Original 1938 Joseph Goebbels Signed Appointment Document – Hitler Facsimile

Description

Original 1938 Joseph Goebbels Signed Appointment Certificate for Karl Passarge

A highly impressive original German government appointment document dated 20 April 1938, formally appointing Karl Passarge from Regierungsrat to Oberregierungsrat, approximately equivalent to Senior Government Councillor.

The certificate is preserved within its original large-format presentation folder and represents a particularly attractive example of official Third Reich administrative documentation.

Most importantly for autograph collectors, the document bears an original handwritten ink signature of Dr. Joseph Goebbels in the lower right-hand area. The central Adolf Hitler signature is a period facsimile and is not represented as an original Hitler autograph.

This distinction is important and is clearly stated for complete transparency.

The Appointment

The principal text begins:

“Im Namen des Deutschen Volkes ernenne ich den Regierungsrat Karl Passarge zum Oberregierungsrat.”

In English:

“In the name of the German people, I appoint Government Councillor Karl Passarge as Senior Government Councillor.”

The document continues with the formal expectation that the appointee would faithfully fulfil the duties of his office and justify the confidence placed in him.

It is dated:

Berlin, den 20. April 1938

and headed beneath the text:

Der Führer und Reichskanzler

The Adolf Hitler signature beneath this heading is a facsimile incorporated into the official appointment document.

At the lower right is the separate original ink signature of Dr. Joseph Goebbels.

Karl Passarge – Historically Identifiable Recipient

The named recipient is not an anonymous civil servant.

German Federal Archives records identify Karl Passarge (1893–1967) as a German politician and senior administrative official. Passarge had served as an active officer from 1911 to 1919, was a Regierungsrat attached to the Reich Commissioner for Eastern Aid between 1931 and 1933, and from 1933 to 1939 served as managing director of the Werberat der Deutschen Wirtschaft. The Bundesarchiv specifically records his later rank as Oberregierungsrat, directly corresponding with the promotion recorded on this certificate.

This documented career considerably enhances the historical value of the piece because the certificate can be connected to a known individual whose papers are today preserved in the Bundesarchiv.

Original Presentation Folder

The exterior of the period folder features a large blind and gilt-style embossed German Reich eagle and wreath emblem.

Inside, the appointment certificate uses elaborate black and gold Gothic-style lettering headed:

“Im Namen des Deutschen Volkes”

Further official embossed insignia appear towards the lower part of the sheet.

The combination of textured paper, raised insignia, formal typography, facsimile Hitler signature and Goebbels’ original ink signature gives the document considerably greater visual presence than an ordinary signed letter.

A prior specialist militaria listing matching Karl Passarge, the exact 20 April 1938 date and his promotion to Oberregierungsrat also described the item as an appointment document bearing an original Dr. Joseph Goebbels ink signature.

Joseph Goebbels Autograph

Goebbels served as Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda from 1933 until 1945 and was one of the central figures of the National Socialist dictatorship and its propaganda apparatus.

The present piece is especially attractive because it combines an autograph with an elaborate official appointment certificate, named and historically documented recipient, original folder and multiple government insignia.

Condition

The document remains in genuine period condition with visible ageing consistent with its date.

The presentation folder shows edge and handling wear, while the certificate itself displays toning and minor age-related marks. A small green mark is visible beneath the Goebbels signature. Raised embossed elements remain visible and the principal printed text and signatures are well preserved.

Please examine all photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the condition description.

Authenticity Description

Joseph Goebbels: original handwritten ink signature.

Adolf Hitler: facsimile signature forming part of the official document; it is not being sold or represented as an original Hitler autograph.

Historical Collecting Notice

This document is offered exclusively as an authentic historical collectible for preservation, academic study and documentation of twentieth-century German history. The presence of National Socialist names, emblems or symbols is strictly historical and does not indicate support, sympathy or promotion of National Socialism, antisemitism or any totalitarian ideology.