THE BERLIN NEWSPAPER DER PANZERBÄR, APRIL 1945

Abstract

The Berlin newspaper Der Panzerbär, which functioned briefly in April 1945, is of historical interest to the study of propaganda, and that of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) in particular. The newspaper's contents reveal the NSDAP propaganda machine functioning in circumstances of immediate violence and utter irrationality. The involvement of NSDAP propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels in the newspaper is documented, although it appears to have been peripheral. Its contents, which are consistent with what has been written about Goebbels’ late-war approaches, reveal the last stand of NSDAP propaganda mythology, as well as efforts to link the NSDAP cause to that of European civilization – all underscored by threats from both internal and external sources.