Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Himmler
Birth	7 October 1900 (Munich, Germany)
Death	May 23, 1945 (aged 44) (Uelzener Straße 31a Lüneburg, Germany)	Spouse	Margarete Boden	Party	National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)
Political positions	Reichsführer-SS (RF-SS: "Reichs leader of the SS") in the NSDAP (1929–1945) Reichs- und Preussischer Minister des Innern (Reichs & Prussian minister of the interior) of Germany (August 1943–1945) Chef der Deutschen Polizei (ChdDtP: "chief of German police") (June 1936–1945) Chef der Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres (Ch H Rüst u.BdE: "chief of army equipment and commander of the replacement army") of Germany (July 1944–1945) Reichskommissar für die Festigung des Deutschen Volkstums (RKFDV: "Reich commissar for the strengthening of Germanism") in the NSDAP (October 1939–1945) Verein Lebensborn e.V. ("president of the ‘Fountain of Life’ society") of the NSDAP (September 1936–1945) Verein Das Ahnenerbe Forschungs- und Lehrgemeinschaft ("president of the ancestral heritage research & teaching society") of the NSDAP Beauftragter der NSDAP für alle Volkstumsfragen ("Nazi Party commissioner for all racial matters") Generalbevollmächtigter für die Verwaltung ("plenipotentiary for administration") of Germany (August 1943–1945).

Heinrich Himmler (7 October 1900 - 23 May 1945) was the leader of Germany's SS and Gestapo organisation. Hitler ordered his arrest after Himmler offered peace to allies. He killed himself by cyanide poisoning when he was a prisoner of the British Army after Germany had lost World War II. Himmler's father was a teacher and headmaster.

Himmler and the Holocaust

Himmler's SS (theTotenkopfverbände) organized and administered Germany’s regime of concentration camps and, after 1941, the holocaust in Poland. The SS, through its Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst, or SD), hunted down Jews, Gypsies, communists and any persons who the Nazis believed to be either Untermensch (sub-human) or against the regime. They were brought to concentration camps. Himmler opened the first of these camps at Dachau on 22 March 1933.

Unlike Hitler, Himmler inspected concentration camps. In August 1941, he saw many Jews being shot in Minsk. It was said that he turned green in the face after brain matter from one of the Jews splashed onto his coat. His assistant had to jump forward and hold him steady. After that, the Nazis searched for a new and easier way to kill. This led to the use of the gas chambers.

Posen speech

On 4 October 1943, Himmler spoke of the extermination of the Jewish people during a secret SS meeting in the city of Poznań (Posen). The following are parts from an audio recording of the speech:

I also want to mention a very difficult subject before you here, completely openly. It should be discussed amongst us, and yet, nevertheless, we will never speak about it in public. I am talking about the Jewish evacuation: the extermination of the Jewish people. It is one of those things that is easily said. "The Jewish people are being exterminated," every Party member will tell you: "Perfectly clear, it’s part of our plans, we’re eliminating the Jews, exterminating them, ha!, a small matter."

British war propaganda

Other websites

• List of Himmler speeches A very detailed list of Himmler speeches including online sources and material in the U.S. National Archives.
• audio recording of the Poznan speech
• Die Schutzstaffel als antibolschewistische Kampforganisation An essay by Himmler
• About Heinrich Himmler