Figure 1.--eich Marshall Göring was a special case. Outside of Hitler he had been the most popular of all the top NAZI officials. His role in the NAZI police state was not well known. He oversaw the economy as head of the Four Year Plan. He was also the head of the Luftwaffe as well as responsible for civil defense. That means in the NAZI hierarchy, he was the person most responsible for air defense. Göring had reveled in the glorious air victories. But by 1943 that was all in past and what the German people cared most about was stopping the bombing and here he was a total failure which could not be explained away as best he tried. Adding to that was the fact that he has assured the Führer and publicly the German people that Germany could not be bombed. He not only assured the people that they could not be bombed. Here is a rare occassion of Göring asctully speaking wih bomned out Germans.

Reich Marshall Göring was a special case. Outside of Hitler he had been the most popular of all the top NAZI officials. His role in the NAZI police state was not well known. He oversaw the economy as head of the Four Year Plan. He was also the head of the Luftwaffe as well as responsible for civil defense. That means in the NAZI hierarchy, he was the person most responsible for air defense. Göring had reveled in the glorious air victories. But by 1943 that was all in past and what the German people cared most about was stopping the bombing and here he was a total failure which could not be explained away as best he tried. Adding to that was the fact that he has assured the Führer and publicly the German people that Germany could not be bombed. He not only assured the people that they could not be bombed, but he added defiantly that if Germany was bombed, "You can call me Meyer." This made it especially emphatic as Meyer was a Jewish name. He made the same remark repeatedly, sometimes substituting Meyer with 'Dutchman'. Apparently German slag usage saw the Dutch as especially deceptive. He said it so may times and with such emphasis that every German remembered it. Most of all Hitler. He also purportedly told Rommel who was combining about American-made equipment being used by the British in North Africa, "That's completely impossible. The Americans only know how to make razor blades." 【Liddell-Hart】 Germany at the start of the War had the world's most powerful air force. It was, however, a tactical air force without a strategic bombing component. The Luftwaffe fighters were at first a formidable obstacle to bombing Germany. The NAZIs as British Air Marshall Harris explained began the war under the illusion that they would bomb other countries, but German cities would be left unscathed. It seemed a safe bet in 1939 and even 1940 when RAF Bomber Command managed to drop a few bombs on Berlin. But this changed when Harris and Bomber Command got their hands on the Avro Lancaster. There is an image of Göring driving through a bombed out section of Berlin and speaking with the people there, although he did mot get out of his car. As far as we can tell, this was a rare occasion. The growing sea of destruction did not bother Göring all that much, but when he saw American P=51 Mustangs over Berlin, he knew that the War was lost.

Sources

Liddell-Hart, B.H. The Rommel Papers (1953). Liddell-Hart's source was Afrika Korps staff officer Fritz Bayerlein's book Krieg ohne Haß (War without Hatred). It was a kind of memoir fir Rommel published in 1950 with the assistance of Frau Rommel. Some sources add refrigerators to the comment. Interesting that he did not mention cars. Historians would like more confirmation, but it does seem like the kind of boastful remark Göring might say especially when any kind of criticism was implied. (Göring as head of the Four Year Plan was responsible for war production and Rommel was complaining about not getting sufficient supplies.) Liddell-Hart as a historian has issues. In particular he bought the story of the German generals after the War that it was all Hitler's fault all too enthusiastically. This is an issue as we now know that the generals embraced Hitler and his ideas enthusiastically from the very beginning, especially after Hitler did away with Röem and supressed the SA in the Night of the Long Knives. Hitler and the winter weather was a way of explaining their monumental failure and criminality.

Created: 2:03 AM 8/18/2024
Last updated: 2:03 AM 8/18/2024