German Propaganda ArchiveCalvin Universityline

Background: This page is part of a larger project to trace the history of World War II as reflected in the headlines of the Völkischer Beobachter, the Nazi Party’s daily newspaper. For some reason I haven't got the coding quote right on this page, but it is usable.

July 1944 was a bad month for Germany. The Allied invasion of France kept making progress. On July 20 an attempt was made on Hitler. At the end of the month Soviet troops were entering what once was Poland. The only good news was the V-1, which got lots of headlines. But the reader could not help but notice that the news was bad.


Völkischer Beobachter: July 1944

 

VB Cover 1 July 1944

 

The V-1 Rattles English Phlegmaticism

Will London Have to Be Evacuated?

Residents Victims of Unscrupulous Agitation — Labor Productivity Significantly Reduced — Insufficient Air Raid Shelters

 
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2 July 1944

 

 

 

 

General Dietl Dies in Accident

The Führer’s Order of the Day

 
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3 July 1944

 

With the Full Fanaticism of the Nation

The Führer: Absolute Confidence in Our Strength is the Foundation to Overcoming All Difficulties

 
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4 July 1944

 

 

Despite Fighters, Bombers, Flak:

;

The V-1 Strikes Military Staging Areas in England’s South


This issue has a lead article titled “Zionism and Its Dangers” that objects to sending Jews to Palestine, without providing an alternative. Of course, by July 1944 most Jews had already been killed, something the press carefully avoided suggesting most of the tim1

 
VB Cover

5 July 1944

 

The Rage of the Trapped Criminals

 

Effects of the V-1: British Outbreaks of Fear and Hatred

 
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6 July 1944

The Führer Speaks to Leading Men in Armaments

“We Will Survive This Age and Will in the End Win This War!”

“Each Individual Has but a Single Duty, to Fight and Work Unceasingly for Victory!”

 
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7 July 1944

 

Revenge Makes Churchill Hated

Still No Defense against the V-1

Helpless Anger from the Inventors of Air Terror

 
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8 July 1944

Reich Minister Funk on Currency Policy

“A World Currency is Utopian”

Our Most Important Task is in the Social Realm

_________________________________________________________________

The Bretton Woods conference had just met. It discussed the future international financial order.

 
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9 July 1944

Dr. Goebbels Spoke to over 200,000 Germans

“It is a Matter of Life or Death for the Nation”

The Demand of the Hour: Mobilizing All Reserves


Goebbels concluded the speech: “We National Socialists have been through so many crises and tests over the history of our movement and the Reich, and overcome them. We never for a moment doubt our success, and the best guarantee of that is offered by the Führer himself. We look to him with faithful trust. He will lead the nation with a sure hand through all dangers and challenges. His affirmation is also ours, that a battle supported by the whole fanaticism of the nation cannot end other than with a victory.”

 
VB Cover

10 July 1944

Interim Balance of the Battle in Italy

The Front South of Florence

About 500 Kilometers of Coastal Defense Spared

 
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11 July 1944

 

London between Illusions and Disillusionment

English V-1 Admissions

Most Strikes in Greater London — Significant Damage — Government Fails

 
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12 July 1944

 

German-Finnish Military Cooperation Proves Itself

Soviet Offensive in Finland Stopped

 

 
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13 July 1944

 

“Buffer State Canada”

The End of the Empire

England Should Leave the USA’s Area of Control

 
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14 July 1944

 

Witnesses of German Fighting Strength

Fanaticism against Material

The Causes of Heavy Losses by the Invaders in Normandy

 
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15 July 1944

The Big Spender in the White House

What is Roosevelt’s War Costing the USA?

 

 
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16 July 1944

The Movement’s Capital Is Tested

The Crime of Munich

New Devastation and Destruction of Housing and World Famous Cultural Landmarks

 
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17 July 1944

 

 

Normandy Report for England “Highly Depressing”

 

Enormous Losses, but No Progress

 

 

 
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18 July 1944

 

 

New British Trick:

French to Bleed Again for England

Because the Invasion Strategy Has Failed

 
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19 July 1944

Morrison’s Speech “Superfluous”

“V-1 Still Cannot Be Stopped”

 


Morrison was the English Home Secretary. He had said that there was still no way of stopping the V-1, and one should assume they would continue for a long time. The article cites a British newspaper that wrote if that was all he had to say, he should have kept silent.

 
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20 July 1944

 

Under Fire in the Battle of Normandy

 

The German Soldier Holds Firm


The article quotes Allied journalists about the effectiveness of German defensive ability.

 
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21 July 1944

The New Battle in the West:

Beginning of the Invasion’s Second Phase

General Enemy Offensive on All Fronts


The item to the upper left reports the first details on the assassination attempt on Hitler the day before. It asserts that his injuries were minor and he had a long conversation with Mussolini.

 
VB Cover

22 July 1944

 

We Heard Our Führer’s Voice

Providence Confirms Adolf Hitler’s Mission

 


The editorial to the right begins: “We need only imagine that the attack on the Führer had succeeded to understand the historic meaning of his wonderful rescue from great and imminent danger. Our fate is in his hands. His faith steels our resistance, his will overcomes all difficulty, his wisdom shows the way to a change in things. Perhaps we could win this war without him, but with him our victory is certain.”

 
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23 July 1944

 

“Adolf Hitler is Everything to Us!”

The Nation Pledges Him Loyalty to the End

Dr. Ley Expressed the Thoughts of All Germans at a Great Mass Meeting

 

 
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24 July 1944

 

General Guderian Reads on the Radio:

 

The Führer’s Order of the Day to the Army

 

 


Discussion of the assassination attempt fills the front page

 

 
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25 July 1944

 

The Enemy Camp Deeply Disappointed

Normandy Offensive Collapses

Embarrassed Excuses from the Anglo-Americans

 

 
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26 July 1944

Why Does the USA Have No Quinine?

Roosevelt Profits from the Death of His Soldiers


The only source of quinine at the beginning of the war was Java, which the Japanese captured in January 1942. Malaria was a major problem for the U.S. in the Pacific. The article claims the shortage was the result of efforts by members of the Roosevelt administration to profit from the lack of the drug
 
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27 July 1944

The Will of the Entire Nation:

Unlimited, Total Use of All Resources and Strengths for Victory

Dr. Goebbels Spoke to the German People

 
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28 July 1944

The Battle in the East Unimaginably Violent

Soldiers and Weapons are the Order of the Day


The article begins: “The battle in the East has reached a level beyond all civilian conceptions.”

 

 
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29 July 1944

 

The Soviet Attack on the Generalgouvernement

The Battle for Time


The Generalgouvernment was the German term for occupied Poland. The article states that the enemy attack is too strong for the German army to stop. The goal is to gain time to train new troops and manufacture new equipment that will permit counterattacks. This is one of the more pessimistic reports.

 
VB Cover

30 July 1944

Desperate Efforts Using Outdated Military Technology

V-1 Defense Fails Three Ways

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The article states that England is using coastal guns, fighter planes, and barrier balloons to stop V-1s, but with limited success.

 

 
VB Cover

31 July 1944

With the Approval of Churchill and Roosevelt

Moscow Attacks Poland

 

Last edited 22 November 2024

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