Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945), one of the most powerful men in
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
, served as Chief of the German Police and Minister of the Interior. As
Reichsführer-SSwas a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, became the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
, he oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
.
As overseer of the concentration camps, extermination camps, and
EinsatzgruppenEinsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary groups that took part in the systematic killing of mostly civilians throughout occupied Eastern Europe during World War II.-Background:...
(literally: task forces, often used as killing squads), Himmler coordinated the killing of some six million Jews, between 200,000 and 500,000 Roma, many prisoners of war, and possibly another three to four million Poles, communists, or other groups whom the Nazis deemed
unworthy to liveThe phrase "life unworthy of life" was a Nazi designation for the segments of populace that, according to the racial policy of the Third Reich, had no right to live and thus, were to be "exterminated." This concept formed an important component of the ideology of Nazism and eventually led to the...
or simply "in the way", including homosexuals, people with physical and mental disabilities, and members of the
Confessing ChurchThe Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
. Shortly before the end of the war, he offered to surrender both Germany and himself to the Western Allies if he were spared prosecution. After being arrested by
BritishGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
forces, he committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
before he could be questioned.
Himmler has been named "the greatest mass murderer of all time" by German news magazine
Der SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly magazine, published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest weekly magazines with a weekly circulation of more than one million.- Overview :...
.
Early life
Heinrich Himmler was born in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
to a Roman Catholic
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n middle-class family. His father was Joseph Gebhard Himmler, a secondary-school teacher and principal of the prestigious Wittelsbacher Gymnasium. His mother was Anna Maria Himmler (maiden name Heyder), a devout Roman Catholic. He had an older brother, Gebhard Ludwig Himmler, who was born on 29 July 1898, and a younger brother, Ernst Hermann Himmler, born on 23 December 1905.
Heinrich was named after his
godfatherA godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. Judaism has this equivalent in the circumcision ceremony. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
,
Prince Heinrich of BavariaPrince Heinrich of Bavaria was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and a highly decorated Army officer in the First World War.-Early life:...
of the
royal family of BavariaThe Monarchy of Bavaria was abolished in 1918. The current Senior Representative of the former Ruling House of Wittelsbach is Franz, Duke of Bavaria...
, who was tutored by Gebhard Himmler. In 1910, Himmler attended
GymnasiumA gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools...
in
LandshutLandshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut acts is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...
, where he studied classic literature. Himmler's father, the principal, sent him to spy on and punish other pupils. His father even called him a born criminal. While he struggled in athletics, he did well in his schoolwork. Also, at the behest of his father, Himmler kept a diary from age 10 until age 24. He enjoyed
chessChess is a board game played between two players. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from a similar, much older game of Indian origin...
,
harpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
,
stamp collectingStamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects, such as covers . It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with estimates of the number of collectors ranging up to 20 million in the United States alone. - Collecting :Collecting is not the same as philately, which is...
, and
gardeningGardening is the practice of growing ornamental or useful plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance. Useful plants may be grown for consumption or for a variety of other purposes, such as medicines or dyes...
. Throughout Himmler’s youth and into adulthood, he was never at ease in interactions with women.
Himmler’s diaries (1914-1918) show that he was extremely interested in war news. He implored his father to use his royal connections to obtain an officer candidate position for him. His parents eventually gave in, allowing him to train (upon graduation from secondary school in 1918) with the 11th Bavarian Regiment. Since he was not athletic, he struggled throughout his military training. In 1918
the warWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
ended with Germany's defeat, thus ending Himmler's aspirations of becoming a professional army officer.
From 1919 to 1922 Himmler studied
agronomyAgronomy is the science and technology of using plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology, chemistry, ecology, earth...
at the Munich
Technische HochschuleTechnische Hochschule is, what an Institute of Technology used to be called in German speaking countries, before most of them changed their name to Technische Universität in the 1970s.This has to do with the fact, that in the Middle Ages, an educational institution was called a...
following a short-lived apprenticeship on a farm and subsequent illness. Himmler was pursuing a
chasteChastity is sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the ethical norms and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion.In the western world, the term has become closely associated with sexual abstinence, especially before marriage...
lifestyle when he became interested in the daughter of a store owner. In his diary, he compares his initial encounter with her as like finding himself a sister. When he told her his true feelings, however, she rejected him. His difficulties with women persisted throughout his life. His feelings towards women are laid bare in a diary excerpt:
In his diaries he claimed to be a devout Catholic, and wrote that he would never turn away from the Church. However, he was a member of a fraternity (and later the
Thule SocietyThe Thule Society , originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum , was a German occultist and völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend...
) and felt both associations to be at odds with the tenets of the Church. Biographers have defined Himmler’s theology as
AriosophyArmanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. List also used the name Wotanism, whereas Lanz also used the names Theozoology and Ario-Christianity...
, his own religious
dogmaDogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization: it is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted or diverged from. The term derives from Greek "that which seems to one, opinion or belief" and that from , "to think, to suppose, to imagine"...
of racial superiority of the
Aryan raceThe Aryan race is a concept historically influential in European culture in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race...
and Germanic Meso-Paganism, developed partly from his interpretations of folklore and mythology of the ancient
TeutonicTeutonic or Teuton may refer to:*the Teutons* Germanic peoples , see Theodiscus**Teutonic Mythology** Germanic languages *Furor Teutonicus* A German military order, the Teutonic Knights.*SS Teutonic...
tribes of
Northern EuropeNorthern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as including the following countries and dependent regions:** ** ** Ireland** Svalbard and Jan Mayen** ** Channel Islands: and...
. During this time he was again obsessed with the idea of becoming a soldier. He wrote that if Germany did not soon go to war, he would go to another country to seek battle.
In 1923, Himmler took part in
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
's
Beer Hall PutschThe Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the...
, serving under
Ernst RöhmErnst Julius Röhm, was an Imperial German army officer and later a Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia and later was the SA commander. In 1934, he was executed on Hitler's orders as a potential rival.-Early career:Ernst Röhm was born in Munich...
. In 1926 he met his future wife in a hotel lobby while escaping a storm. Margarete Siegroth (née Boden) was seven years his senior, divorced, and Protestant. On 3 July 1928, the two were married. During this time Himmler worked unsuccessfully as a
chicken farmerPoultry farming is the practice of raising poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food....
. They had their only child,
Gudrun Gudrun Burwitz was born 8 August 1929. Her parents were Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer-SS and head of the German police, and Margarete . Gudrun was the first child of Himmler's marriage; they later adopted a son...
, on 8 August 1929. Himmler adored his daughter, and called her Püppi . Margarete later adopted a son, in whom Himmler showed no interest. Heinrich and Margarete Himmler separated in 1940 without seeking divorce. At that time Himmler became friendly with a secretary, Hedwig Potthast, who left her job in 1941 and became his mistress. He fathered two children with her — a son, Helge (born 1942), and a daughter, Nanette Dorothea (born 1944).
Himmler was also very interested in agriculture and the "back to the land" movement. He and his wife had romantic ideals of making a farming life. He joined the Artamanen society, a sort of idealistic back-to-the-land youth group, but mixed with
racistRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
ideology. He became one of the leaders of this movement. Through this movement he also apparently met
Rudolf HößRudolf Franz Ferdinand Höß was an SS-Obersturmbannführer and from May 4, 1940 to November 1943 was the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, where it is estimated that more than a million people were killed.-Early life:Rudolf Höss was born in Baden-Baden into a strict Catholic family...
, who would later preside over Auschwitz, and Richard Walther Darré, who would later work in the
RuSHAThe Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt-SS , , was the organization responsible for "safeguarding the racial 'purity' of the SS" within Nazi Germany....
(race and resettlement office) of the SS.
Rise in the SS
Early SS: 1927–1934
Himmler joined the SS in 1925 and became deputy–Reichsführer-SS in 1927. Upon the
resignationA resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
of SS commander
Erhard HeidenErhard Heiden was an early member of the Nazi Party and the third commander of the Schutzstaffel . Heiden was a Nazi stormtrooper who, in 1925, joined a small stormtrooper bodyguard unit known as the Schutzstaffel...
, Himmler was appointed
Reichsführer-SSwas a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, became the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
in January 1929. The SS then had 280 members and was merely an elite
battalionA battalion is a military unit of around 1000-1500 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
of the much larger
Sturmabteilung (SA)The , abbreviated SA , functioned as a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party...
.
By 1933, the SS numbered 52,000 members. The organization enforced strict membership requirements ensuring that all members were of Hitler’s
AryanThe Aryan race is a concept historically influential in European culture in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race...
Herrenvolk ("Aryan master race"). Himmler and his deputy
Reinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
began an effort to separate the SS from SA control. Black SS uniforms replaced the SA brown shirts in July 1932 and by 1934 enough quantities were manufactured for general use by all. In 1933, Himmler was promoted to SS-
ObergruppenführerObergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
. This made him an equal of the senior SA commanders, who by this time loathed the SS and envied its power.
Himmler,
Hermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring was a German politician, military leader and a leading member of the Nazi Party. Among many offices, he was Hitler's designated successor and commander of the Luftwaffe...
, and General
Werner von BlombergWerner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg was a leading member of the German Army until January 1938.-Early life:Born in Stargard, Pomerania, Prussia , Werner von Blomberg joined the army at a young age and attended Germany's Kriegsakademie in 1904...
agreed that the SA and its leader
Ernst RöhmErnst Julius Röhm, was an Imperial German army officer and later a Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia and later was the SA commander. In 1934, he was executed on Hitler's orders as a potential rival.-Early career:Ernst Röhm was born in Munich...
posed a threat to the German Army and the Nazi leadership. Röhm had socialist and
populistPopulist may refer to:* A supporter of Populism, a political philosophy urging social and political system change that favors "the people" over "the elites" .* Populist Party of America, a party founded in 2002 advocating "constitutional democracy"...
views, and believed that the real
revolutionA revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
had not yet begun. He felt that the SA should become the sole arms-bearing corps of the state. This left some Nazi, military and political leaders believing Röhm was intent on using the SA to undertake a coup.
Persuaded by Himmler and Göring, Hitler agreed that Röhm had to be eliminated. He delegated this task to
Reinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
,
Kurt DaluegeKurt Daluege was an SS-Oberstgruppenführer and Generaloberst der Polizei, officer of the Reich Main Security Office and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector.-Early life and career:...
, and
Werner BestWerner Best was a German jurist, police chief, SS-Obergruppenführer and Nazi leader from Darmstadt, Hesse. Best served as civilian administrator of France and Denmark while Nazi Germany occupied those countries during World War II.-Early World War II:From 1939-40, Best was an SS-Obergruppenführer...
, who ordered Röhm's execution (carried out by
Theodor EickeTheodor Eicke was a Nazi official, SS-Obergruppenführer, commander of the SS-Division Totenkopf of the Waffen-SS and one of the key figures in the establishment of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. His Nazi Party number was 114901 and his SS number was 2921...
) and other senior SA officials, plus some of Hitler’s personal enemies, (like
Gregor StrasserGregor Strasser was a politician of the German Nazi Party . He was murdered in Berlin during the Night of the Long Knives.-Background, training, and military service:...
and
Kurt von Schleicher' was a German general and the last Chancellor of Germany during the era of the Weimar Republic.-Biography:...
), on 30 June 1934, in what became known as the
Night of the Long KnivesThe Night of the Long Knives or "Operation Hummingbird", was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political executions, most of those killed being members of the Sturmabteilung , the paramilitary Brownshirts.Hitler...
. The next day, the SS became an independent organization responsible only to Hitler.
Consolidation of power
On 20 April 1934, Göring formed a partnership with Himmler and Heydrich. Göring transferred authority over the
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
(Geheime Staatspolizei), the Prussian
secret policeSecret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy to maintain national security against internal threats to the state....
, to Himmler, who was also named chief of all German police outside
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
. On 22 April 1934, Himmler named Heydrich the head of the Gestapo. Heydrich continued as head of the SD, as well.
On 17 June 1936, Himmler was named Chief of German Police after Hitler announced a decree that was to "unify the control of Police duties in the Reich". Traditionally, law enforcement in Germany had been a state and local matter. In this role, Himmler was nominally subordinate to
Interior MinisterThe Federal Ministry of the Interior is a ministry of the German federal government. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn...
Wilhelm FrickWilhelm Frick was a prominent Nazi official, serving as Minister of the Interior of the Third Reich. After the end of World War II, he was executed for war crimes.- Early life and family :...
. However, the decree effectively merged the police with the SS, making it virtually independent of Frick's control.
Himmler gained authority as all of Germany’s uniformed
law enforcement agenciesIn North American English, a Law enforcement agency is an organisation that enforces the law.Outside North America, such organisations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police, others have other names In North American English, a Law enforcement agency...
were amalgamated into the new
Ordnungspolizei (Orpo: "order police")The Ordnungspolizei was the name for the uniformed regular German police force in existence during the period of Nazi Germany, notably between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei or the...
, whose main office became a headquarters branch of the SS. Despite his title, Himmler gained only partial control of the uniformed police. The actual powers granted to him were some that were previously exercised by the ministry of the interior. It was only in 1943, when Himmler was appointed minister of the interior, that the transfer of ministerial power was complete.
With the 1936 appointment, Himmler also gained ministerial authority over Germany’s non-political detective forces, the
Kriminalpolizei (Kripo: crime police)is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland.-Foundation:...
, which he merged with the Gestapo into the
Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo: security police)The Sicherheitspolizei , often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo and the Kripo between 1934 and 1939...
under Heydrich's command, and thus gain operational control over Germany’s entire detective force. This merger was never complete within the
ReichReich is a German loanword cognate with the English reign, but used most often to designate an empire, realm, or nation. The qualitative connotation from the German is " sovereign state." It is also cognate with the Latin word and the Scandinavian rike/rige, , , ; as found in bishopric...
, with Kripo remaining mainly under the control of its own civilian administration and later the party apparatus (as the latter annexed the civilian administration). However, in occupied territories not incorporated into the Reich proper, Sipo consolidation within the SS line of command proved mostly effective. In September 1939, following the outbreak of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Himmler formed the
Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA: Reich Main Security Office)The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his capacity as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
wherein the Sipo (Gestapo and Kripo) along with the
Sicherheitsdienst (SD: security services)The Sicherheitsdienst was primarily the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the Gestapo, which the SS had infiltrated heavily...
became departments under Heydrich's command therein.
Himmler oversaw the entire
concentration camp systemNazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps were greatly expanded in Germany after the Reichstag fire in 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
. Once
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began, however, new internment camps, which were not formally classified as concentration camps, were established, over which Himmler and the SS did not exercise control. In 1943, following the outbreak of popular word-of-mouth criticism of the regime as a result of the
Stalingrad disasterThe Battle of Stalingrad was a battle of World War II between Nazi Germany and its allies and the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 17 July 1942 and 2 February 1943....
, the party apparatus, professing disappointment with the Gestapo’s performance in deterring such criticism, established the Politische Staffeln (political squads) as its own political policing organ, breaking the Gestapo’s monopoly in this field.
The SS during these years developed its own military branch, the
SS-VerfügungstruppeThe SS-Verfügungstruppe was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the NSDAP. By 1940 these military SS units had become the Waffen-SS....
(SS-VT), which later evolved into the
Waffen-SSThe Waffen-SS was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside the Wehrmacht Heer regular army, but was never formally part of it...
. Even though nominally under the authority of Himmler, the Waffen-SS developed a fully militarized structure of command and operationally were incorporated in the war effort parallel to the
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
. Many contemporary commentators refuse to recognize the Waffen SS as an honorable military organisation. Its units were involved in notorious incidents of murdering civilians and unarmed prisoners. This was one of many reasons that the International Military Tribunal declared the SS to be a criminal organization.
Himmler and the Holocaust
After the
Night of the Long KnivesThe Night of the Long Knives or "Operation Hummingbird", was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political executions, most of those killed being members of the Sturmabteilung , the paramilitary Brownshirts.Hitler...
, the SS-Totenkopfverbände organized and administered Germany’s regime of concentration camps and, after 1941, extermination camps in Poland. The SS, through its intelligence arm, the Security Service (
SicherheitsdienstThe Sicherheitsdienst was primarily the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the Gestapo, which the SS had infiltrated heavily...
, or SD), dealt with
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s, Gypsies, communists and those persons of any other cultural, racial, political or religious affiliation deemed by the Nazis to be either
UntermenschUntermensch is a term from Nazi racial ideology used to describe "inferior people", especially "the masses from the East," that is Jews, Gypsies, Poles along with other Slavic people like the Russians, Ukrainians and anyone else who was not an "Aryan" according to the contemporary Nazi race...
(sub-human) or in opposition to the regime, and placing them in concentration camps. Himmler opened the first of these camps at
DachauDachau concentration camp was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany, located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau, about 16 km northwest of Munich in the state of Bavaria which is located in southern Germany.Opened in March 1933, it...
on 22 March 1933. He was the main architect of
the HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
, using elements of
mysticismMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
and a fanatical belief in the
racistRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
Nazi
ideologyAn ideology is a set of aims and ideas that directs one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a...
to justify the murder of millions of victims. Himmler had similar plans for the Poles. Intellectuals were to be killed and most other Poles were to be only literate enough to read traffic signs. On 18 December 1941, Himmler's appointment book shows he met with Hitler, where to in answer to Himmler's question "What to do with the Jews of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
?", Hitler's response is recorded as "als Partisanen auszurotten" (exterminate them as partisans").
In contrast to Hitler, Himmler inspected concentration camps. After that, the Nazis searched for a new and more expedient way to kill, which culminated in the use of the
gas chamberA gas chamber is an apparatus for killing, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used. Gas chambers were used as a method of execution for...
s.
Himmler wanted to breed a
master raceThe master race was a concept in Nazi ideology, which holds that the Teutonics , one of the branches of what in the late 19th and early 20th century was called the Aryan race, represent an ideal and "pure race"...
of
NordicThe Nordic race was one of the racial subcategories into which white people were divided by anthropologists in the first half of the 20th century. The debates about this topic are nowadays mostly not considered scientific, but ideological...
AryansThe Aryan race is a concept historically influential in European culture in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race...
in Germany. His experience as a chicken farmer had taught him the rudimentary basics of animal breeding which he proposed to apply to humans. He believed that he could engineer the German populace, through selective breeding, to be entirely "Nordic" in appearance within several decades of the end of the war.
Posen speech
On 4 October 1943, Himmler referred explicitly to the extermination of the Jewish people during a secret SS meeting in the city of
PoznańPoznań is a city in west-central Poland with over 557,264 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education. Poznań is Poland's fifth largest city and fourth biggest...
(Posen). The following is an excerpt from a transcription of an audio recording that exists of the speech:
World War II
In 1939 Himmler masterminded
Operation HimmlerOperation Himmler was a Nazi Germany false flag project to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany, which was subsequently used by Nazi propaganda to justify the invasion of Poland...
, arguably the first operation of World War II in Europe.
Before the
invasion of the Soviet UnionOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km front...
in 1941 (
Operation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km front...
), Himmler prepared his SS for a war of extermination against the forces of "Judeo-Bolshevism". Himmler, always glad to make parallels between Nazi Germany and the
Middle AgeMiddle age is the period of life beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s, compared the invasion to the Crusades. He collected volunteers from all over Europe, especially those of Nordic stock who were perceived to be racially closest to
GermansThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
, like the
DanesDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
,
NorwegiansNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
,
SwedesSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
and
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
. After the invasion,
UkrainiansUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
,
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
ns,
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
ns, and
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
ns volunteers were also recruited, attracting the non-Germanic volunteers by declaring a pan-European crusade to defend the traditional values of old Europe from the "Godless
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903...
hordes". Thousands volunteered and many thousands more were
conscriptedConscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by an established authority. It is most often used in the specific sense of requiring citizens to serve in the armed forces...
.
The volunteers from the occupied Soviet territories were frequently
collaboratorCollaborator may refer to:* Collaboration, working with others for a common goal* Collaborationism, working with an enemy occupier against one's own country* Collaborator , alternate history novel by Murray Davies...
policemen pressed
en masse into the Waffen SS once their territories of origin were overrun by the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
. In the Baltic states many natives volunteered to serve due to their loathing of their oppression after the occupation by the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. As long as they were employed against Soviet troops, they performed acceptably because they expected no mercy if captured. When employed against the Western Allies, however, they often tended to surrender. Waffen SS recruitment in Western and Nordic Europe collected much less manpower, though a number of Waffen-SS Legions were founded, such as the Wallonian contingent led by
Leon DegrelleLéon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle was a Walloon Belgian politician, who founded Rexism and later joined the Nazi German Waffen SS which were front-line troops in the fight against the Soviet Union...
, whom Himmler planned to appoint
chancellorChancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of a restored
Burgundy- Places :*Burgundy , is a historical region and cultural area in Western Europe, which has existed in several different forms with widely varying boundaries:**Bourgogne, a modern-day French administrative région,...
within the Nazi orbit once the war was over.
In 1942,
Reinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
, Himmler’s right hand man, was assassinated near
PraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" , "city of a hundred spires", or Stověžatá Praha in Czech and "the golden city" or Zlaté město in Czech.Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the...
after an attack by Czech special forces supplied by British Intelligence and the Czechoslovak rebellion. Himmler immediately carried out a brutal reprisal, killing the entire population, including women and children, of the village of
LidiceLidice is a village in the Czech Republic just north-west of Prague. It is built on the site of a previous village of the same name which, as part of the Nazi created Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was, as per orders directly from Heinrich Himmler, completely destroyed by German forces in...
.
Interior Minister
In 1943, Himmler was appointed Reich Interior Minister, replacing Frick, with whom he had engaged in a turf war for over a decade. For instance, Frick had tried to restrict the widespread use of "protective custody" orders that were used to send people to concentration camps, only to be begged off by Himmler. While Frick viewed the concentration camps as a tool to punish dissenters, Himmler saw them as a way to terrorize the people into accepting Nazi rule.
Himmler's appointment effectively merged the Interior Ministry with the SS. Nonetheless, Himmler sought to use his new office to reverse the party apparatus's annexation of the
civil serviceThe term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
and tried to challenge the authority of the party
gauleiterA Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Etymology:...
s.
This aspiration was frustrated by
Martin BormannMartin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
, Hitler’s secretary and party chancellor. It also incurred some displeasure from Hitler himself, whose long-standing disdain for the traditional civil service was one of the foundations of Nazi administrative thinking. Himmler made things much worse still when following his appointment as head of the Reserve Army (
Ersatzheer, see below) he tried to use his authority in both military and police matters by transferring policemen to the Waffen-SS.
With Himmler threatening his power base, Bormann could not give him the opportunity fast enough, initially acquiescing in the policies, until furious protests broke out. Then, Bormann came out against the scheme, leaving Himmler discredited, especially with the party, whose gauleiters now saw Bormann as their protector.
20 July plot
It was determined that leaders of German
Military IntelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military service that uses intelligence gathering disciplines to collect informations that informs commanders decision making process....
(the
AbwehrThe Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
), including its head, Admiral
Wilhelm CanarisWilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
, were involved in the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. This prompted Hitler to disband the
Abwehr and make Himmler's
Security ServiceThe Sicherheitsdienst was primarily the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the Gestapo, which the SS had infiltrated heavily...
(
SicherheitsdienstThe Sicherheitsdienst was primarily the intelligence service of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the Gestapo, which the SS had infiltrated heavily...
, or SD) the sole intelligence service of the Third Reich. This increased Himmler’s personal power.
General
Friedrich FrommFriedrich Fromm was a German army officer.-Early life:Fromm was born in Charlottenburg. He served as a lieutenant during World War I.-20 July Plot:...
, Commander-in-Chief of the Reserve (or Replacement) Army (
Ersatzheer), was implicated in the conspiracy. Fromm’s removal, coupled with Hitler’s suspicion of the army, led the way to Himmler’s appointment as Fromm’s successor, a position he abused to expand the Waffen SS even further to the detriment of the rapidly deteriorating German armed forces (
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
).
Unfortunately for Himmler, the investigation soon revealed the involvement of many SS officers in the conspiracy, including senior officers, which played into the hands of Bormann’s power struggle against the SS because very few party cadre officers were implicated. Even more importantly, some senior SS officers began to conspire against Himmler himself, as they believed that he would be unable to achieve victory in the power struggle against Bormann. Among these defectors were
Ernst KaltenbrunnerErnst Kaltenbrunner was a senior Austrian official during World War II, holding the offices of Chief of the RSHA, and President of Interpol. He was the highest-ranking SS leader to face trial, having the full rank of Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS...
, Heydrich’s successor as chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, and
GruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
Heinrich Müller, the chief of the
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
.
Commander-in-Chief
In late 1944, Himmler became
Commander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the...
of the newly formed
Army Group Upper RhineThe Upper Rhine High Command or , also incorrectly referred to as Army Group Upper Rhine or , was a short-lived headquarters unit of the German Armed Forces created on the Western Front during World War II. The Upper Rhine High Command was formed on 26 November 1944 and was inactivated on 25...
(
Heeresgruppe Oberrhein). This army group was formed to fight the advancing
U.S. 7th Army and French 1st Army in the
AlsaceAlsace is the fourth-smallest of the 26 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the sixth-most densely populated region in France , with 222 inhabitants per km²...
region along the west bank of the
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
. The U.S. 7th Army was under the command of General
Alexander PatchGeneral Alexander McCarrell "Sandy" Patch was an officer in the United States Army, best known for his service in World War II. He commanded Army and Marine forces during the invasion of Guadalcanal, and the U.S...
and the French 1st Army was under the command of General
Jean de Lattre de TassignyJean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny was a French military hero of World War II and commander in the Indochina War.-Early life:...
.
On 1 January 1945, Himmler's army group launched
Operation North WindOperation North Wind was the last major German offensive of the Second World War on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in north-eastern France, and it ended on 25 January.- Objectives :...
(
Unternehmen Nordwind) to push back the Americans and the French. In late January, after some limited initial success, Himmler was transferred east. By 24 January, Army Group Upper Rhine was deactivated after having gone over to the defensive. Operation North Wind officially ended on 25 January.
Elsewhere the German Army (
Wehrmacht Heer) had failed to halt the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
’s
Vistula-Oder offensiveThe Vistula-Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January, 1945 and 2 February, 1945...
, so Hitler gave Himmler command of yet another newly formed army group,
Army Group VistulaArmy Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
(
Heeresgruppe Weichsel) to stop the Soviet advance on Berlin. Hitler placed Himmler in command of Army Group Vistula despite the failure of Army Group Upper Rhine and despite Himmler’s total lack of experience and ability to command troops. This appointment may have been at the instigation of
Martin BormannMartin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
, anxious to discredit a rival, or through Hitler’s continuing anger at the "failures" of the general staff.
As Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula, Himmler established his command centre at Schneidemühl. He used his special train (
sonderzug),
Sonderzug Steiermark, as his headquarters. Himmler did this despite the train having only one telephone line and no signals detachment. Eager to show his determination, Himmler acquiesced in a quick counter-attack urged by the general staff. The operation quickly bogged down and Himmler dismissed a regular army corps commander and appointed Nazi
Heinz LammerdingHeinz Lammerding was anBrigadeführer in the Waffen-SS and a commander of 2. SS-Division Das Reich.-Post-war:...
. His headquarters was also forced to retreat to
FalkenburgFalkenburg may refer to:* Bob Falkenburg, former American male tennis player and businessman of German descent* Falkenburg, German name for Złocieniec, a town in Middle Pomerania, in north-western Poland...
. On 30 January, Himmler issued draconian orders:
Tod und Strafe für Pflichtvergessenheit —"death and punishment for those who forget their obligations", to encourage his troops. The worsening situation left Himmler under increasing pressure from Hitler; he was unassertive and nervous in conferences. In mid-February the
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
n offensive by his forces was directed by General
Walther WenckWalther Wenck was the youngest general in the German Army during World War II. At the end of the war, he commanded the German Twelfth Army. Wenck ordered his army to surrender to forces of the United States in order to avoid capture by the Soviets...
, after intense pressure from General
Heinz GuderianHeinz Wilhelm Guderian was a military theorist and innovative General of the German Army during the Second World War. Germany's panzer forces were raised and fought according to his works, best-known among them Achtung - Panzer!...
on Hitler. By early March, Himmler’s headquarters had moved west of the Oder River, although his army group was still named after the
VistulaThe Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is 194,424 km² , of which 168,699 km² The Vistula , is the longest and one of the most important rivers in Poland at 1,047 km (651 miles) in...
. At conferences with Hitler, Himmler echoed Hitler's line of increased severity towards those who retreated.
On 13 March, Himmler abandoned his command and, claiming illness, retired to a
sanatoriumA sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, typically tuberculosis. A distinction is sometimes made between "sanitarium" and "sanatorium" .-History:The rationale for sanatoria was that before antibiotic treatments existed, a regimen of rest and good...
at Hohenlychen. Guderian visited him there and carried his resignation as Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula to Hitler that night. On 20 March, Himmler was replaced by General
Gotthard HeinriciGotthardt Heinrici was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Heinrici was born in Gumbinnen , East Prussia, on Christmas Day, 1886. Few details are known about Heinrici's personal life...
.
Peace negotiations
In the winter of 1944–45, Himmler’s Waffen-SS numbered 910,000 members, with the Allgemeine-SS (at least on paper) hosting a membership of nearly two million. However, by early 1945 Himmler had lost faith in German victory, likely due in part to his discussions with his masseur
Felix KerstenFelix Kersten was before and during World War II the personal masseur of Heinrich Himmler...
and with
Walter SchellenbergWalter Friedrich Schellenberg was a German SS-Brigadeführer who rose through the SS to become, following the abolition of the Abwehr in 1944, head of foreign intelligence....
. He realized that if the Nazi regime was to survive, it needed to seek peace with Britain and the United States. He also believed that Hitler had effectively incapacitated himself from governing by remaining in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
to personally lead the defence of the capital against the Soviets.
To this end, he contacted
CountA count is a nobleman in European countries; his wife is a countess. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The British equivalent is an earl...
Folke BernadotteFolke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish diplomat noted for his negotiation of the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II...
of
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
at
LübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage is on UNESCO's list of World...
, near the Danish border. He represented himself as the provisional leader of Germany, telling Bernadotte that Hitler would almost certainly be dead within two days. He asked Bernadotte to tell General Dwight Eisenhower that Germany wished to surrender to the West. Himmler hoped the British and Americans would fight the Soviets alongside the remains of the Wehrmacht. At Bernadotte's request, Himmler put his offer in writing.
On the evening of 28 April, the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
broadcast a
ReutersReuters Group Limited is a UK-based, Canadian-controlled news service and former financial market data provider that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. News reporting once accounted for less than 10% of the company's income. Its main focus was on supplying the...
news report about Himmler's attempted negotiations with the Western Allies. When Hitler was informed of the news, he flew into a rage. A few days earlier,
Hermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring was a German politician, military leader and a leading member of the Nazi Party. Among many offices, he was Hitler's designated successor and commander of the Luftwaffe...
had asked Hitler for permission to take over the leadership of the Reich — an act Hitler interpreted as a demand to step down or face a coup. However, Himmler hadn't even bothered to request permission. The news also hit Hitler hard because he had long believed that Himmler was his most loyal official, "der treue Heinrich". After Hitler calmed down, he told those who were still with him in his bunker that Himmler's act was the worst act of treachery he'd ever known.
Himmler's treachery, combined with reports the Soviets were only 300 meters from the Chancellery, prompted Hitler to write his
last will and testamentThe last will and testament of Adolf Hitler was dictated by Hitler to his secretary Traudl Junge in his Berlin Führerbunker on April 29 1945, the day he and Eva Braun married. They committed suicide the next day , three days before the surrender of Berlin to the Soviets on May 2, and just over a...
. In the Testament, completed the day before he
committed suicideThe generally accepted cause of the death of Adolf Hitler on 30 April 1945 is suicide by gunshot and cyanide poisoning. The lack of public information concerning the whereabouts of Hitler's remains, confused reports stemming from the dual method and other circumstances surrounding the event...
, he declared Himmler and Göring to be
traitorsIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife...
. He also stripped Himmler of all of his party and state offices: Reichsführer-SS, Chief of the German Police, Commissioner of German Nationhood, Reich Minister of the Interior, Supreme Commander of the
VolkssturmThe Volkssturm was a German national militia of the last months of World War II...
, and Supreme Commander of the Home Army. Finally, he expelled Himmler from the Nazi Party and ordered his arrest.
Himmler’s negotiations with Count Bernadotte had failed. He joined
Grand AdmiralGrand Admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use is in Germany — the German word is Großadmiral.-France:...
Karl DönitzKarl Dönitz was a German naval Commander who served in the Imperial German Navy during World War I, and during World War II commanded first the German submarine fleet, and then the entire German Navy .In the final days of the war, Dönitz was named by Adolf Hitler as his successor, and after the...
, who by then was commanding all German forces within the northern part of the western front, in nearby
PlönPlön is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies right on Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Großer Plöner See, as well as on several smaller lakes, touching the town on virtually all sides...
. Dönitz sent Himmler away, explaining that there was no place for him in the
new German governmentThe Flensburg government was the short-lived administration that attempted to rule Nazi Germany during most of May 1945 at the very end of World War II. The government was formed following the suicides of Nazi Führer Adolf Hitler and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels during the Battle of Berlin...
.
Himmler next turned to the Americans as a defector, contacting Eisenhower's headquarters and proclaiming he would surrender all of Germany to the Allies if he was spared from prosecution. He asked Eisenhower to appoint him "minister of police" in Germany's post-war government. He reportedly mused on how to handle his first meeting with the
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF)Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence...
commander and whether to give the Nazi salute or shake hands with him. Eisenhower refused to have anything to do with Himmler, who was subsequently declared a major war criminal.
Capture and death
Unwanted by his former colleagues and hunted by the Allies, Himmler wandered for several days around
FlensburgFlensburg is an independent town in the North of the German state Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region Southern Schleswig...
near the Danish border. Attempting to evade
arrestAn arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime. The term is Anglo-Norman in origin and is related to the French word arrêt, meaning "stop".-United States:...
, he disguised himself as a sergeant-major of the Secret Military Police, using the name Heinrich Hitzinger, shaving his moustache and donning an eye patch over his left eye, in the hope that he could return to Bavaria. He had equipped himself with a set of false documents, but someone whose papers were wholly in order was so unusual that it aroused the suspicions of a
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
unit in Bremen. Himmler was arrested on 22 May by Major Sidney Excell and, in captivity, was soon recognized. Himmler was scheduled to stand trial with other German leaders as a war criminal at
NurembergThe Nuremberg trials were a series of trials, or tribunals, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after its defeat in World War II....
, but committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
in
LüneburgLüneburg, also known as Lueneburg and Lunenburg in English, is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about 45 km — a thirty-minute train ride — southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner...
by means of a
potassium cyanidePotassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. The vast majority of KCN is used in gold mining followed by use in organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include...
capsule before
interrogationInterrogation or questioning is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police and military.The interviewee is also referred to as a "source"...
could begin. His last words were
Ich bin Heinrich Himmler! ("I am Heinrich Himmler!"). Another version has Himmler biting into a hidden cyanide pill embedded in one of his teeth, when searched by a British doctor, who then yelled, "He has done it!" Several attempts to revive Himmler were unsuccessful. Shortly afterwards, Himmler’s body was buried in an
unmarked graveThe phrase unmarked grave has metaphorical meaning in the context of cultures that mark burial sites.As a figure of speech, a common meaning of the term "unmarked grave" is consignment to oblivion, i.e., an ignominious end. A grave monument is a sign of respect and fondness, erected with the...
on the
Lüneburg HeathThe Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...
. The precise location of Himmler’s grave remains unknown.
Forgeries, fabrications and conspiracy theories
In May 2008, a British police investigation “identified 29
forgeriesForgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deceive. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery...
that had been slipped into 12 files after 2000” which had been used to support recent Himmler conspiracies and speculations.
The
Financial TimesThe Financial Times is a British international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and is printed at 22 sites...
further reported that "the forgeries were cited as sources by a historian who had written three books about World War Two.”
Author Martin Allen (author) was widely reported to have a history of making sensationalistic accusations and reliance on fabricated materials when writing about other notable Nazis. “When challenged about a supposed letter from the
Duke of WindsorThe peerage title Duke of Windsor was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937 for The Prince Edward, formerly King of the United Kingdom as well as each of the other Commonwealth realms...
to Hitler, Allen responded that it had been given to his late father by
Albert SpeerAlbert Speer was a German architect who was, for part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
, later being found in the author's attic.”
Convicted
Holocaust denierHolocaust denial is the claim that the genocide of Jews during World War II—usually referred to as the Holocaust—did not occur at all, or that it did not happen in the manner or to the extent historically recognized....
David IrvingDavid John Cawdell Irving is a British writer specializing in the military history of World War II. His interpretations of Nazi Germany have proved highly controversial due to allegations of undue sympathy for the Third Reich and antisemitism, and because of his involvement in the Holocaust denial...
has similarly made allegations that Himmler was beaten and killed by the British. Relying on the now discredited forgeries, Irving remarked, “Britain's secret agents had secretly and criminally liquidated one of the most wanted men in history”. Other historians consistently reject such claims, affirming that the British and Allies supported a policy that was committed to having Himmler stand trial. The photograph of the body shows no signs of violence, and there is no supporting forensic evidence, or any other
evidenceEvidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either a) presumed to be true, or b) were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's...
supporting either Irving or Allen's speculations.
Historical views
Historians are divided on the psychology, motives, and influences that drove Himmler. Some see him as dominated by Hitler, fully under his influence and essentially a tool carrying Hitler’s views to their logical conclusion. Others see Himmler as extremely
anti-SemiticAntisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, or religion....
in his own right, and even more eager than his boss to commit
genocideGenocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
. Still others see Himmler as power-mad, devoted to the accumulation of power and influence.
According to the
Jewish Virtual LibraryThe Jewish Virtual Library is an online encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise . It was established in 1993 and is a comprehensive Web site covering Israel, the Jewish people and Jewish culture....
, Himmler’s decisive innovation was to transform the race question from "a negative concept based on matter-of-course anti-Semitism" into "an organizational task for building up the SS ... It was Himmler’s master stroke that he succeeded in indoctrinating the SS with an apocalyptic ‘idealism’ beyond all guilt and responsibility, which rationalized
mass murderMass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people, typically over a relatively short period of time. Mass murder may be committed by individuals or organizations. Mass murder is also defined to be intentional and indiscriminate murder of large number of people by government agents...
as a form of martyrdom and harshness towards oneself."
The wartime cartoonist
Victor WeiszVictor Weisz was a German-British political cartoonist, drawing under the name of Vicky.- Biography :...
depicted Himmler as a giant
octopusThe octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda. The octopus inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also be used to refer only to those creatures in the genus Octopus...
, wielding oppressed nations in each of his eight arms.
Wolfgang Sauer, historian at
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
, felt that "although he was pedantic, dogmatic, and dull, Himmler emerged under Hitler as second in actual power. His strength lay in a combination of unusual shrewdness, burning ambition, and servile loyalty to Hitler."
Himmler told his personal masseur
Felix KerstenFelix Kersten was before and during World War II the personal masseur of Heinrich Himmler...
that he always carried with him a copy of the
Bhagavad GitaThe Bhagavad Gita is one of the most important Hindu scriptures. It is revered as a sacred scripture of Hinduism, and considered as one of the most important philosophical classics of the world. The Bhagavad Gita comprises 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata...
, because it relieved him of guilt about implementing the
Final SolutionThe Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the final, most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
; he felt that, like the warrior
ArjunaArjuna, Arjun or Arjunaa is one of the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' , was such a peerless archer that he is often referred to as Jishnu - the undefeatable...
, he was simply doing his duty without attachment to his actions. This was consistent with the "eclectic" borrowing of disparate
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
concepts that the Nazis used in their construction of a neopagan religion. Himmler was once known to remark: "I marvel at the wisdom of the founders of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n religions."
In an extract of Norman Brook's
War Cabinet Diaries,
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
took a view towards Himmler widely shared during the war, advocating his assassination. According to Brook, responding to a suggestion that Nazi leaders be executed, "this prompted Churchill to ask if they should negotiate with Himmler ‘and bump him off later’, once peace terms had been agreed. The suggestion to cut a deal for a German surrender with Himmler and then assassinate him met with support from the Home Office. ‘Quite entitled to do so’, the minutes record [... Churchill] as commenting."
A main focus of recent work on Himmler has been the extent to which he competed for and craved Hitler’s attention and respect. The events of the last days of the war, when he abandoned Hitler and began separate negotiations with the Allies, are obviously significant in this respect.
Himmler appears to have had a distorted view of how he was perceived by the Allies; he intended to meet with US and British leaders and have discussions "as gentlemen". He tried to buy off their vengeance by last-minute reprieves for Jews and important prisoners. According to British soldiers who arrested Himmler, he was genuinely shocked to be treated as a prisoner.
See also
- Nazi mysticism
Speculation about National Socialism and Occultism has become part of popular culture since 1960. Aside from several popular documentaries, there are numerous books on the topic, most notably Le Matin des Magiciens and The Spear of Destiny ; The first examples of this literary genre appeared in...
- Ahnenerbe
The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935 by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
- Nazi anthropologists, some of whom went to Tibet. Part-founded by Himmler.
- Julleuchter
A Julleuchter or Turmleuchter , is a "small earthenware candlestick, about 4" square at the bottom, about 8" tall, and it is shaped kind of like a mountain or a tower." Modern Julleuchters have the Hagall rune and a heart symbol visible on all four sides...
— Himmler's Yuletide gift to the SS
- Racial policy of Nazi Germany
The racial policy of Nazi Germany is the set of policies and laws implemented by Nazi Germany, asserting the superiority of the "Aryan race," and based on a specific racist doctrine which claimed scientific legitimacy...
— Himmler’s involvement
- Allach porcelain — One of Himmler’s favorite projects to establish an industrial base for the production of works of art that would be representative, in Himmler's eyes, of truly Germanic culture
- Lebensborn
Lebensborn was a Nazi organization set up by SS leader Heinrich Himmler, which provided maternity homes and financial assistance to the wives of SS members and to unmarried mothers, and which also ran orphanages and relocation programmes for children.Initially set up in Germany in 1935, Lebensborn...
- a project under the responsibility of Himmler to raise blond haired blue eyed children
External links