Hermann Göring

Lore & Background

Göring was born in Rosenheim, Bavaria, and served as a World War I fighter pilot ace, receiving the Pour le Mérite and commanding Jagdgeschwader 1. He was an early Nazi Party member and was wounded in the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, developing a morphine addiction that persisted until the last year of his life. After Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, Göring oversaw the creation of the Gestapo, later ceded to Heinrich Himmler in 1934. He became the second most powerful man in Germany, was named Plenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan in 1936, and was designated Hitler's successor in September 1939. After the Fall of France in 1940, he was given the rank of Reichsmarschall, senior to all other German officers.

Reader's Guide

Göring's significance lies in his role as a central architect of the Nazi state and its war economy. He amassed enormous power and political capital, but his standing declined after the Luftwaffe failed to prevent Allied bombing or resupply Axis forces at Stalingrad. He increasingly withdrew to collect property and artwork, much stolen from Jewish victims of the Holocaust. In April 1945, Hitler considered Göring's request to assume leadership as treason, removing him from all positions and ordering his arrest. After the war, Göring was convicted at Nuremberg of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He requested execution by firing squad but was sentenced to death by hanging; he died by suicide the night before his scheduled execution. His legacy is that of a high-ranking Nazi official and convicted war criminal whose actions contributed to the regime's crimes.

Did You Know?

• Göring was a recipient of the Pour le Mérite and served as the last commander of Jagdgeschwader 1, the fighter wing once led by Manfred von Richthofen.
• He developed an addiction to morphine while receiving treatment for injuries sustained in the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923.
• Göring oversaw the creation of the Gestapo, which he ceded to Heinrich Himmler in 1934.
• He died by suicide by ingesting cyanide the night before his scheduled execution.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"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." — Hermann Göring "Shoot first and inquire afterwards, and if you make mistakes, I will protect you." — Hermann Göring "Guns will make us powerful; butter will only make us fat." — Hermann Göring "Guns will make us strong, butter will only make us fat." — Hermann Göring