Else Janke

[FAH3]

Whatever became of of Else Janke, Goebbels' girlfriend from the 1920's with the Jewish mother?

[Helge]

Research difficult. I find only photograph here (bad photo):

http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/s ... humb=false

[FAH3]

Thank you for your efforts. It appears she's disappeared into the fog of history.

[Helge]

Faint trace: it seems that she is married to a certain Mr. Herber, on February 8, 1936.

Helge

[Helge]

THE LOVE LETTERS OF JEWISH SCHOOL TEACHER ELSE JANKE TO JOSEPH GOEBBELS

http://auctions.alexautographs.com/

THE LOVE LETTERS OF JEWISH SCHOOL TEACHER ELSE JANKE TO JOSEPH GOEBBELS
An incredible, little-known correspondence between future Nazi Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels and Else Janke, a school teacher in Goebbels' home town of Rheydt whose mother was Jewish. In his diaries, the lovestruck Goebbels described his affair: "Quiet, platonic love," he wrote, "I don't know why she doesn't want our relationship to be out in the open." On a deciding day in their relationship, Janke told Goebbels that her mother was Jewish. Already coming under the influence of the Nazis and their ideology, Goebbels' following diary entries offer a taste of things to come for Europe's Jews: "She told me her roots. Since then her charms were destroyed for me". This historic correspondence includes 82 handwritten letters from Else Janke to Goebbels, about 250pp. in all, largely 8vo., most in pencil, with a few postcards, plus three brief notes and three hand-carried envelopes addressed to "Jos. Goebbels", [n.p.], covering the period of their romance from Aug. 12, 1922 to about Aug. 18, 1924. Also present are two letters from Goebbals to Janke, possibly never sent to her. Janke's style of writing in the letters commences with the "formal" German style, and she addreses him as "Dear Herr Doctor" and signs her name in full. Very quickly, she refers to him in the salutation with a Rhineland nickname for "Joseph" ("Stroeppelchen") and signs her name with the endearing "Muemmelmaennchen" or simply "D.M.". It is clear that within weeks Janke is in love with Goebbels, though in time Goebbel's growing alienation and anti-semitism becomes clearly evident. The correspondence opens when she asks if he has confessed in church: "...you have so many sins on your conscience...your well known ability to persuade will help...". She continues: "...How great it was yesterday. Today I am so happy...it is so nice that I can respect you so much and you should know that I also want to be good and noble...take the position [at Dresdner Bank in Cologne], it's the right thing to do...[Dec. 24, 1922] "...don't let your head hang low, we're sharing the happy times and the bad times. Don't see everything so black......dear greetings from Santa Claus...I am sorry you are sick...you have to drink a lot of alcohol, get yourself a lot of grog but be careful...I wish I could stand before you and be good to you..." . By the beginning of 1923, things seemed to start to sour in the relationship: "...you disappeared without any trace and I hear and see absolutely nothing from you...it's very curious that without saying goodbye there's a distance between us...I spoke to your mother and your brother and your sister, but unfortunately you had to be so far away...this has to change, it can't go on like this...you don't know how often I pray to God that he will help you in these sad, terrible times, that you will be strong, he has to, he will help you, because you only want the best...you must be tough...I'm sure things will change. You have to force yourself not to think so much about the bad things. Today we don't want to see the better things, but we have to have blind faith, and changes can come at any time, if foir good or bad, nobody knows...you have to trust your fate...did you apply for another position? Were you in Bonn?...This morning I got your letter...it hurt because I read many things between the lines...I would like to know what you were thinking about...you are too gentle for these times and you too easliy lose hope...". On Aug. 14, 1923 Janke hints at a potential break-up: "...don't you know how much I love you?...don't you want to believe in it?...I belong to you in good times and in bad...Fate brought us together...one thing in your letter made me very sad and angry, dear, that was not right that you burned the book which I was waiting for for so, so long...you must be tougher and not think so much to get through...your letter makes me afraid because of its reckless heartlessness...everybody's unemployed...it would be too much to ask if you could get a new job right away...". Soon the reason for Goebbels' anger and absence becomes very clear: "...all that talk recently about the race question is still ringing in my ears and I can't get rid of the thought...I really see this as a problem for our continuing relationship...and I truly believe that in this regard your thinking is absolutely exaggerated...and you tend to use everything I say against me using the race question...this has nothing to do with that at all...the thought that you will judge me falsely is unimaginable...we have to somehow figure this situation out...aren't you a little bit too too fanatic to answer our problem...". At this point, the written relationship became, on Else's part, a bit more formal athought it is clear that the couple continued to meet, and it appears they were living in the same locale, if not even with each other. There are two A.L.S.by Goebbels in the correspondence, both signed with his familiar "Ulex". The first is 1p. 4to., [n.p.], June 25, 1923. In part: "...This morning I got your letter, one and a half weeks after we last saw each other. I am little bit angry with you about everything when I think about how much time I spent with you...what moved me in the last few days you'll find in the enclosed notes [not present]...I was loking for a hotel room for you for the Fall vacation...I look forward to seeing you on Saturday...Many greetings and kisses...". The second letter is also 1p. 12mo., [n.p.], Jan. 25, 1924, in part: "...I don't have much time to write you more than these few lines...you can imagine how much work has piled up on my table...I am excited about tomorrow...I will see you tomorrow at 5:00 at the bank...". Overall very good to fine condition, never before offered for sale. For much of their relationship, Goebbels was depressed to the point of near suicide. He was embittered by the frustration of his literary career; his novel Michael Voormann did not find a publisher until 1929 and his plays were never staged. During this period, he also began to re-form his political views, influenced by the writings of Nietzsche, Oswald Spengler and, most importantly, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, a founder of "scientific" anti-Semitism. Goebbels soon found consolation in radical politics. He first came into contact with the Nazis in 1923 and joined the party in late 1924, strongly influenced by Gregor Strasser who promoted the Nazis' socialist agenda. Goebbels was eventually forced by Hitler to surrender his socialist principals for which he was awarded the position of Gauleiter of Berlin in October, 1926 - giving him a convenient opportunity to permanently end his affair with Else Janke. Else would be Goebbels' last love before he married Magdalena "Magda" Behrend in 1931. The pair would murder their six children in the Fuhrerbunker and then both commit suicide on May 1, 1945. Nothing is known of the fate of Else Janke -- but we have discovered that a woman of the same name arrived in the U.S. via ship from Bremerhaven in 1956.

[Helge]

THE LOVE LETTERS OF JEWISH SCHOOL TEACHER ELSE JANKE TO JOSEPH GOEBBELS

http://auctions.alexautographs.com/

[Helge]

THE LOVE LETTERS OF JEWISH SCHOOL TEACHER ELSE JANKE TO JOSEPH GOEBBELS

http://auctions.alexautographs.com/

[Helge]

Here in Der Spiegel (http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13526697.html) has published a photograph (unclear) by crediting it as a portrait of Else Janke. It is not true. The ladies are portrayed Liesel and Agnes Koelsch. A lot of research to get this photograph. Under the photograph instead of Else Janke (Source: private collection). Three years to clarify this situation. For anyone who writes in the "Women of the Reich" count the results. and not the passage of time ......

Here in the second photograph Else Janke.