15. After his request for a firing squad was rejected, Hermann Göring took his own life the day before he was due to be hung for war crimes
Hermann Göring (b. 1893) was Reichsmarschall of Nazi Germany, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Reich Minister of Aviation, President of the Reichstag, and Minister President of Prussia. Interested from a young age in a military career, Göring enrolled at the Berlin Lichterfelde military academy at the age of 16 and graduated within distinction. Joining the Prince Wilhelm Regiment (112th Infantry) of the Prussian army in 1912 Göring fought in World War One, first as an infantryman in the trenches of France and later as an airman flying reconnaissance and bombing missions, recording 22 victories in aerial combat; for the latter contributions Göring was awarded the Iron Cross, Zähringer Lion, the Friedrich Order, the House Order of Hohenzollern, and the Pour le Mérite.
First meeting Hitler after a speech in 1922, Göring immediately joined the Nazi Party and rose quickly due to the admiration of Hitler himself for his efficiency. Appointed commander of the SA in 1923 Göring participated in the failed Munich Putsch of the same year, being wounded and fleeing the country until granted amnesty in 1927. Entering politics, Göring was one of the first Nazis elected to the Reichstag in 1928 and is generally considered responsible for the Reichstag Fire in February 1933. Named Reich Minister of Aviation after the Machtergreifung, in which capacity he secretly begun the creation of the Luftwaffe in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Göring also established the Gestapo, although relinquishing control to Himmler in 1934, and was one of the key instigators behind the Night of the Long Knives.
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War on September 1 1939, Hitler publicly announced Göring as his successor “if anything should befall me”. The Luftwaffe performed a critical role in the German conquest of Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, and France, and Göring was awarded the honorary title of Reichsmarschall in 1940 granting him superiority to any other military figure in the Reich. Failing to achieve victory in the Battle of Britain, Göring focused his attention towards the unsuccessful Eastern Front causing critical losses to German air strength. With his forces and reputation declining, and with the Luftwaffe comprising just 300 fighters by D-Day compared to the Allies’ 11,000, Göring became increasingly excluded from Hitler’s inner circle.
With Hitler resolved to remain in Berlin until death, on April 22 1945 Göring sought to exercise the decree naming him successor in order to negotiate a surrender. Hitler responded by stripping him of his positions and placing him under arrest at Obersalzberg, whilst Bormann ordered Göring’s execution in the event Berlin should fall. Escaping and surrendering to American forces on May 6, Göring was subsequently tried before the Nuremberg Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Despite an appeal to be granted a soldier’s execution by firing squad, Göring was sentenced to death by hanging and instead committed suicide by cyanide smuggled into his prison cell; it is believed one of the American guards provided Göring with a pen containing a hidden capsule in exchange for a bribe of a gold watch.