SOURCE: "Goebbels's Nature," in Commentary, Vol. 34, No. 3, March, 1963, pp. 272-76.

In the following review of The Early Goebbels Diaries, Dannhauser details Goebbels's shortcomings as a diarist.

To readers of history, [The Early Goebbels Diaries 1925-1926] will prove disappointing. There is little new historical information to be gained from them, and there are even occasional distortions of the facts we already have. We know, for instance, that during the period spanned by the diary entries—August 24, 1925, to October 30, 1926—the Nazi party was still small and disorganized. But the impression Goebbels gives is the opposite: the entire adult population of Germany seems to be attending the rallies which he describes. Moreover, Goebbels was in no position to impart "inside" information even had he wished to; he was still at this time a long way from becoming "the man next to Hitler." When the book opens, he is a member of...