Heinrich Himmler
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| Heinrich Himmler | |
|---|---|
| Birth | October 7 1900 (Munich, Germany) |
| Death | May 22 1945 (aged 44) (Uelzener Straße 31a Lüneburg, Germany) |
| Party | National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)  |
| Political positions |
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Heinrich Himmler (October 7, 1900 - May 23, 1945) was the leader of the German SS and Gestapo organisation. Himmler's father was teacher and headmaster. Hitler ordered his arrest after Himmler offered peace to allies. He committed suicide when he was a captive of the British Army after Germany had lost World War II.
[change] Himmler and the Holocaust
Himmlers 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 whom the Nazis thought to be either Untermensch (sub-human) or in opposition to the regime. They were brought to concentration camps. Himmler opened the first of these camps at Dachau on 22 March 1933.
In contrast to Hitler, Himmler inspected concentration camps. In August 1941 he witnessed a mass shooting of Jews in Minsk and was said to have turned green in the face after brain matter from a victim splashed onto his coat; his assistant had to jump forward and hold him steady.[1] After that the Nazis searched for a new and more expedient way to kill which led to the use of the gas chambers.
[change] 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 excerpts from a transcription of an audio recording that exists 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."
[change] Other websites
- List of Himmler speeches A very detailed list of Himmler speeches including online sources and material in the U.S. National Archives. Article numbers in the archives are listed for professional scholars.
- Die Schutzstaffel als antibolschewistische Kampforganisation An essay by Himmler
- About Heinrich Himmler
