Historical Figure
Hermann Göring
1893–1946
German Nazi politician and military leader (1893–1946)
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Biography
Hermann Wilhelm Göring was a German politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945. He also served as Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe, a position he held until the final days of the regime.
In Their Own Words (5)
No. It was the last hours and he (Hitler) was under pressure. If I could have seen him personally it would have been different.
To Leon Goldensohn, after being asked if he felt any resentment toward Hitler (15 March 1946) , 1946
Shoot first and inquire afterwards, and if you make mistakes, I will protect you.
Instruction to the Prussian police (1933), as quoted in The House that Hitler Built (1937) by Stephen Henry Roberts. p. 63 , 1933
Göring: Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.Gilbert: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.Göring: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
In an interview with Gilbert in Göring's jail cell during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials (18 April 1946) , 1947
Hitler decided that. I thought it was stupid because I believed that first we had to defeat England. Also we had to take Gibraltar.
To Leon Goldensohn, about attacking the Soviets (15 March 1946) , 1946
My measures will not be crippled by any bureaucracy. Here I don't have to worry about Justice; my mission is only to destroy and to exterminate, nothing more.
Speech in Frankfurt (3 March 1933), as quoted in Gestapo : Instrument of Tyranny (1956) by Edward Crankshaw, p. 48 , 1956
Timeline
The story of Hermann Göring, told in moments.
Commands Jagdgeschwader 1, the fighter wing once led by the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. He's a decorated ace with 22 kills and holds the Pour le Merite, Germany's highest military honor. After the war he works as a stunt pilot and airline pilot in Scandinavia. He meets Hitler in 1922 and joins the party.
Marches alongside Hitler in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. Shot in the groin. Flees to Austria. While being treated for his wound, he develops a morphine addiction that persists for the rest of his life. He spends years in and out of institutions. He weighs over 300 pounds by the late 1930s.
Named Plenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan, putting him in charge of mobilizing the German economy for war. He accumulates power across government. Creates the Gestapo, then cedes it to Himmler. By 1941 he's the second most powerful man in Germany, holds the unique rank of Reichsmarschall, and has an art collection looted from Jewish victims across occupied Europe.
His Luftwaffe fails to supply the surrounded Sixth Army at Stalingrad. He'd promised Hitler the airlift was possible. It isn't. Three hundred thousand Germans are trapped. The Luftwaffe can't stop the Allied bombing of German cities either. His influence with Hitler collapses. He retreats to his estates and his stolen paintings.
Convicted of conspiracy, war crimes, and crimes against humanity at Nuremberg. Sentenced to hang. He requests a firing squad. Denied. The night before his execution, he swallows a cyanide capsule smuggled into his cell. How it got there is still debated. He is 53.
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