Figure 1.--Heinrich Himmler is seen here with his parents and older brother Gebhard about 1902.
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Figure 1.--Heinrich Himmler is seen here with his parents and older brother Gebhard about 1902. |
SS Reichführer Himmler represents the true embodiment of evil in the 20th century. He grew up in a middleclass
German family. His father was the headmaster at a gymnasium (academically selective seconadry school). He could be extremely cruel to the boys in psychological
ways. One boy remembers how he and his brother were expelled by being pubically humiliated before the class when their farher could not pay the school fees. His
father had an interest in romanticised German history which hr passed on to his son. Heireich and his brothes were outfitted in dresses and sailor suits as boys. Heinrich was not a brilliant student, but did very well because he was extremely diligent. He was dissapointed in World War I becaue he did not complete officer cadet training before the War ended. One biograpger mainatins that although he was strongly anti-semmetic that the Holocaust was forced on him by Hitler from above
and Heydrich from below.
His grandfather was a policeman. His father was considered to be a social climber. He managed to secure a position as a tutor to Bavarian royal family, establishing ties with Prince Arnulf's family. He became the headmaster at a gymnasium (academically selective seconadry school). While servile to his social superiors, he had little emphathy with those that were less well off. He could be extremely cruel to the boys in psychological ways. One boy remembers how he and his brother were expelled by being pubically humiliated before the class when their father could not pay the school fees. His farher had an interest in romanticised German history which he passed on to his son. His fatherwas very demnding. His mother Anna Heyder was the daughter of tradesmen. She was much more permissive and spoiled her son. The maid became a family nurse for the young children, helping to further endulge Heinrich. [Padfield, p. 22.]
Heinrich had two brothers, an older brother Gebhard was born in 1898, about 2 years before Heinrich. A younger brother Ernst was born in 1905.
Heinrich was born in Munich on October 7, 1900. He and his brothers grew up in a staunchly middle-class, comfortable Catholic German family. He was nearsited and had to wear glases. He was not popular with the other boys, in part because he wass not physically. Many did respecict the grades he got in school and his diligence. His mother insisted her boys take piano lessons. Gebhard showed some talent. Heinrich and not even his diligence was not helpful. Their father, while their mother sewed, would often read to the boys. He normally books on German history steeping Heinrich in the glories of medieval German knights and Wagerinan legends. Heinrich by age 10 knew more about German military history than his teachers. There was a statue of Jesus on the wall before which the boys would say their prayers before bed each night. [Padfield, p. 23.]
Heireich and his brothes were outfitted in dresses and sailor suits as boys.
Heinrich like his older brother began his education at the Munich Cathedral School. He then attended the Royal Wilhelm Gymnasium, a selective secondary school. He was not a brilliant student, but did very well because he was extremely diligent and rigidly supervised by his father. He intended the Gymasium and did well because he was such a hard working student. He was considered to be a "star" student as the Germanswould say, well liked by he teachers. The British would call him a "swot". He had great trouble with gymnastics and dreaded the gymastics teacher who was merciless ith him. [Padfield, pp. 22-23] As part of the back to the land movement, he planned to be a farmer and studied agronomy in the university.
Heirich was raised in a staunchly Catholic family and he was dutiful until heentered the university.
He was dissapointed in World War I becaue he did not complete officer cadet training before the War ended. He was disappointed that he could not join the Army after the War.
After the end of World War I, Himiler got involved in right-wing soldier's organizations and parties. Many such organizations were formed in the early 1920s. He joined the NAZIs and became associated with Adolof Hitler. He was involved in Hitler's Munich Beer Hall Putsch. He was enthralled from the beginning with the romantic nationalism taught by his father and in fact was the standard bearer during the Putsch.
Hitler appointed Himmler to head of the SS, which at the time was Hitler's personal body guard and at the time numbered a mere 300 men. Gitler chose Himmler for his loyalty. It was, however, dilligence and orgnization that enabled him to build a force of 50,000 men even before th NAZIs seized power in 1933.
Himmler married Margret Boden in 1926.
Himmler as Reichsführer-SS commanded the German police. As Germany wsa Federal state, it took some time for Himmler to build a centrlized police state after the NAZI's seizure ofpower in 1933. Himmler by 1936 had consolidated his authority throughout Germany. Hitler named him Chief of the German police in 1936. This placed all the police powers of the NAZI state, especially the Gestapo (secret state police), under his control. Given the NAZI subversion of the judicial system, this meant that Himmler's power was limited only by directives from Hitler himself. Himmler was also responsible for the Third Reich's security services (Sicherheitsdienst) and even more importantly the concentration camps, which up until 1936 had handled relatively small numbers of mostly political prisoners.
Hitler by 1935 was faced with a quandry. He controlled the police, the SA, the judiciary, and state excutive. The Reichstag was dissolved. He did not, however, control the military which was the only force that now stood him and absolute control of Germany was the Army. The Army was concerned with Ernst Roem's SA which in fct was becoming a NAZI Party Army--a significant threat. Roem was a close associate of Hitler and a key element in Hitler's rise to power. In fact it was Captain Roem that had begun Hitler's asociation with the NAZIs when he sent him to report on them. Hitler arranged a deal with the Army. Roem and the SA leadership would be killed. The instrument of Hitler's action against Roem was Himmler's SS which in the "Night of the Long Knives" efficently removed the threat to the Army. There were two major results. First, Hitler was to achieve absolute power. The Army in the person of every officer and enlisted man then swore a personal oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Hitler and the NAZIs thus had absolute power in Germany. Second, Himmler and the SS emerged as the major intrument of Hitler's authority. From this point until the very end, Himmler proved to be Hitler's most loyal asociate and he referred to him as "der treue Heinrich".
Himmler's SS played a major role in World War II. In fact the SS staged the phony border incident that was used as a pretext by Hitler to justify the invasion of Poland (September 1939) that launched World War II. The military divisions, the SS, the Waffen-SS armourned formations, grew in importance as the War went on. They were fully equipped with tanks and the best weapons. The expansion meant that non-Germans were brought into the SS and the stringent racial standards wee lowered. A SS division was even formed from Yugoslavian muslims. In 1943 a division was formed of Hitler Youth boys who became one of the most fanatical German units. The performance and absolute loyalty of the Waffen SS and Himmler's loyalty and ruthlessness in persuing the Holocaust increased his esteem in Hitler's eyes. Hitler nammed him Minister of
the Interior in 1943 and chief of the Home Guard or Volksstrum in 1944. Himmler aggrssively persued a witch hunt for conspirators after the attempt on Hitler's life (July 1944).
Himmler took his orders as he was to say "as a good soldier". He kept what ever misgivings he had to himself. The Holocaust was a criminal undertaking unrivaled in scope and evil both astonishing and sickening. Himmler for his part carried out his orders with ruthless efficency. The first murders were carried out by Einsatzgruppen which shot their victims. First on a limited scale in Poland (1939) and then on a mass scale in the Soviet Union (1941). The SS refiened the shooting process so that very large numbers of Soviet and Baltic Jews could be rapidly killed, but given the numbers of people targetted, even greater efficencies were deeme necessary. Himmler was also concerned about the psychological impact on SS men. Himmler anf his lieutenit Heydrich urned to Adolf Eichman to organize a more efficent killing machine. Experiments were conducted. The final process was death camps in Poland where Zyklon-B gas coul be used in large capacity gas chambers. There is no defintive count, but hitorain believe that about 6 million Jewish men, women, and children were killed in the Holocaust. The children were especially targetted as thy had no value as slave laborers. The Jews were Hitler's obsession, but not the only NAZI target. As many as 6 million non-Jews were also murdered.
One of Himmler's pet projects was the Lebenborn Program. The Lebensborn program was a counterpoint to the NAZI program of exterminating Jews and other groups considered to be sub-human was the Lebensborn
program, a sectret NAZI program to enrich German racial lines with pure Nordic Aryan blood. The Lebensborn program was
a pet project of SS Commander Himmler. The program was launched in Germany in a small way to incourage German girls to
give birth to racially pure cgildren even if they were unmairred. After the Germans launched World War II and occupied large
streaches of Eastern Europe, they proceeded to kidnap thousands of children who were deemed to be Aryan. Himmler
indicated that these children had to be Germanized or killed because he though Aryan populations outside of the Reich were a
threat. The Lebensborn program also affected other countries such as Norway--albeit on a smaller scale. Estimates suggest that
0.20-0.25 million children, mostly Polish, were eventually involved in this program. Only a small number were ever returned to
their parents.
No one knows just when German Führer Adolf Hitler decided to actually murder German and other European Jews. The stunning German victories in 1939-41 gave him the opportunity to carry out murder on a vast scale. Hitler ordered Himmler as Reichsführer-SS to organize the Final Solution--the extermination of the Jewsish people. Himmler was the logial choice for this assignment. He was Hitler's most loyal and dutiful subordinate. Given his control of the security forces and organizational abilities, he was the only real choice. We do not know just when the order wasgiven. Ee do know that Himmler obeyed the order with his customary dilligence and efficiency. One biograpger maintains that although Himmler was strongly anti-semmetic that the Holocaust was forced on him by Hitler from above and Heydrich from below. [Padfild]
Himmler made attempts to negotiate peace through the World Jewish Congress and Americn opperatives. He seemed unaware of the monsterous crimality of the Holoocaust or at least deluded himself. After tghe collapse of the Wehrmacht, he attempted to flee Gemany, but was captured by the British (May 1945). He bit into a cyanide capsule ending his life.
Padfield, Peter. Himmler: Reichsführer-SS (Henry Holt: New York, 1991), 656p.
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