Hermann Goering Biography
- Born: 01-12-1893
- Birth Place: Rosenheim, Bavaria
Hermann Goering Biography
The son of a judge, Goering fought in the air force, and ended WWI as a decorated war hero. This prestige made him a prize recruit to the Nazi Party, and Hitler appointed him to command the SA Brownshirts. In 1923, he took part in the Munich Beer-Hall putsch, but was seriously wounded and forced to flee the country.
After returning in 1927, he was elected as one of the first Nazi party (NSDAP) deputies to the Reichstag. Goering used his contacts with conservatives, big business and army officers to smooth Hitler's road to power.
Goering became President of the Reichstag and, following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, in 1933, he was awarded high office and became the creator of the secret police. Together with Himmler and Heydrich, he set up the early concentration camps for political opponents. He also implemented decrees that destroyed the last remnants of civil rights in Germany, and purged his rivals from the SA.
In 1935, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, and in 1936 gained virtually dictatorial control over the German economy.
Goering used his position to indulge in ostentatious luxury, but his drug use, debauches and bribe-taking gradually corrupted his judgement.
In 1938, it was Goering who ordered the elimination of Jews from the German economy, and their exclusion from society. It was also Goering who instructed Heydrich to carry out the ‘general solution’, in July 1941.
As commander of the Luftwaffe, it was Goering who largely (mis)directed the battle of Britain, and by 1943 he was essentially discredited. His personality somewhat disintegrated and, after misinterpreting one of Hitler’s statements, he was dismissed and arrested.
On 9 May 1945, Goering was captured by the American Army and put on trial at Nuremberg in 1946. Goering was sentenced to death, but committed suicide in his cell in 1946.
