Talk:Sportpalast speech

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I've simply copied the alleged context from the edit summary. I don't know whether it's accurate, and I don't think the article as it stands should be kept. But I hope this edit might help the possible deletion process. Andrewa 08:52, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The Speech text is now at WIkiSource. I would do an inter-Wiki link, but in truth I do not know how to. Paul, in Saudi 16:43, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

Transcription/translation

I think the web sites including the text of this important speech seem to be mis-transcribed — so I suspect a mis-transcription in the German version that's crept into the English transcription.

There is an good quality audio/video excerpt of Goebbels' speech at the German Bundestag (parliament) site:

• http://www.bundestag.de/bau_kunst/ausst/wege/katalog/5_1.html

I am not a fluent German speaker, but the part of the speech that's transcribed as

Glaubt ihr mit dem Führer und mit uns an den endgültigen Sieg des deutschen Volkes?

[Do you believe with the Führer and with us in the final victory of the German people?]

I, however, hear the words

Glaubt ihr mit dem Führer und mit uns an den endgültigen Sieg des deutschen Waffen?

[Do you believe with the Führer and with us in the final victory of German weapons?]

See the following, which all give the former transcription (which I think is in error):

• http://www.wk-2.de/totaler_krieg_sportpalastrede.html
• http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/dokumente/sportpalastrede/
• Sportpalastrede page on the German Wikipedia

The following looks to be the most complete English translation available (most transcriptions in both German and English seem to be excerpts). This version is consistent with the original German given in the other sites but, as with the others, does not match what I hear in the audio clip.

• http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb36.htm

(This is an excellent site about German propaganda, by the way.)

Does anyone know any source of the entire speech in audio or video form?

JonRoma 04:43, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Hi JonRoma: You're right, it's correct, the "German weapons" are clearly audible, not people. I detected, however, another mistake in the translation. The very last sentence Goebbels said was "Nun Volk steh auf und Sturm brich los!". That was translated as "Now, nation stand up and LET THE storm break lose". That's wrong. With "...und Sturm brich los!", Goebbels directly addressed the "storm" he hoped for as if he tried to conjure it personally. The correct translation of that last sentence is "Now [German] People, stand up and storm, break lose!" (It's not in this video from your link unfortunately). Btw, I'd like to have the entire sound file too. It would be very interesting. However, it's not availlable probably because of the potential danger of that very strong speech. I'm German myself and I hope to find out more about this speech. I'll be glad to be able to tell you more about it. ;) --Krawunsel 21:07, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

Hello Krawunsel, and thank you for your comments about the mistranslation, as well as your additions about Nun Volk steh auf und Sturm brich los! I have always wondered about that phrase, knowing that my skills with the German language are weak and that the meaning of a phrase isn't always conveyed well by a word-for-word translation. I wonder if an English translation that carries the sense of these words would be "Now rise up and break loose the storm!" (We might even say "Now rise up and make all hell break loose!")

I agree with your comments about Goebbels' intending to conjure up the storm through his words. No doubt he wanted the audience to rise up right then and there! Though I despise Nazism and all that it stood for, I would like to see and hear more of this speech and some of Hitler's principal speeches, so I can better understand the power of Hitler's oratory and Goebbels' propaganda; I've read translations of some of the principal speeches in Shirer's books and elsewhere, but I'd like to see and hear their power first-hand. I think it would better help us understand how horrors can arise in civilized lands.

I suspect a great deal of the recordings survive but that they are not readily available in their entirety because of denazification laws in your country, and in my country (the USA) because most here wouldn't benefit from hearing speeches in a language other than our own. Still, I would like to learn from history. — JonRoma 05:54, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

The phrase "Now rise up and break loose the storm!" had important nationalistic historical meaning for Germany. We could digress on this. Andries 18:25, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

Well, I added some small but valuable information concerning the audience on the Sportpalast during the speech, found in a credible site about German propaganda. It shows again how Goebbels skills were fundamental for the Nazist to seize and maintain their power over Germany. It's the bit about a carefully selected audience that reacted in a fanatic way so the impact of the speech was even higher. -- Marcos2006 00:56, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

The problem is that the printed and the spoken versions are different. The printed versions of the text have "Volk," but Goebbels did, in fact, say "Waffen." I secured the full audio version I used from the German Radio Archive in Wiesbaden. Bytwerk 13:42, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copyright status

Does anyone know the copyright status of the Sportpalast speech? This may sound like a strange question, but in the case of Mein Kampf, the state of Bavaria seized the copyright and used it to restrict republication. So I wondered who's the copyright owner of Goebbels' most (in-)famous speech - some nation who seized the copyright, some of Goebbels' heirs, or is it in the public domain? I hope that the latter holds, because this would permit translating more of it into English, but I'm not so sure. Aragorn2 15:15, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I previously tried to research this at some point and it does not appear anyone has an active claim on the copyright, but obviously there is no clear resolution of the matter either. Presumably either a distant relative of Goebbels or the German state, or both, could try to claim copyright, but neither appears to have done so. English translations have been published (including online) for many years with no complainant coming forth. Mein Kampf, incidentally, is also not actively copyright-protected in most countries in the world either, since Bavaria's claim is not generally recognized outside Germany. --Delirium 03:02, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] sources

This article lists no sources. Especially statements like "Goebbels also wanted, by building such huge popular enthusiasm, to convince Hitler to give him greater powers in running the war economy." are in need of a source, otherwise it's just speculation.