Hermann Göring: The Rise and Fall of the Notorious Nazi leader (Summary)

About Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel

Both men were film writers who took an interest in writing biographies about Hitler’s inner circle. They lived during the era of Adolf Hitler, even though Roger was in Britain and Fraenkel lived in Germany. Their work together includes a biography on Hitler, Goebbels, Hess, and the Gestapo. And both men died in the 80s.

Part 1: Early Years, World War I, and Meeting Hitler

Hermann Göring was born in Bavaria in 1893. As the author has shown, he had inconsistent parenting with a strong-headed Jewish godfather who was also his mother’s concubine. Since childhood, young Göring had seen himself as larger than anyone else, and he made it known everywhere.

To curb his strong-willedness, his parents sent him to military school, where they hoped he’d meet his match, and he did. Soon, the First World War broke out, and Göring’s regiment was sent to the front, where he fought the French valiantly and was awarded the Iron Cross First Class. He then became a fighter pilot for Germany; here, he won all the top awards for continuous bravery, including the Pour le Mérite.

After the war ended in humiliation for Germany, Göring was gravely disappointed, but there was nothing he could do. He moved around Europe and eventually settled in Sweden, where he met the woman who would become the love of his life, Carin.

He moved back to Germany, looking for a job that would enable him to get married and live the life he wanted. At the same time, Carin divorced his now ex-husband and moved to Germany to live with Göring, now that he had a decent job. In November 1922, Göring met with Hitler and placed himself at Hitler’s disposal. Soon, Hitler made him the chief of the SA.

Part 2: Göring Returned to Germany

The second chapter delves deeply into the events that follow Göring’s appointment as commander of the S.A. He successfully restructured the ragged men into a disciplined unit. In Hitler’s view, only Göring was capable of such a task. Then, in November 1923, Hitler’s plan to seize power in Berlin unfolded.

Göring played a central role in what was to be known as the Beer Hall Putsch, but due to inadequate planning, the putsch failed, and Hermann Göring was badly shot and was removed to a hospital. Hitler and other participants were arrested, but with Carin’s help, Göring was smuggled out of Germany to Innsbruck, Austria.

In Austria, he was properly treated but was dosed with morphine to ease his unbearable pain. The German government had confiscated their property and money, which made both Carin and Göring suffer greatly, as they had to live off friends and donations. In the end, they had to sell their German house to be financially stable in some way.

By 1925, morphine had become part and parcel with Göring, and he was labeled a drug addict unfit to raise a child. Finally, in 1927, he was able to return to Germany based on a political amnesty granted by the newly elected president, Hindenburg.

Part 3: Göring Became Reichstag President, and Hitler Was Appointed Chancellor

After a great conviction, Hitler accepted Göring back into the Nazi party and subsequently ran for the Reichstag election in 1928. Fortunately, he, alongside Goebbels and ten other Nazi party members, won seats in the German House of Representatives. He was a member of the Reichstag till the dissolution of the Third Reich in 1945. Carin, proud to see her husband succeed, was delighted at Göring’s success, and the couple could now live more comfortably.

By 1930, the S.A. had grown to 100,000 and needed firm leadership, but to Göring’s dismay, Hitler appointed himself as their commander instead of him. Then came the September 1930 Reichstag election, in which the Nazi Party polled 107 seats, compared to 12 just two years earlier. The Nazi Party became the second-largest party in Nazi Germany. Their success as expert historians, as claimed, was largely due to the Great Depression, which hit Germany the hardest in 1929.

Then Carin was badly ill again, but Göring couldn’t stop working for both the party and the state to take proper care of her. She finally passed away on October 17, 1931, in Sweden. Göring attended the funeral and then hurried back to Germany to have the busiest year of his life yet.

Through a tireless campaign, the Nazi Party increased its Reichstag representation twofold in 1932. Hitler contested the presidential election, although he lost, but he was assured that 13 million Germans loved him. Göring also did well for himself in 1932, as he became the president of the German Reichstag. Meanwhile, the Nazi Party lost significant votes in November, but through political backroom maneuvering, with Göring at the center, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933.

Part 4: The Reichstag Fire Decree and the Death of Carin

Göring had so much to celebrate with Hitler’s appointment. He was given over four appointments, but most importantly, the Interior Minister of Prussia. In this capacity, he had control over the police, which he restructured for terror against the enemy of the state.

There was a fire at the Reichstag building on 27 February 1933. When Göring, Hitler, and other Nazis saw the scene, they instantly blamed the communists, and on the second day, the Reichstag Fire Decree was put into law. This meant that Hitler and the Nazis could arrest anyone and censor anyone they thought was the enemy of Germany. Göring claimed not to have any idea about the fire, but documents were later found where Göring had prepared the names of whom to arrest in such a case of fire.

Following these drastic measures, the new Reichstag opened on March 24 at Potsdam, where the Enabling Act was passed; this gave Hitler and his cabinet dictatorial power, and Hitler would use it till the end of his life in 1945.

Meanwhile, Göring laid the solid foundation for the coming Luftwaffe beginning in 1933, even though under direct restriction of the Treaty of Versailles. At the same time, he acquired a land estate of a thousand acres and built a mansion of his dream and named it Carinhall, in honor of his dead wife. During this period, he also met a new woman: Emmy Sonnemann.

Part 5: The Plenipotentiary for the Four-Year Plan

In this chapter, the author clearly analyzes Göring’s role in the Night of the Long Knives, where Hitler had ordered S.A. leaders to be killed. Göring and Himmler played key roles in this matter. It was also said that Göring’s antisemitism was due to Nazi policy, not his own beliefs.

Then, on April 10, 1935, Göring renewed his love story by marrying Emmy Sonnemann in an extravagant ceremony, with Hitler serving as a witness on the wedding day.

As the Third Reich progressed, Hitler increasingly relied on Göring, particularly in foreign negotiations. Before the outbreak of the war, Göring traveled frequently to Italy to smooth relations between his country and Italy, although with limited success. And with the British, the story was the same.

At the same time, he was tasked with coordinating Germany’s economy in preparation for war, despite being a complete economic illiterate, and he was aware of this. He came head-to-head with Hjalmar Schacht, but in the end, Hitler favored Göring and eventually let the former go.

Although with Professor Kahle’s clinical expertise, Göring profusely tried to manage his morphine addiction, without much success.

Part 6: Annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia

Göring failed to secure his appointment as the commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht. However, he proved extremely useful in German foreign policy. Göring was also the man behind the curtain in the deals that led to Germany’s amalgamation with Austria in March 1938.

In the years and months leading up to the Second World War, Göring engaged in extensive dealings with the British to smooth relations between Germany and Britain, while rigorously competing with Ribbentrop, Hitler’s appointed foreign minister. He was heavily involved in the annexation of Czechoslovakia.

Despite all that, Göring doesn’t really want a war. As shown in this chapter, he had amassed so much wealth and comfort that he feared that an outbreak of war would prevent him from enjoying it. At the same time, he critically negotiated against an outbreak of war with the British. But the Führer had the final say, and World War 2 was finally started with Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. And Göring would play its part gracefully.

Part 7: World War II

From the beginning of the Second World War, Hitler’s plotters had hoped that, should they succeed, Göring would be a suitable replacement for Hitler at the Reich Chancellery. But Göring himself was doing Hitler’s bidding with full energy.

As the Luftwaffe was bringing victory over Poland in 1939, Göring was himself incorporating the Polish economy into what was now the greater German Reich.

Though it was the Führer, Adolf Hitler, who ordered the halt to the Allied German attack on Dunkirk, responsibility for the failure was placed on Göring.

At the time the Luftwaffe failed to defeat the British in the air, Hitler still decided to invade the Soviet Union in 1941 with Operation Barbarossa, which commenced on June 22. Göring claimed he had no knowledge of the invasion except when the invasion planning was 80% done.

As the war in the east dragged on, Göring’s Luftwaffe became less effective compared to 1939; in effect, he became almost useless, despite Hitler’s admission that he still needed him. Goebbels tried to mend the relationship with the Führer and the Luftwaffe chief but achieved no real success.

Part 8: Göring the Lover of Art

Göring developed a taste for art even before the invasion of Poland, and after the invasion, his urge to collect intensified. He used art and other niceties to soothe the stress that came with organizing an enormous event such as the Second World War.

Göring pursued the arts throughout the existence of the Third Reich and protected Alfred Rosenberg’s unit, which was responsible for art collections throughout Europe under Hitler. Meanwhile, it was a state fund that Göring used in pursuing his arts interests.

Part 9: Göring Lost Favor with Hitler.

Göring, as the commander of the Luftwaffe, began to fall out of favor with Hitler from 1943 onward, largely because his Luftwaffe had become obsolete against the mighty Allied air forces. Even Speer tried hard to increase fighter and bomber production, but that still didn’t improve the situation with Göring’s Luftwaffe.

Then on July 20, 1944, a failed assassination was carried out on Hitler’s life; Himmler hanged all officers involved and even suspected Göring as one of the conspirators.

However, as the war finally turned against Germany, Göring moved south while Hitler remained in Berlin. And on April 23, Göring sent a telegram to Hitler to succeed him; instead, Hitler stripped him of all his party and state offices and had him confined to his house.

On April 20, 1945, Hitler shot himself dead, and Göring attempted in vain to negotiate with Eisenhower with a peace offering. Lastly, he surrendered himself to the Allies.

Part 10: The Nuremberg Trial

At the beginning of the Nuremberg trial, Göring was claimed to be the most cooperative of the Nazi leaders. But first, he was put through a rigorous morphine withdrawal to give him a clear and sound mind. Göring chose Dr. Otto Stahmer to defend him.

At the trial, Göring took full responsibility for all his actions for building Germany’s air force to be mighty and also added that the British and American empires were built with war, so why was Germany being blamed for wanting the same thing?

Göring answered all questions with confidence and with a deep understanding of the evidence against him. He often avoided yes or no answers with more detailed responses but appeared visibly uncomfortable when the topic of Jewish extermination arose.

The trial lasted for 11 months, and the courts almost didn’t get a useful admission of crimes from Göring. But in the end, he could not evade justice and was sentenced to death by hanging, but he poisoned himself with a mysterious cyanide.