Hermann+Goering

__Hermann Goering__, born in 1893 and deceased 1945, was one of the most senior politicians in Nazi Germany. Through the reign of Hitler's Nazi Germany, Goering was a close confidante of the fuhrer and moved through several distinguished positions in the Nazi regime, beginning his career as the leader of the SA, and is possibly best known as being the main initiator of the final solution. Throughout his political career, Goering was seen as ruthless and power hungry, often putting his own country at risk to gain more political power for himself. This however, did not dent Hitler's admiration for the leader, appointing him in second command of the Third Reich and as his successor to the fuhrer position . An accomplished war hero of the First World War, Goering earned a name for himself as a courageous fighter pilot and the last commander of the Richthofen Fighter Squadron. He returned to Denmark, where he met his wife, and in 1922, was recruited to the Nazi party. It is said that Goering instantly fallen in love with the Nazi party. He was immediately placed, by Hitler, at the head of the brown shirts or SA and in 1923, lead them in the Beer Hall Putsch. The coup provided unsuccessful and Goering fled Germany with a severe wound, finally committing himself to a medical facility, where he became addicted to morphine.

In 1927 Goering returned to Germany, to rejoin the Nazi party. In less than a year, Goering was elected a deputy to the Reichstag, a position which he thrived in, making connections with senior businessmen and diplomats, promoting the Nazi party and gaining "ins" with powerful German leaders. Following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, Goering was promoted to several high ranking positions - Prussian Minister of the Interior, Commander of the Prussian Police, Commander of the Gestapo, and Commissioner of Aviation. As commander of the Gestapo, Goering initiated the Nazi concentration camps for political prisoners and those in opposition to the Third Reich. Additionally, Goering removed former German police from their positions and replaced them with members of the SA and SS to further secure and tighten power over Germany. Following the Reichstag fire, Goering suspended most of the legal rights of all German citizens, making it possible for the Nazi party to arrest communists, members of the liberal press, opposition to the state, etc. indefinitely.

Goering made his first move toward the final solution following the Crystal Night, in which thousands of Jewish citizens were pushed out of their businesses and homes. Goering fined the Jewish population 1 billion marks and began steps towards isolating the Jewish population from the rest of Aryan Germany. On July 31, 1941, he issued the order for the final solution - the eradication of the Jewish population from Germany.

As leader of the main military defense in Germany, Goering failed to gain the country solid ground over Poland in the air attacks, causing the stalling of Hitler's attacks on England. A series of military failures by Goering lead him to loose popularity in the party, particularly with Hitler, and when Hitler announced that he would live in his bunker until the end of the war, Hermann asked to take control of the German military, but was subsequently booted from the Nazi party and arrested. On May 9, 1945, Goering was captured by the United States army and subsequently put up as the picture of Nazi evil in the famous Nuremberg Trials. During the trials, Goering never once admitted shame for his actions and strongly defended the Nazi agenda. Eventually he was found guilty of conspiracy to wage war, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity and sentenced to hanging. However, he committed suicide on October 15, 1946 by eating a cyanide pill before the execution could be carried out.

Sources: http://www.grolier.com/wwii/wwii_goering.html http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/hermann_goering.htm http://www.2worldwar2.com/hermann-goering.htm http://www.grolier.com/wwii/wwii_goering.html __Goering, the iron man__, Richard J. Overy, 1984