitler's most loyal aide and follower and he even went with him into death on his own will.
The film and the narration I mentioned previously consists basically entirely of writing from Goebbels himself. This certainly makes a difference here as such proximity to the subject is something you don't get in every documentary movie. It is his words. We find out a whole lot about him, his relationships with politicians like Hitler and Göhring for example, but also for example about how he saw Leni Riefenstahl. There's also many personal parts in here, for example we get to know how he crushed on his future wife Magda immediately and I was a bit surprised his children weren't really part of these recordings or maybe they just weren't included, which is kinda sad looking at how many he had if they really meant so little to him.
All in all, it was a pretty good effort I would say. I learned something I have not yet known on some occasions here and I think the films makes an impact and does not belong to the gray mass of Nazi-themed documentaries who basically all tell exactly the same. I would not say it is a must-see, but it is probably a good watch for everybody with an interest in German history of the 20th century. Also it dragged almost never, which is always a decent achievement for a film that runs for over 100 minutes. Thumbs-up from me. Go see it.
The film and the narration I mentioned previously consists basically entirely of writing from Goebbels himself. This certainly makes a difference here as such proximity to the subject is something you don't get in every documentary movie. It is his words. We find out a whole lot about him, his relationships with politicians like Hitler and Göhring for example, but also for example about how he saw Leni Riefenstahl. There's also many personal parts in here, for example we get to know how he crushed on his future wife Magda immediately and I was a bit surprised his children weren't really part of these recordings or maybe they just weren't included, which is kinda sad looking at how many he had if they really meant so little to him.
All in all, it was a pretty good effort I would say. I learned something I have not yet known on some occasions here and I think the films makes an impact and does not belong to the gray mass of Nazi-themed documentaries who basically all tell exactly the same. I would not say it is a must-see, but it is probably a good watch for everybody with an interest in German history of the 20th century. Also it dragged almost never, which is always a decent achievement for a film that runs for over 100 minutes. Thumbs-up from me. Go see it.
A must-see curio for history buffs.
TOMASBBloodhound9 September 2016
Perhaps if this diminutive propaganda minister hadn't been such an outcast as a youth, he wouldn't have grown up to be such a jerk. The Goebbels Experiment is definitely worth your time if you're into WWII history, and hope to learn what might have made some of these villains tick. Kenneth Branagh lends his voice to an hour and a half of diary entries from Joseph Goebbels, a would-be novelist, poet, propagandist, and fascist anti-Semite who rose from obscurity along with Hitler, and helped his fuhrer terrorize a great many people. We learn of his painful and lonely childhood marred by crippling polio and then being shunned by his schoolmates. We hear the angst felt by many during the Weimar years, and the antisemitism pooling inside him. By the early 1920s, Goebbels has fallen under Hitler's spell, and the two men's destinies are intertwined for the rest of their lives... until their brutal suicides.
Anyone looking for insight into the cause of this man's hatred of Jews won't find much. Antisemitism in Europe hardly began with the Third Reich, and didn't end with it either. The bulk of this film centers around squabbles within the party, and Goebbels' ideas of what make good or bad propaganda. Despite his extramarital affairs (which he only hints at), Goebbels still attempts to portray himself as the quintessential German family man. With WWII raging around him, he still lives the high life by hobnobbing with actors, traveling to swanky Paris and Venice, all the while enjoying the power his position has afforded him. The journal entries turn noticeably pessimistic and more urgent, from the moment he mentions reading a letter from a commander on the eastern front. Suddenly, the fortunes of war seem to be turning. Not much in the way of specific battles are mentioned. Again, this is not exactly a blow- by-blow account off the war. Just the musings of one of the key players. His relationship with Hitler starts as some sort of a man-crush, then goes through a phase of distrust, then ultimately ends up trying to reason with him over mistakes he has made fighting the war. Goebbels also claims to be one of the few Nazi leaders respected by their soldiers on the battlefield.
From the time he hears of the trouble in Russia, Goebbels can most likely guess that his future, and that of the people closest to him, looks quite dark indeed. Still he urges the German people to fight on, and many do... until the very end. And we see this end in graphic detail. Do we the audience feel in any way sorry for him? Maybe for his family, but the words of this man deserve a harsh punishment. And they must never be forgotten. The Goebbels experiment is worth your time. A good blend of newsreel footage, speeches, and an inside look at one of the most notorious figures of perhaps the most evil regime of all time. 8 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
Anyone looking for insight into the cause of this man's hatred of Jews won't find much. Antisemitism in Europe hardly began with the Third Reich, and didn't end with it either. The bulk of this film centers around squabbles within the party, and Goebbels' ideas of what make good or bad propaganda. Despite his extramarital affairs (which he only hints at), Goebbels still attempts to portray himself as the quintessential German family man. With WWII raging around him, he still lives the high life by hobnobbing with actors, traveling to swanky Paris and Venice, all the while enjoying the power his position has afforded him. The journal entries turn noticeably pessimistic and more urgent, from the moment he mentions reading a letter from a commander on the eastern front. Suddenly, the fortunes of war seem to be turning. Not much in the way of specific battles are mentioned. Again, this is not exactly a blow- by-blow account off the war. Just the musings of one of the key players. His relationship with Hitler starts as some sort of a man-crush, then goes through a phase of distrust, then ultimately ends up trying to reason with him over mistakes he has made fighting the war. Goebbels also claims to be one of the few Nazi leaders respected by their soldiers on the battlefield.
From the time he hears of the trouble in Russia, Goebbels can most likely guess that his future, and that of the people closest to him, looks quite dark indeed. Still he urges the German people to fight on, and many do... until the very end. And we see this end in graphic detail. Do we the audience feel in any way sorry for him? Maybe for his family, but the words of this man deserve a harsh punishment. And they must never be forgotten. The Goebbels experiment is worth your time. A good blend of newsreel footage, speeches, and an inside look at one of the most notorious figures of perhaps the most evil regime of all time. 8 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
Goebbels is Still With Us
groggo7 January 2008
Writers-directors Lutz Hachmeister and Michael Kloft structured this documentary in an unusual way by offering the actual words from Joseph Goebbels's 1924-1945 diaries.
Goebbels's word are spoken by the gifted British actor-director Kenneth Branagh, who unfortunately reads them as if he were just passing through town and needed a few extra bucks. Goebbels was a man of mercurial emotion, but that's hard to pick up from Branagh's rapid-fire and seemingly diffident delivery.
The film's structure leads to bigger problems: there are too many glaring omissions of crucial events in world history. A second narrator should have been used to fill in these gaps.
The examples of omission are numerous. We get a mere passing glance at the invasion of Poland, the event that was singularly responsible for launching World War II in Europe. We barely see the violent roundup of Jews all over the country, although Goebbels wrote often about his hatred of the 'Juden'.
The Battle of Britain, a critical early turning point in the war that is often credited with dissuading Hitler from invading England, is not even mentioned. The war on the eastern front with Russia is barely examined, we hear only scant mention of D-Day, there is no reference to the famous attempt on Hitler's life, and the film abruptly ends in less than five minutes with the pristine bodies of Goebbels's children and his own charred corpse.
The film does work as an examination of Goebbels's exasperation and frustrated self-importance (he saw himself as a possible Fuhrer). His smugness and arrogance are noted throughout in his diaries. He imagines himself as a 'new' Dostoyevsky, he deems the brilliant cinematographer-propagandist Leni Reifenstahl as an irritating 'minor' talent, he scoffs at Goering, Himmler and others, and he fairly glows when Der Adolph pats him on the back.
Joseph Goebbels and his 'philosophy' of propaganda (repeat lies often enough and they will eventually be interpreted by the public as truth) are alive and well in our society. Goebbels may be dead, but his ideas, in different forms, live on.
Goebbels's word are spoken by the gifted British actor-director Kenneth Branagh, who unfortunately reads them as if he were just passing through town and needed a few extra bucks. Goebbels was a man of mercurial emotion, but that's hard to pick up from Branagh's rapid-fire and seemingly diffident delivery.
The film's structure leads to bigger problems: there are too many glaring omissions of crucial events in world history. A second narrator should have been used to fill in these gaps.
The examples of omission are numerous. We get a mere passing glance at the invasion of Poland, the event that was singularly responsible for launching World War II in Europe. We barely see the violent roundup of Jews all over the country, although Goebbels wrote often about his hatred of the 'Juden'.
The Battle of Britain, a critical early turning point in the war that is often credited with dissuading Hitler from invading England, is not even mentioned. The war on the eastern front with Russia is barely examined, we hear only scant mention of D-Day, there is no reference to the famous attempt on Hitler's life, and the film abruptly ends in less than five minutes with the pristine bodies of Goebbels's children and his own charred corpse.
The film does work as an examination of Goebbels's exasperation and frustrated self-importance (he saw himself as a possible Fuhrer). His smugness and arrogance are noted throughout in his diaries. He imagines himself as a 'new' Dostoyevsky, he deems the brilliant cinematographer-propagandist Leni Reifenstahl as an irritating 'minor' talent, he scoffs at Goering, Himmler and others, and he fairly glows when Der Adolph pats him on the back.
Joseph Goebbels and his 'philosophy' of propaganda (repeat lies often enough and they will eventually be interpreted by the public as truth) are alive and well in our society. Goebbels may be dead, but his ideas, in different forms, live on.
MOST FASCINATING EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
junshenlee22 May 2021
This documentary is very very accurate as it is taken from real archive footage and from Joseph Goebbels diary. Kenneth reads the diary with a voice similar to Joseph's. I'm impressed by the editing and effort put into this project. It was certainly a NICE HISTORICAL documentary to watch as per my teacher's words.
There are better movies
renau-114 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
My complaints here concern the movie's pacing and the material at hand. While using archival film and letters lends the film a fresh and interesting perspective, too often the material selected to highlight simply isn't very interesting (such as when Goebbels complains about this or that ailment, &tc., or the ad nauseam footage of his small German hometown). Also, the movie crawls along in covering c. 1920-1939 and then steams through the war years. In sum, the film is little better than a History Channel documentary, with the exception that the filmmaker has a slightly greater sensibility than your average History Channel documentary editor and thus can more artfully arrange the details of Goebbels' life. Still, I found it wanting.
An important film
AaronHR198129 August 2006
Everyone once in a while a film comes along that people need to see. This is especially true concerning events of global consequence, Nazi Germany most specifically. And while films such as Schindler's List are invaluable in personalizing the tragedy of millions, they are emotionally based, as they should be. But what "The Goebbels Experiment" does is that it makes us think about why and how one man (and so many others) could come to bring about and participate in atrocities. The film doesn't talk much about the nature of the propaganda itself -- it's not a legit documentary about Goebbels, but a strict series of readings from his diaries -- but to hear Goebbels talking, we can hear echoes of the terrible propagandists that have brought about so much disaster in the years since. There is much to be learned from this film, particularly in seeing up close what could make a human being into a monster. It happens easier and more often than you'd think, and this film, while sometimes a bit dull and one-dimensional, does accomplish that purpose. You don't have to be an expert on World War II or Nazi Germany to appreciate the film, but it does help provide contextual understanding. I think this is a worthwhile film along the lines of any film about the Third Reich; the lessons must be learned, and the intervening years have proved just how much we have failed to learn them.
Get into Gobbel's head
roedyg4 August 2012
This is a remarkable film. It consists of Kenneth Branaugh reading Goebbels' diary. The video is mostly original Nazi footage of the relevant events. Again and again I was astounded that they could find matching video. Sometimes it consists of Goebbels addressing crowds in German with subtitles. The quality of the film is superb, both in black and white and colour. It often so good I wondered if I were watching a recreation. I wish they were clear about this. Sometimes there is modern day colour footage of places Goebbels mentions.
There is no commentary. You are seeing the world purely through the eyes of a peevish, vain little bigot. One thing that became clear from all the footage, the Nazis did not push their brutality on the Germans, millions of German enthusiastically welcomed it, ditto the war, ditto the pogroms. Goebbels committed suicide, and also killed his four young children. These quite adorable kids feature prominently in the film. It is quite a shock to see their corpses.
I always assumed that propagandists in war lied and claimed the war was going well no matter what. Goebbels, to my surprise, argued for telling the truth. Hearing the propaganda was just too insulting for the troops. Goebbels had delusions of grandeur. He seemed to think his propaganda movies were more important that armaments in deciding the outcome of a war.
The Nazis were even better than the Americans at getting people whipped up with enthusiasm for an unjust war. Everyone is familiar with the mandatory heil Hitler salute, which reinforced subjection to Hitler and made clear everyone else was giving obeisance. Hitler responded with a languorous over the shoulder salute. When orating, Goebbels would just start shaking his finger as if chastising an unusually naughty child, but he would keep going without a pause for minutes at a time with a very fast cadence. I suspect the intent was to trigger primal fear of parental disapproval. Sometimes he would just shake his hand the same way. He also did some motions that were languid, a bit like magician gestures. Perhaps these were for riveting attention.
The movie needs a clock to let you know the year being talked about and the major events that have just happened. Goebbels has quite a different idea of what is important from most of us, and leaves out huge events. This makes it hard to fit what you are watching into a bigger context.
There is no commentary. You are seeing the world purely through the eyes of a peevish, vain little bigot. One thing that became clear from all the footage, the Nazis did not push their brutality on the Germans, millions of German enthusiastically welcomed it, ditto the war, ditto the pogroms. Goebbels committed suicide, and also killed his four young children. These quite adorable kids feature prominently in the film. It is quite a shock to see their corpses.
I always assumed that propagandists in war lied and claimed the war was going well no matter what. Goebbels, to my surprise, argued for telling the truth. Hearing the propaganda was just too insulting for the troops. Goebbels had delusions of grandeur. He seemed to think his propaganda movies were more important that armaments in deciding the outcome of a war.
The Nazis were even better than the Americans at getting people whipped up with enthusiasm for an unjust war. Everyone is familiar with the mandatory heil Hitler salute, which reinforced subjection to Hitler and made clear everyone else was giving obeisance. Hitler responded with a languorous over the shoulder salute. When orating, Goebbels would just start shaking his finger as if chastising an unusually naughty child, but he would keep going without a pause for minutes at a time with a very fast cadence. I suspect the intent was to trigger primal fear of parental disapproval. Sometimes he would just shake his hand the same way. He also did some motions that were languid, a bit like magician gestures. Perhaps these were for riveting attention.
The movie needs a clock to let you know the year being talked about and the major events that have just happened. Goebbels has quite a different idea of what is important from most of us, and leaves out huge events. This makes it hard to fit what you are watching into a bigger context.
worth the watch for the narration alone
La-Luz9 April 2021
First up - it does have excellent archive footage of what Germany looked like in the 1930s. I know Rheydt and know that scenese of how that place looked then, many places in Germany have hardly ever changed. So...from that point of view it is interestesting to anyone who is not German who has lived there. Onto the documentary itself: the exerts from the diary are read with skill but maybe a tonge in cheek style as Kenneth Branagh really goes to work on it and at times it does come across as humour not fact. But anyway as a documentary as one of it's kind, you should really take in the archive footage of Germany as the producers go to good lenghts on it. As recommended viewing for WWII historians? Maybe not but anyone who understands Kenneth Branagh's skill will enjoy it immensely.
Hitler's propagandist.
michaelRokeefe18 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Maybe the second most important man in Germany's Nazi regime. Joseph Goebbels comes to life through the narration of actor Kenneth Branagh reading from the pages in the diary kept my Hitler's spin doctor. Goebbels was definitely a radical socialist that was emphatically in adoration of Hitler and everything he represented. Working as the chief of propaganda and carrying out the inner most thoughts of the Nazi leader, Goebbles would come to prove to be unscrupulously cruel, egotistical and masterful in his work for the Third Reich. He was proud to be the man behind Hitler. Using the diaries as a main source along with historical footage from German archives, this film is a very fine chronicle of Goebble's life even as he reinvented himself from the initial attraction to the Nazi party up to his suicide near the end of World War II. Kudos to filmmakers Lutz Hachmeister and Michael Kloft for their dedication to this project.
Boring and monotonous
DarthVoorhees17 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This is a sorry excuse for a film. The fact that it qualifies as one is really kind of odd and amazing. There isn't a great deal to be said about The Goebbels Experiment other than it looks like these filmmakers slapped it all together. Essentially we get History Channel stock footage narrated by Kenneth Branagh. Branagh isn't in this in the least bit. He seems bored by what he's reading and does little to create a Goebbels character. Branagh is one of my favorites in the business and a great attraction to him is his voice but his voice isn't interesting enough to sit through just pure recitation without inflection or much interest.
And the film has no narrative to speak of. It has a certain chronological order to the events but never do we get an understanding or staging of the links.
What do I make of the diary? None of it really surprises me. Joseph Goebbels was a sadistic screwed up anti-Semite and surprise, surprise that's what the feeling we get here. Branagh's narration doesn't create a character even a monstrous Nazi as we might expect an actor to do.
There isn't anything to comment on here. Some of the footage and Hitler's speeches are frightening to see as they always are but it isn't to the credit to anyone involved with these project. I find it amazing that it has a credited director when it should merely have a credited editor. Amidst all the horrible things Goebbels was responsible for you have to admit he was a far more competent filmmaker than the people behind this project.
And the film has no narrative to speak of. It has a certain chronological order to the events but never do we get an understanding or staging of the links.
What do I make of the diary? None of it really surprises me. Joseph Goebbels was a sadistic screwed up anti-Semite and surprise, surprise that's what the feeling we get here. Branagh's narration doesn't create a character even a monstrous Nazi as we might expect an actor to do.
There isn't anything to comment on here. Some of the footage and Hitler's speeches are frightening to see as they always are but it isn't to the credit to anyone involved with these project. I find it amazing that it has a credited director when it should merely have a credited editor. Amidst all the horrible things Goebbels was responsible for you have to admit he was a far more competent filmmaker than the people behind this project.
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