The Private Heinrich Himmler: Letters of a Mass Murderer
Language: English
Pages: 352
ISBN: 1250064651
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
At the end of World War II, it was assumed that the letters of Heinrich Himmler were lost. Yet sixty years after Himmler's capture by British troops and subsequent suicide, the letters mysteriously turned up in Tel Aviv and, in early 2014, excerpts were published for the first time by the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot providing a rare, if jarring, glimpse into the family life of one of Hitler's top lieutenants while he was busy organizing the mass extermination of the Jews. It was generally held that Himmler, once appointed head of the SS, blended seamlessly into the Nazi hierarchy. The image that emerges, however, is more subtle. Himmler is seen here as a man whose observations can often be characterized by their unpleasant banality; a man whose obsession with family life ran alongside a brutal detachment from all things human, a serial killer who oversaw the persecution and extermination of all Jews and other non-Aryans, and those opposed to the regime. His letters remove any doubt that he was the architect of the Final Solution, and a man who was much closer to Hitler than many historians previously thought. The letters in this edition were arranged by Katrin Himmler, the great-niece of Heinrich and Marga Himmler, and Michael Wildt, a renowned expert on the Nazi regime, who also provide historical context to the letters and their author. The entire work was translated by Thomas S. Hansen and Abby J. Hansen.
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airplane crash. Dietrich, Josef (Sepp) Born May 28, 1892, Hawangen (Unterallgäu); died April 21, 1966, Ludwigsburg. Butcher, SS-Führer; World War I veteran; Hitler Putsch; 1928, NSDAP and first SS-Standarte Munich; 1930, Reichstag delegate; 1933, “personal attendant of the Führer”; leader of “SS Guard Battalion Berlin” (1934 Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler); 1934, organized Röhm Putsch; in World War II as commander of Sixth Tank Army, responsible for war crimes in Kharkov; 1944, godfather of
STURMABTEILUNG Literally, “Assault Division”; also called Storm Troopers or Brownshirts; founded by Hitler in 1921 SD SICHERHEITSDIENST SS intelligence agency, sister organization to the Gestapo SS, SCHUTZSTAFFEL Literally, “defense unit”; originally Hitler’s personal bodyguard, expanded by Himmler into units of police, camp guards, and combat troops SS-BRIGADEFÜHRER Brigadier general SS-FORSCHUNGSSTÄTTE AHNENERBE Research and Teaching Group for Ancestral Heritage
February 3, 1928, she writes, “If only you did not have to go around with the Boss anymore. He takes up so much time.” On February 24, 1928, she temporarily took heart: “When the elections are over, then there will be peace at least for a few years,” but as soon as March 3, 1928, she resumes her scolding: “[…] it would be really nice if you were not a member of a movement.” She clearly wished he had a different occupation. On May 1, 1928, she writes, “Leave that old26 party.” On May 5, 1928, she
family of his friend Falk was apparently completely surprised by the wedding, which is evident from a letter from Frau von Pracher to Anna Himmler. Falk himself wrote Heinrich on July 29, “Dearest friend! No—I have not forgotten you. Even if my first salutation comes a bit later, you hardly need to be reassured that nonetheless it is all the more heartfelt. I was thinking of you the whole time, but you had disappeared and were as silent as the grave. This little wedding gift shall be an advance
public security and order. Brüning formed a coalition with, among others, the Deutschnationale Volkspartei (DNVP), but could rely only on their moderate wing, not on the radical wing led by Alfred Hugenberg. As a result, Brüning did not have a majority. On April 3, 1930, the SPD and Communists (KPD) in the Reichstag submitted a vote of no confidence against the new government. A total of 252 members supported the motion while 187 voted against it. The support of the DNVP for the government was a
