The Nazi leaders had a major problem after they lost in Stalingrad. Their ideal army was annihilated. They did not want to make Germans lose hope. Therefore, someone in the position to dispense propaganda like Joseph Goebbels needed a method to present the news in an undesired way that it was not a complete loss.
The Goebbels did not say, We lost. Rather, he made defeat sound like an adventure. He instructed newspapers and radios to create Stalingrad into a myth. The soldiers were demonstrated as heroic people fighting to the last drop of blood. It was to get people to feel proud not sad.
The army statement official said the army was annihilated by a very large enemy. It did not indicate they gave up. the message was: the soldiers of them did not surrender--they struggled but were beaten.
They also informed people that death of the soldiers had a purpose behind. To make it appear like world war one was worth the loss, they said things such as they died so that Germany could live.
What they did not mention to people was quite important. The reality was that General Paulus surrendered and approximately 91,000 of the German militaries were taken prisoner. Had this been known by people, the tale of heroes could not have succeeded.
Goebbels did not only spread the news--he transformed it. He has transformed a huge loss into an act of valor and sacrifice to make people continue believing that the war was worth its price.
