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I am sure it wasn't an easy thing to do but do you think she ultimately made the right call under the circumstances? Had they lived wouldn't the Russian troops have raped her daughters and then killed them anyway?
I am sure it wasn't an easy thing to do but do you think she ultimately made the right call under the circumstances? Had they lived wouldn't the Russian troops have raped her daughters and then killed them anyway?
Not necessarily. But they no doubt would have been used for some propaganda purposes. They may have been 'confined' in some manner, and perhaps 're-educated', but I don't think the Soviets would have killed them outright. I don't think their mother did them any favors. They may have had a difficult time post-war, but at least they would have been alive. Don't forget that Magda Goebbels was every bit as much of an ardent Nazi as her husband. She didn't kill her children to save them from the Russians, as much as she did due to her devotion to Hitler and his 'death before defeat' mantra.
I am sure it wasn't an easy thing to do but do you think she ultimately made the right call under the circumstances? Had they lived wouldn't the Russian troops have raped her daughters and then killed them anyway?
That applies to all the women in the zones overrun by the Russians. Would you have advised all German women to have killed themselves?
Frau Goebbels and her daughters most certainly would have not been spared the fate of hundreds of other German women; rape by Russian military. As that army advanced through Poland and into Germany towards Berlin it committed mass rape on females from children to the elderly.
Being such a high level "catch" Frau Goebbels may have been "saved" for high ranking officers, and or she along with possibly also the children may have been shipped off to Russia by orders of Stalin. What would have happened to them there is anyone's guess, but Stalin was not likely to allow such a high level Nazi family to possibly be taken or surrender to the USA/Allied forces.
Like many Nazi/German military Frau Gobbels probably would have been safer in American or Allied hands (such as UK) if she joined that line to surrender to that side. But likely the woman like her husband would rather prefer death over that fate.
It was known in Berlin what the Russians were up do long before they arrived in that city. Masses of refugees pouring into that city were telling of the horrors (including mass rape), and while Nazi officials and German military were putting about in public the stories were "lies", and even treating some persons making such statements severely, they knew in their hearts what was coming. Thus Herr Gobbles and certainly his wife summed up their situation and took action.
Just killing themselves would have left the children alone, abandoned and unprotected. At best they would have been left to the fate of scores of other such German children from the same period. At worse they could have been singled out for harsher treatment.
Still given what we know about the rat-lines that moved Nazis out of Germany to South America and the rest of the world it is possible Herr und Frau G. or at least the woman and her children *might* have made a get away. However moving such a large family even if only the wife and children undetected out of Germany may have proven difficult.
To get an idea of what *may* have happened had the Goebbels children lived we can use the example of Himmler's daughter:
The above is what happened to someone captured by the western allies. The question before us is the fate of those who became Russian captives.
No, the question before us is no such thing. Unless my reading comprehension skills are failing OP posed a query about Frau Goebbels making the proper decision to murder her own children. Russian military is only mentioned as a fate that might have befallen Magda Goebbels and or her children.
For the record Hilter basically ordered Joseph Goebbels to leave Berlin, a demand the man refused. In turn Frau Goebbels was told to leave with the children, again that command was refused.
It was not a certain foregone conclusion the Red Army would capture Herr and or Frau Goebbels (and children) had they tried to flee Berlin, especially if done prior to April 16, 1945. As with other Germans who managed to get out of that place at that time much depended upon luck and perhaps the will of God.
I doubt that the Russians would've kept such high profile children as POWs for very long. They'd have remained in Germany, sent to relatives or whatever else. The children would not have been valuable to the Russians as "trophy" POWs. It isn't like capturing generals, politicians, or anyone else who might have valuable information, or who could be used as a bargaining chip.
The children would've been treated much the same as other civilians, and probably much better than that. My bet is that they would've survived, unharmed, and been sent to be raised by relatives at the end of the war.
And in any event... murder's still murder.
A more interesting question: did the residents of Demmin in Germany... and a few other towns... make the right choice in committing mass suicide to avoid capture by the Soviets? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_suicide_in_Demmin
No, the question before us is no such thing. Unless my reading comprehension skills are failing OP posed a query about Frau Goebbels making the proper decision to murder her own children. Russian military is only mentioned as a fate that might have befallen Magda Goebbels and or her children.
The premise of the question was quite clear...to all save apparently you. Was murdering the children a better option than allowing them to fall into Russian hands. The OP specifies Russians. Take another look.
The premise of the question was quite clear...to all save apparently you. Was murdering the children a better option than allowing them to fall into Russian hands. The OP specifies Russians. Take another look.
Sorry, but no such premise is clear.
" I am sure it wasn't an easy thing to do but do you think she ultimately made the right call under the circumstances? Had they lived wouldn't the Russian troops have raped her daughters and then killed them anyway?"
The last sentence implies the Red Army would have attacked the Goebbels women if captured. However if they were *not* in Berlin to be found that does make such an event unlikely.
I mentioned that it was clear to all save yourself. We already know that you misunderstood it.
But why argue when we may simply ask the OP?
Norstromos ...did you mean the children falling into the hands of the Russians...or did you mean it was better for them to be killed than captured by the western allies as well?
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