- He was born on Jan. 12, 1893 to a wealthy diplomat. After six weeks, his mother left him with another woman so she could join her husband in Haiti. He did not see his parents for another three years. His godfather was a Jewish businessman. His family lived in the Jews two castles when he was growing up. His mother had a not-so-secret affair with his godfather for fifteen years.
- He joined the army at age 19. He wrangled a transfer to the air force where he became a famous ace under the Red Baron. He had 17 confirmed kills and 5 probables. He was awarded the Pour le Merite (the Blue Max) and the Iron Cross, First Class. After Baron Von Richtofen’s death, the became commander of the Flying Circus squadron.
- He joined the Nazis in 1922 after hearing a speech by Hitler. He created the S.A. (the Brown Shirts). He participated in the Beer Hall Putsch and was wounded in the groin and hip when the police opened fire. Unlike Hitler, he was able to escape to Austria and did not serve time.
- As a result of his wounds, he became addicted to morphine. It caused him to become violent and he ended up in a mental institute where he was a in a strait jacket for a time. He was eventually released supposedly cured, but he remained addicted until his post-war imprisonment.
- In 1933, Hitler assumed dictatorial power after the Reichstag Fire was blamed on the communists. Goring later bragged that his people had actually set the fire. In 1935, he was appointed head of the Luftwaffe. He built it into an awesome force that deserved a lot of the credit for Germany’s success early in the war.
- Goering played a big role in the defeat of Germany by overpromising. He told Hitler he could bomb out the Dunkirk beaches. He promised the Luftwaffe would destroy the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain. He promised the German public: “If as much as a a single enemy aircraft flies over German soil, my name is Meier.” He assured Hitler that he could supply the surrounded army at Stalingrad. He promised the needed 300 tons per day. He never delivered more than 120.
- Goering became insanely wealthy during the war. His people looted Europe for art treasures which he used to decorate his hunting mansion Karinhall (named after his first wife). He had a daughter from his second marriage named Edda. Her godfather was Hitler. She was treated like a princess and Karinhall was the location for many parties of Nazi bigwigs, of which Hermann was the biggest. Get it? In fact, his weight contributed to his reputation as the most jolly of the Nazis. That was an exaggeration.
- Goering was Hitler’s second in command and chosen successor until the very end. With the Soviets in Berlin, Goring sent a carefully worded message to Hitler asking if it would be okay to take over the government while Hitler was preoccupied. Unfortunately, Goering had an enemy in Hitler’s private secretary Martin Bormann who intercepted it and convinced Hitler that Goering was trying a coup d’etat. Out went Goering.
- Goering was the biggest fish (see what I did there?) at the Nuremberg Trials. Actually, he lost 60 pounds and got off morphine. So, it was very healthy, until… But he had the last laugh, sort of. Somehow a cyanide capsule was smuggled into his cell and he died two hours before his hanging. His ashes were thrown in a river.
https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-hermann-goring/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-hermann-goering.html
https://factsking.com/historical-people/hermann-goering-facts/
https://historydaily.org/hermann-goering-facts-stories-trivia
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