Editing Joseph Goebbels (section)

===Workings of the Ministry===
The propaganda ministry was organised into seven departments: administration and legal; mass rallies, public health, youth, and race; radio; national and foreign press; films and film censorship; art, music, and theatre; and protection against counter-propaganda, both foreign and domestic.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|pp=140–141}} Goebbels's style of leadership was tempestuous and unpredictable. He would suddenly change direction and shift his support between senior associates; he was a difficult boss and liked to berate his staff in public.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=370}} Goebbels was successful at his job, however; ''Life'' wrote in 1938 that "[p]ersonally he likes nobody, is liked by nobody, and runs the most efficient Nazi department."{{sfn|LIFE Magazine|1938}} [[John Gunther]] wrote in 1940 that Goebbels "is the cleverest of all the Nazis", but could not succeed Hitler because "everybody hates him".{{sfn|Gunther|1940|p=19}}

The Reich Film Chamber, which all members of the film industry were required to join, was created in June 1933.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|pp=224–225}} Goebbels promoted the development of films with a Nazi slant, and ones that contained subliminal or overt propaganda messages.{{sfn|Thacker|2010|p=157}} Under the auspices of the ''[[Reichskulturkammer]]'' (Reich Chamber of Culture), created in September, Goebbels added additional sub-chambers for the fields of broadcasting, fine arts, literature, music, the press, and the theatre.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|p=142}} As in the film industry, anyone wishing to pursue a career in these fields had to be a member of the corresponding chamber. In this way anyone whose views were contrary to the regime could be excluded from working in their chosen field and thus silenced.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=138}} In addition, journalists (now considered employees of the state) were required to prove Aryan descent back to the year 1800, and if married, the same requirement applied to the spouse. Members of any chamber were not allowed to leave the country for their work without prior permission of their chamber. A committee was established to censor books, and works could not be re-published unless they were on the list of approved works. Similar regulations applied to other fine arts and entertainment; even cabaret performances were censored.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|pp=142–143}} Many German artists and intellectuals left Germany in the pre-war years rather than work under these restrictions.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|p=140}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H14243, Berlin, Verteilung von 500 Radios (Volksempfänger).jpg|thumb|left|Free radios were distributed in Berlin on Goebbels' birthday in 1938.]]
Goebbels was particularly interested in controlling the radio, which was then still a fairly new [[mass medium]].{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|p=127}} Sometimes under protest from individual states (particularly [[Prussia]], headed by Göring), Goebbels gained control of radio stations nationwide, and placed them under the ''[[Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft]]'' (German National Broadcasting Corporation) in July 1934.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=226}} Manufacturers were urged by Goebbels to produce inexpensive home receivers, called ''[[Volksempfänger]]'' (people's receiver), and by 1938 nearly ten million sets had been sold. Loudspeakers were placed in public areas, factories, and schools, so that important party broadcasts would be heard live by nearly all Germans.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|p=127}} On 2 September 1939 (the day after the start of the war), Goebbels and the Council of Ministers proclaimed it illegal to listen to foreign radio stations. Disseminating news from foreign broadcasts could result in the death penalty.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=434}} [[Albert Speer]], Hitler's architect and later Minister for Armaments and War Production, later said the regime "made the complete use of all technical means for domination of its own country. Through technical devices like the radio and loudspeaker, 80 million people were deprived of independent thought."{{sfn|Snell|1959|p=7}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2004-0312-504, Nürnberg, Reichsparteitag, Rede Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|Hitler was the focal point at the 1934 [[Nuremberg Rally]]. [[Leni Riefenstahl]] and her crew are visible in front of the podium.]]
A major focus of Nazi propaganda was Hitler himself, who was glorified as a heroic and infallible leader and became the focus of a [[cult of personality]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=292–293}} Much of this was spontaneous, but some was stage-managed as part of Goebbels' propaganda work.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=122–123}} Adulation of Hitler was the focus of the 1934 Nuremberg Rally, where his moves were carefully choreographed. The rally was the subject of the film ''[[Triumph of the Will]]'', one of several Nazi propaganda films directed by [[Leni Riefenstahl]]. It won the gold medal at the 1935 [[Venice Film Festival]].{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=123–127}} At the 1935 [[Nuremberg rallies|Nazi party congress rally]] at [[Nuremberg]], Goebbels declared that "Bolshevism is the declaration of war by Jewish-led international subhumans against culture itself."{{sfn|Goebbels|1935}}

Goebbels was involved in planning the staging of the [[1936 Summer Olympics]], held in Berlin. It was around this time that he met and started having an affair with the actress [[Lída Baarová]], whom he continued to see until 1938.{{sfn|Thacker|2010|pp=184, 201}} A major project in 1937 was the [[Degenerate Art Exhibition]], organised by Goebbels, which ran in Munich from July to November. The exhibition proved wildly popular, attracting over two million visitors.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=171, 173}} A degenerate music exhibition took place the following year.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=351}} Meanwhile, Goebbels was disappointed by the lack of quality in the National Socialist artwork, films, and literature.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|pp=346, 350}}