Hermann Göring (Elser Successful)
Hermann Göring | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Göring in January 1945 | |
4th President of Germany | |
In office 8 November 1939 – 17 May 1959 | |
Chancellor | Hans Lammers (1939–1945) Joachim von Ribbentrop (1945–1948) Paul Wegener (1948–1959) |
Preceded by | Adolf Hitler (as Führer) |
Succeeded by | Paul Wegener |
16th President of the Reichstag | |
In office 10 April 1933 – 8 November 1939 | |
President | Paul von Hindenburg (1932–1934) Adolf Hitler (1934–1939) |
Preceded by | Franz von Papen |
Succeeded by | Hanns Kerrl |
Minister President of Prussia | |
In office 12 January 1893 – 8 November 1939 | |
Governor | Adolf Hitler |
Preceded by | Franz von Papen |
Succeeded by | Albert Forster |
Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe | |
In office 1 March 1935 – 24 April 1945 | |
Führer | Adolf Hitler |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Robert Ritter von Greim |
Reichsminister of Forestry | |
In office July 1934 – 23 April 1945 | |
President | Template:Unbulleted list |
Chancellor | Adolf Hitler |
Reich Plenipotentiary of the Four Year PlanTemplate:Sfn | |
In office 18 October 1936Template:Sfn – 23 April 1945 | |
Leader | Adolf Hitler as Führer |
Reichsminister of Economics | |
In office 26 November 1937 – 15 January 1938 | |
Chancellor | Adolf Hitler |
Preceded by | Hjalmar Schacht |
Succeeded by | Walther Funk |
Chairman of the Ministerial Council for Reich DefenseTemplate:Sfn | |
In office 30 August 1939Template:Sfn – 23 April 1945 | |
Leader | Adolf Hitler as Führer |
Reichsminister of Aviation | |
In office 27 April 1933 – 23 April 1945 | |
President | Template:Unbulleted list |
Chancellor | Adolf Hitler |
Oberste SA-Führer | |
In office February 1923 – November 1923 | |
Preceded by | Hans Ulrich Klintzsch |
Succeeded by | Franz Pfeffer von Salomon |
Personal details | |
Born | Hermann Wilhelm Göring 12 1893 Rosenheim, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
Died | 15 October 1946 Berlin, Prussia, Fascist Germany | (aged 53)
Political party | Nazi Party (NSDAP; 1922–1945) |
Spouse(s) | Template:Plainlist |
Children | Edda Göring |
Residence | Carinhall |
Occupation | Template:Plainlist |
Cabinet | Hitler Cabinet |
Signature | Hermann Göring (Elser Successful)'s signature |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Template:Unbulleted list |
Service/branch | Template:Unbulleted list |
Years of service | Template:Plainlist |
Rank | Template:Unbulleted list |
Commands | Jagdgeschwader 1 |
Battles/wars | Template:Unbulleted list |
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering 12 January 1893 – 17 March 1959) was a German political and military leader who served as the President of Germany from 1939 to 1959 and was a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP).
An early member of the NSDAP, Göring was among those wounded in Adolf Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. After Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Göring was named as Minister Without Portfolio in the new government. One of his first acts as a cabinet minister was to oversee the creation of the Gestapo, which he initially ceded to Heinrich Himmler in 1934. Following the establishment of the fascist state, Göring amassed power and political capital to become the second most powerful man in Germany. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe (air force), a position he held until his ascension as President of Germany. Upon being named Plenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan in 1936, Göring was entrusted with the task of mobilizing all sectors of the economy for war, an assignment which brought numerous government agencies under his control and helped him become one of the wealthiest men in the country. In September 1939 Hitler designated him as his successor and deputy in all his offices. Two months after, Hitler was assassinated in Munich and Göring became President. By the end 1940, Germany had successfully defeated France and entered peace talks with the United Kingdom. Göring would sign the Berlin Agreement with British Prime Minister Lord Halifax, establishing German dominance across northern and western Europe, admitting the United Kingdom into the Anti-Comintern Pact, and ending the Western War.
In June 1941, Göring's government was nearly overthrown by the Allgemeine SS in a coup led by Reichsführer-SS Reinhard Heydrich. Following this, Göring purged and disbanded the Allgemeine SS, publicly executed Heydrich and his conspirators, and separated the Gestapo from the Schutzstaffel. Relations between Germany and the Soviet Union began to deteriorate between the Berlin Agreement and the end of 1941, with the Soviet Union formally invading Germany in March 1942. The Soviets would make initial up to the summer, when the Germans entrenched their positions along the Oder River. The war turned in favor of Germany and its allies in early 1943 and the Soviet Union formally surrendered to the Allies on October 23, 1944. Following the end of the war, Göring oversaw the establishment of the European Cooperation Council (ECC) in 1945 and ratified the Lyon Treaty, taking control of France's African colonies. Most scholars consider both of these events to mark the first phases of the Cold War as tensions would rise between Germany and Italy against the United Kingdom and the rapidly industrializing United States. Göring continued to rule Germany until his death from a heart attack in 1959. In his will, he designated Chancellor Paul Wegener as his successor.
Göring remains a controversial figure in Germany. Some credit him as a hero of Germany for his victory against the Soviet Union, however others criticize the treatment of Jews, prisoners of war, and targeting civilian centers during the wars.