Enemy of Women

Of all the gang around Adolf Hitler probably the sickest and most degenerate was Joseph Paul Goebbels. Minister for propaganda and public enlightenment, he was one of the few who was not trying to cut a deal for himself when the Third Reich was in its last days.

Have read various books which dealt with Joseph Goebbels one of Hitler's right hand men who carried out the murder of Millions of Jewish people and many more people from various countries. Goebbels had some very dark secrets as a young man growing up who carried out all his sick mental problems on other people.

I rented this film from Netflix because I was hoping to see yet another over the top propaganda film from WWII--the type that are almost funny because the acting and characters are so over the top. However, I was very surprised to see that "Enemy of Women" was actually rather restrained.

Actor Paul Andor (real name Wolfgang Zilzer) bears a striking resemblance to the real Dr. Paul Goebbels, the evil Nazi head of Propaganda who spent one day as Chancellor of Germany after Hitler's suicide before killing himself.

Considering its lowly Gower Gulch origins, and compared with the overblown hysterics and buffoonish characterizations of most Hollywood propaganda films, this is a remarkably heartfelt and even-handed treatment of lurid and melodramatic material. Goebbels is delineated as a tragically flawed human being rather than a cartoonish ogre, and his final scene amidst the rubble is strangely ambivalent.

We are informed at the outset that "The following story unfolds the private life of the greatest scoundrel of our time". One would have thought that would have more aptly described Hitler himself (or at least Goering) rather than Goebbels; but the Doctor would have been as flattered to be considered important enough to get an entire film to himself depicting him (as 'Inglorious Basterds' later put it) as "The number two man in Hitler's Third Reich", as he would have been disdainful of the result.

(There may be Spoilers) Highly fictional account of the life and times of Nazi Minister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Wolfgang Zilzer.

The life of Joseph Goebbels and his rise as propaganda minister for the Nazis. Odd mix of Hollywood hokum and propaganda makes for a decidedly silly film.