Göring, Hermann

Göring, Hermann

 or Hermann Goering

Hermann Göring, commander of the Storm Troopers, 1933.

(credit: Heinrich Hoffmann, Munich)

(born Jan. 12, 1893, Rosenheim, Ger.—died Oct. 15, 1946, Nürnberg) German Nazi leader. He fought in World War I with the German air force. In 1922 he joined the Nazi Party and was given command of the SA. After the abortive Beer Hall Putsch, he escaped to Austria, then returned to Germany (1927) and was elected to the Reichstag. Chosen president of the Reichstag (1932), his power mounted after Adolf Hitler was named chancellor in 1933. As Hitler's most loyal supporter, Göring held numerous posts, including minister of the interior in Prussia, where he established the Gestapo. He also became head of the German air force (Luftwaffe) and minister of economic affairs. After the Luftwaffe failed to win the Battle of Britain, Göring lost face and semiretired to his country estate, where he displayed the vast art collection he had confiscated from Jews in occupied countries. In 1946 he was condemned to death at the Nürnberg trials but committed suicide by taking a poison capsule.