332. The family of Reich Minister Dr Goebbels.

Probably taken in early 1938, this particularly captivating photograph shows Joseph and Magda Goebbels together with four of their six children; behind Goebbels stands Magda’s son from her first marriage, Harald. While beautifully posed and photographed this image communicates the impression of a happy and united family.

Joseph Goebbels married Magda Quandt, a divorcee with a ten-year-old son Harald, on 19 December 1931. Johanna Maria Magdalena ‘Magda’ Quandt, nee Behrend, was born in Berlin on 11 November 1901. On 4 January 1921 she had married Günther Quandt, a wealthy German industrialist twice her age. Their only son Harald was born on 1 November 1921. Magda and Günther Quandt divorced in 1929. Magda joined the NSDAP in September 1930. She came into contact with Joseph Goebbels in the course of her work for the Party. Goebbels was completely taken with the attractive young blond and pursued her relentlessly. Magda Goebbels tolerated her husband Joseph’s numerous affairs. But when Goebbels took up with the Czech actress Lida Baarova, Magda had had enough. She spoke to Hitler and threatened to divorce her husband. The Führer intervened, and Goebbels ended his affair with Baarova. Lida Baarova died in Salzburg, Austria, on 27 October 2000, aged 86.