Hermann Göring

Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_G%C3%B6ring#cite_note-spelling-5" >[a]</a> German: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_German" title="Help:IPA for German" >[ˈɡøːʁɪŋ]</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:De-HermannWGoering.ogg" title="File:De-HermannWGoering.ogg" ><img src="/bf345361-4739-5d99-8eed-a14a1c695414.png"/></a> <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/De-HermannWGoering.ogg" class="internal" title="De-HermannWGoering.ogg" >listen</a>); 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader, and leading member of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party" title="Nazi Party" >Nazi Party</a> (NSDAP). A veteran of World War I as an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_aces" title="Flying aces" class="mw-redirect" >ace</a> fighter pilot, he was a recipient of the coveted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pour_le_M%C3%A9rite" title="Pour le Mérite" >Pour le Mérite</a>, also known as the "Blue Max". He was the last commander of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdgeschwader_1_(World_War_I)" title="Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War I)" >Jagdgeschwader 1</a>, the fighter wing once led by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen" title="Manfred von Richthofen" >Manfred von Richthofen</a>, dubbed the "Red Baron".

A member of the NSDAP from its earliest days, Göring was wounded in 1923 during the failed coup known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Hall_Putsch" title="Beer Hall Putsch" >Beer Hall Putsch</a>. He became addicted to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine" title="Morphine" >morphine</a>after being treated with the drug for his injuries. After helping <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler" >Adolf Hitler</a> take power in 1933, he became the second-most powerful man in Germany. He founded the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo" title="Gestapo" >Gestapo</a> in 1933, and later gave command of it to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmler" title="Heinrich Himmler" >Heinrich Himmler</a>. Göring was appointed commander-in-chief of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftwaffe" title="Luftwaffe" >Luftwaffe</a> (air force) in 1935, a position he held until the final days of World War II. By 1940, he was at the peak of his power and influence; as minister in charge of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Year_Plan" title="Four Year Plan" class="mw-redirect" >Four Year Plan</a>, he was responsible for much of the functioning of the German economy in the build-up to World War II. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler" >Adolf Hitler</a> promoted him to the rank of Reichsmarschall, a rank senior to all other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrmacht" title="Wehrmacht" >Wehrmacht</a>commanders, and in 1941 Hitler designated him as his successor and deputy in all his offices.

Göring's standing with Hitler was greatly reduced by 1942, when the Luftwaffe failed to fulfill its commitments and the German war effort was stumbling on both fronts. Göring largely withdrew from the military and political scene and focused on the acquisition of property and artwork, much of which was confiscated from Jewish victims of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust" title="Holocaust" class="mw-redirect" >Holocaust</a>. Informed on 22 April 1945 that Hitler intended to commit suicide, Göring sent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6ring_Telegram" title="Göring Telegram" >a telegram to Hitler</a> requesting permission to assume control of the Reich. Considering it an act of treason, Hitler removed Göring from all his positions, expelled him from the party, and ordered his arrest. After World War II, Göring was convicted of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crime" title="War crime" >war crimes</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimes_against_humanity" title="Crimes against humanity" >crimes against humanity</a> at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials" title="Nuremberg trials" >Nuremberg trials</a>. He was sentenced to death by hanging, but committed suicide by ingesting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanide_poisoning" title="Cyanide poisoning" >cyanide</a> the night before the sentence was to be carried out.

Hermann Göring

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