World War Two: Joseph Goebbels’ Wife’s Descendants Richest German Family

Magda Goebbels was the wife of Nazi chief propagandist and Hitler’s close ally, Joseph Goebbels when World War Two was fought. According to recent information, her descendants own 46.7 per cent stake in German automobile company BMW, making them the richest family in the country. For about decade, the position was occupied by famous supermarket chain owners Aldi and Lidl.

It is allegedMagda’s grandchildren, who are the children of Harald Quandt, the son he had with Günther Quandt before marrying Goebbels, now have a combined family worth of £24.5 billion making them the richest family in Germany. Herald and his half-brother inherited all the wealth that was acquired by their father Günther Quandt, under Hitler’s Nazi rule during World War Two.

Harald Quandt is Joseph Goebbels’ stepson and Magda Goebbels’ only surviving child. She and Joseph Goebbels murdered the six children they had together by giving them cyanide capsules. They went on to commit suicide. The entire Goebbels family of eight including father, mother, and six children were wiped out a day after Hitler committed suicide in 1945 – after being faced with the shame and realisation that World War Twohas been won bythe allies.

Magda and Joseph Goebbels married in 1931 and led to Magda becoming one of the most powerful women in the Nazi government. Before marrying Goebbels ten years later, Magda was first married to widower, Günther Quandt in 1921. Günther Quandt had two children from his previous marriage, Hellmut and Herbert Quandt – and together with Magda, they had a son, Herald Quandt.

Herald Quandt was an army under Hitler’s Nazi government. Before joining the army in 1939, he lived with his mother and her husband, Joseph Goebbels. After the Germans were defeated in World War Two, Herald was held in a British Prisoner of War camp in Libya. He was there when he received her mother’s farewell letter. Her mother wrote the letter while she was hiding in Hitler’s Berlin bunker and aware that the Soviet forces were closing in on the bunker.

In her letter to Harald, Magda said it was likely he’ll be the only one that’ll be able to continue their family tradition.

Magda’s ex-husband, Günther Quandtmade a lot of money during World War Two. According to the Times, his wealth was acquired by manufacturing rifles and missiles for the Nazis during the war. The Quandt fortune was then inherited by Herald and his half-brother, HerbertQuandt.

In the 1960s, Herbert Quandt, who was Magda’s stepson became a shareholder of BMW after saving the company from collapsing. He supported the company’s new car models and the BMW brand has been a huge success since then. As a result, the Quandts had been climbing the German rich list over the years, the Mail Online reports.

Most of the Quandts family shy away from publicity, especially those of Herald Quandt that are Magda’s offspring and Joseph Goebbels’ stepson. But Johanna Quandt, Herbert’s 86-year-old widow and their children, Stefan Quandt and Susanne Klatten do not. They are frequently seen hanging out with the other BMW shareholders.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE