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Heinrich Himmler

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Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (German: [ˈhaɪnʁɪç ˈluːɪtpɔlt ˈhɪmlɐ] ; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician and military leader. He was the 4th Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (Protection Squadron; SS) from 1929 to 1945. He was a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful figures in Nazi Germany. He was also one of the main architects of the Holocaust, the genocide of the Jewish population of Europe. After serving in a reserve battalion during World War I without seeing combat, Himmler went on to join the Nazi Party in 1923. In 1925, he joined the SS, which was initially a small paramilitary arm of the Nazi Party that served as a bodyguard unit for Adolf Hitler. Himmler rose steadily through the SS's ranks to become Reichsführer-SS by 1929. Under Himmler's leadership, the SS grew from a 290-man battalion into one of the most powerful institutions in Nazi Germany. Over the course of his career, Himmler acquired a reputation for good organisational skills and for selecting highly competent subordinates, such as Reinhard Heydrich. From 1943 onwards, he was both Chief of the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police) and Minister of the Interior, which gave him oversight of all police and security forces (including the Gestapo). He also controlled the Waffen-SS, a branch of the SS that served in combat alongside the Wehrmacht (Germany's armed forces) in World War II. As the principal enforcer of the Nazis' racial policies, Himmler was responsible for operating concentration and extermination camps as well as forming the Einsatzgruppen death squads in German-occupied Europe. In this capacity, he played a central role in the genocide of an estimated 5.5–6 million Jews and the deaths of millions of other victims during the Holocaust. A day before the launch of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, Himmler commissioned the drafting of Generalplan Ost, which was approved by Hitler in May 1942 and implemented by the Nazi regime, resulting in the deaths of approximately 14 million people in Eastern Europe. In the last years of World War II, Hitler appointed Himmler as Commander of the Replacement Army and General Plenipotentiary for the administration of the Third Reich (Generalbevollmächtigter für die Verwaltung). He was later given command of the Army Group Upper Rhine and the Army Group Vistula. He failed to achieve his assigned objectives, and Hitler replaced him in these posts. Realising the war was lost, Himmler attempted, without Hitler's knowledge, to open peace talks with the western Allies in March 1945. When Hitler learned of this on 28 April, he dismissed Himmler from all his posts and ordered his arrest. Himmler attempted to go into hiding but was captured by British forces. He died by suicide in British custody on 23 May 1945.

Infobox

Deputy
Reinhard Heydrich (de facto)
Preceded by
Wilhelm Frick
Succeeded by
Office abolished
Chancellor
Adolf Hitler
Appointed by
Adolf Hitler
mw- January–March 1945
Commander of Army Group Vistula
1944–1945
Commander of Army Group Upper Rhine
1942–1943
Acting Director of the Reich Security Main Office
1939–1945
Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood
1933–1945
Member of the Greater German Reichstag
1930–1933
Member of the Reichstag
Born
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler(1900-10-07)7 October 1900Munich, Germany
Died
23 May 1945(1945-05-23) (aged 44)Lüneburg, Germany
Cause of death
Cyanide poisoning (suicide)
Political party
Nazi Party (1923–1945)
Other politicalaffiliations
Bavarian People's Party (1919–1923)
Spouse
mw- Margarete Boden (m. 1928)
Domestic partner
Hedwig Potthast (1939–1944)
Children
3, including Gudrun
Relatives
mw- Gebhard Ludwig Himmler (older brother) Ernst Hermann Himmler (younger brother)
Education
Technical University of Munich
Allegiance
German Empire Nazi Germany
Branch/service
Bavarian Army Schutzstaffel
Years of service
1917–1918 (Army)1925–1945 (SS)
Rank
FahnenjunkerReichsführer-SS
Unit
11th Bavarian Infantry Regiment
Commands
Army Group Upper RhineArmy Group VistulaReplacement (Home) Army
Battles/wars
World War II
Party
Nazi Party (1923–1945)

Tables

· External links
Preceded byErhard Heiden
Preceded byErhard Heiden
Political offices
Preceded byErhard Heiden
Political offices
Reich Leader of the SS 1929–1945
Political offices
Succeeded byKarl Hanke
Preceded byReinhard Heydrich
Preceded byReinhard Heydrich
Political offices
Preceded byReinhard Heydrich
Political offices
Director of the Reich Security Main OfficeActing 4 June 1942 – 30 January 1943
Political offices
Succeeded byErnst Kaltenbrunner
Preceded byWilhelm Frick
Preceded byWilhelm Frick
Political offices
Preceded byWilhelm Frick
Political offices
Interior Minister of Germany 1943–1945
Political offices
Succeeded byWilhelm Stuckart
Military offices
Military offices
Political offices
Military offices
Preceded byFriedrich Fromm
Preceded byFriedrich Fromm
Political offices
Preceded byFriedrich Fromm
Political offices
Commander of the Replacement Army 21 July 1944 – 29 April 1945
Political offices
Succeeded byNone
Preceded byNone
Preceded byNone
Political offices
Preceded byNone
Political offices
Commander of Army Group Upper Rhine 10 December 1944 – 24 January 1945
Political offices
Succeeded byNone
Preceded byNone
Preceded byNone
Political offices
Preceded byNone
Political offices
Commander of Army Group Vistula 25 January 1945 – 13 March 1945
Political offices
Succeeded byGeneraloberst Gotthard Heinrici(20 March)
Awards and achievements
Awards and achievements
Political offices
Awards and achievements
Preceded byJoseph Stalin
Preceded byJoseph Stalin
Political offices
Preceded byJoseph Stalin
Political offices
Cover of Time magazine 12 February 1945
Political offices
Succeeded byWilliam Hood Simpson
Political offices
Preceded byErhard Heiden
Reich Leader of the SS 1929–1945
Succeeded byKarl Hanke
Preceded byReinhard Heydrich
Director of the Reich Security Main OfficeActing 4 June 1942 – 30 January 1943
Succeeded byErnst Kaltenbrunner
Preceded byWilhelm Frick
Interior Minister of Germany 1943–1945
Succeeded byWilhelm Stuckart
Military offices
Preceded byFriedrich Fromm
Commander of the Replacement Army 21 July 1944 – 29 April 1945
Succeeded byNone
Preceded byNone
Commander of Army Group Upper Rhine 10 December 1944 – 24 January 1945
Succeeded byNone
Preceded byNone
Commander of Army Group Vistula 25 January 1945 – 13 March 1945
Succeeded byGeneraloberst Gotthard Heinrici(20 March)
Awards and achievements
Preceded byJoseph Stalin
Cover of Time magazine 12 February 1945
Succeeded byWilliam Hood Simpson

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