7. Robert Ritter von Greim committed suicide after being unable to share the honor of dying alongside Hitler
Robert Ritter von Greim (b. 1892) was a pilot and Generalfeldmarschall, who was appointed as Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe (Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe) in the last days of the Second World War after the removal of Herman Göring for treason. Joining the army as a cadet in 1906 Griem served throughout the First World War, first as a Field Artillery Lieutenant commanding a battery during the Battle of Lorraine and from August 1915 as a member of the Fliegertruppe (German Air Service). Distinguishing himself as a fighter pilot, with 28 confirmed kills and being awarded both the Iron Cross and Pour le Mérite, Griem was presented with the Militär-Max Joseph-Orden (Bavarian Military Order of Max Joseph) – the equivalent of knighthood – granting him the right to add the honorific “Von” and “Ritter” to his name.
An early and committed ideologue, Griem joined the Nazi Party in 1923 and took part in the attempted Munich putsch that year. After the Machtergreifung Göring invited Griem to help rebuild the German Air Force, and in 1934 he was appointed to head the fighter pilot training academy in violation of the Treaty of Versailles’ proscriptions. Offered command of a Luftflotte (Air Fleet), Griem took part in the invasion of Poland, the Battle for Norway, the Battle of Britain, and Operation Barbarossa. His efforts during the Battle of Kursk and Operation Kutuzov won him the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, making Griem one of the most highly decorated German military officers.
Promoted first to Generalfeldmarschall, and subsequently as head of the Luftwaffe, Griem was ordered by Hitler to fly to Plön to arrest Himmler for treason on April 23 1945. Griem later remarked, “it was the blackest day when we could not die at our Führer’s side”. Failing in his final mission and captured by Allied forces in Austria on May 8, Griem ingested cyanide in prison in Salzburg on May 24.