Goring was an absolute beast in a historical sense.
Way, way more complex than the average knowledgeable American thinks:
-Step father was a wealthy Jewish man. Banging his Mom while his dad was doing bureaucratic shit overseas.
-Ran away as a pre-teen.
-Became mountain climber.
-WW1 fighter ace severely wounded. Rehabilitated.
-Commanded the Flying Circus when Richthofen died WW1.
-Was the man who introduced the Swastika to the German party.
-Literally was in pole position to lead the party prior to Beerhall Putsch.
-Started the anti-communist (more appropriately anti-Bolshevik) witch hunt via Reichstag fire. Reportedly later saying, "The only one who really knows about the Reichstag is I, because I set it on fire!"
-Rises to 2nd in command in the country.
-Excommunicated and stripped by Hitler at the end.
A very, very interesting man of history.
Perhaps his most telling quote:
Do you think I give that much of a damn about my lousy life? — For myself, I don't give a damn if I get executed, or drown, or crash in a plane, or drink myself to death! — But there is still a matter of honor in this life! — Assassination attempt on Hitler! — Ugh! — Gott im Himmel!! I could have sunk through the floor! And do you think I would have handed Himmler over to the enemy, guilty as he was? Dammit, I would have liquidated the bastard myself!
But these also add a bit of context to the man himself.
To me there are two Hitlers: one who existed until the end of the French war; the other begins with the Russian campaign. In the beginning he was genial and pleasant. He would have extraordinary willpower and unheard-of influence on people. The important thing to remember is that the first Hitler, the man who I knew until the end of the French war, had much charm and goodwill. He was always frank. The second Hitler, who existed from the beginning of the Russian campaign until his suicide, was always suspicious, easily upset, and tense. He was distrustful to an extreme degree.
I am a man who is basically opposed to atrocities or ungentlemanly actions. In 1934, I promulgated a law against vivisection. You can see, therefore, that if I disapprove of the experimentation on animals, how could I possibly be in favor of torturing humans? The prosecution says that I had something to do with the freezing experiments which were performed in the concentration camps under the auspices of the air force. That is pure nonsense! I was much too busy to know about these medical experiments, and if anybody had asked me, I would have disapproved violently. It must have been Himmler who thought up these stupid experiments, although I think he shirked his responsibility by committing suicide. I am not too unhappy about it because I would not particularly enjoy sitting on the same bench with him. The same is true of that drunken Robert Ley, who did us a favor by hanging himself before the trial started. He was not going to be any advantage for us defendants when he took the stand.
Perhaps my favorite:
I think that women are wonderful but I've never met one yet who didn't show more feeling than logic
He was also a junkie who got addicted to morphine after getting hooked on the pain medication, was notorious for embezzling state funds (money and assets the German state stole from East Euro and jewish civilians) for his own lavish lifestyle, and had a pet lion. When he learned that Hitler planned to kill himself, he actually had the balls to send Hitler a letter proclaiming him the next guy in charge of the Reich after he did it lol.
He had the ball, not the balls. Goering was shot in the groin during the failed Beer Hall Putsch and that began his lifelong morphine addiction. My grandfather told me about a wartime allied jingle, but they got the names all mixed up. 😂
Goring was an absolute beast in a historical sense. Way, way more complex than the average knowledgeable American thinks:
-Step father was a wealthy Jewish man. Banging his Mom while his dad was doing bureaucratic shit overseas.
-Ran away as a pre-teen.
-Became mountain climber.
-WW1 fighter ace severely wounded. Rehabilitated.
-Commanded the Flying Circus when Richthofen died WW1.
-Was the man who introduced the Swastika to the German party.
-Literally was in pole position to lead the party prior to Beerhall Putsch.
-Started the anti-communist (more appropriately anti-Bolshevik) witch hunt via Reichstag fire. Reportedly later saying, "The only one who really knows about the Reichstag is I, because I set it on fire!"
-Rises to 2nd in command in the country.
-Excommunicated and stripped by Hitler at the end.
A very, very interesting man of history.
Perhaps his most telling quote:
Do you think I give that much of a damn about my lousy life? — For myself, I don't give a damn if I get executed, or drown, or crash in a plane, or drink myself to death! — But there is still a matter of honor in this life! — Assassination attempt on Hitler! — Ugh! — Gott im Himmel!! I could have sunk through the floor! And do you think I would have handed Himmler over to the enemy, guilty as he was? Dammit, I would have liquidated the bastard myself!
But these also add a bit of context to the man himself.
To me there are two Hitlers: one who existed until the end of the French war; the other begins with the Russian campaign. In the beginning he was genial and pleasant. He would have extraordinary willpower and unheard-of influence on people. The important thing to remember is that the first Hitler, the man who I knew until the end of the French war, had much charm and goodwill. He was always frank. The second Hitler, who existed from the beginning of the Russian campaign until his suicide, was always suspicious, easily upset, and tense. He was distrustful to an extreme degree.
I am a man who is basically opposed to atrocities or ungentlemanly actions. In 1934, I promulgated a law against vivisection. You can see, therefore, that if I disapprove of the experimentation on animals, how could I possibly be in favor of torturing humans? The prosecution says that I had something to do with the freezing experiments which were performed in the concentration camps under the auspices of the air force. That is pure nonsense! I was much too busy to know about these medical experiments, and if anybody had asked me, I would have disapproved violently. It must have been Himmler who thought up these stupid experiments, although I think he shirked his responsibility by committing suicide. I am not too unhappy about it because I would not particularly enjoy sitting on the same bench with him. The same is true of that drunken Robert Ley, who did us a favor by hanging himself before the trial started. He was not going to be any advantage for us defendants when he took the stand.
Perhaps my favorite: I think that women are wonderful but I've never met one yet who didn't show more feeling than logic
He was also a junkie who got addicted to morphine after getting hooked on the pain medication, was notorious for embezzling state funds (money and assets the German state stole from East Euro and jewish civilians) for his own lavish lifestyle, and had a pet lion. When he learned that Hitler planned to kill himself, he actually had the balls to send Hitler a letter proclaiming him the next guy in charge of the Reich after he did it lol.
He had the ball, not the balls. Goering was shot in the groin during the failed Beer Hall Putsch and that began his lifelong morphine addiction. My grandfather told me about a wartime allied jingle, but they got the names all mixed up. 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K9or6hhjmI&ab_channel=Zarema
Ya. I'm not saying he a good guy lol.
Just that he was an incredibly interesting figure.
I don't know if it's true, but Hitler once said of Goring: "Goring has the constitution of a pig. Because pigs will eat their own."