#24
Post
by Chopper » 04 Aug 2007, 06:13
Hello. I'm new here but I've done a lot of reading and I wanted to weigh-in on this topic. I believe that Hermann Fegelein was murdered, and 'shot for desertion' as it is widely believed.
I was browsing the internet recently and found an article on Rochus Misch turning 90 years old. I did a quick search and found several versions of the interview on different sites. Paraphrasing most of them, they say that he "knows who shot Fegelein, but that the person is a deceased RSD man and that Mr. Misch is not saying who it was". One version of the interview states that Hitler only demoted Fegelein, and was inclined to spare him.
This makes sense to me. It's been stated many times that Eva plead for Hermann's life... but what I find even more strange is that people were being allowed to leave the bunker on their own since April 23. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hitler declare the war lost on the 22nd? Didn't Hitler say to his generals and to those around him that they could basically stay if they wanted, but that they were free to go? Wasn't Fegelein present (or at least in close proximity) to hear that comment? If this is true then Fegelein was released from his oath (or at least he felt that he was). Could this have anything to do with Fegelein arguing at his courtsmartial that he was only responsible to Himmler, and not to Hitler [anymore]?
As for him being shot for making defeatist statements... Even Hitler was making them, I think given the date and time defeatist statments were wholly reasonable and common.
I've also read that virtually no one in Hitler's staff liked eachother. One example of this tangled political mess is Bormann hating Eva, but being buddy-buddy with Fegelein who was an in-law to Eva? I'm sure all of you know about the infighting that was a source of tension within the inner-circle. On top of that, It seems that the Heer officers did not like Fegelein - probably because of how Fegelein achieved his rank - because he had connections. I believe that Even Mohnke (and a few other senior Waffen-SS officers) had contempt for him. Those like Gestapo Mueller and Rattenhuber probably didn't care too much, they were probably looking at saving their own lives as well. Misch did say that it was an RSD man who did the shooting. Does this not include Kempka, Gunsch, and Hogl? Who Else?
What all of the above people had in common though is that they are all dead, and with the exception of Mohnke and Mueller, they were all RSD, No? I think all had contempt for him, but someone had a particular grudge.. but who? Whoever it was, the person would likely be a noteworthy figure and probably defied orders or committed a crime in the process for Mr. Misch to be keeping it a secret. I think he's protecting someone. I think the few people in Hitler's circle who liked Fegelein were Borrmann, Himmler, and of course Hitler.
I don't know if it's true or not, but I've seen in Der Untergang that Eva was writing to Gretl that she was confident that Gretl would see Hermann again. Is this true or did the movie simply add this in for embelleshment? I read elsewhere that Hanna Reisch was supposed to deliver these letters, and with the exception of very few burned all of them. I think the only letters that were spared were ones that were meant for Eva's closest family. If Eva did write such a thing, wouldn't she have been in a position to know about his status? [edit]: I realize that these letters were probably sent before Hermann's arrest, but could they be relevant?
Above all wasn't there an unidentifiable corpse of an SS Gruppenfueher found in the Reich Chancellory's gardens with Mueller's papers? Maybe Fegelein was buried in the mass grave that Mueller's allegedly in?
This is all speculation but I think his demise had nothing to do with his extra-marital affairs, but if someone thought he was the one who was leaking information to the allies then revenge could have been a factor. I would also agree with the idea that someone who chose to remain loyal to their oath carried this out.. someone who did not want Fegelein to be allowed to simply walk away from the same oath. I think it's a reasonable assumption that given his personal relationship to Hitler and Eva, that Hermann was simply expelled from the SS and allowed to leave the fueherbunker. Fegelein was then probably gunned down from behind by a certain someone with a machine pistol in the courtyard, and some time later Meuller's papers were inserted into Fegelein's coat pocket.
If you're follwoing my train-of-thought then if he was expelled from the SS and let go, then he was a civillain. Just as a drunken officier cannot be tried while drunk, a civillain cannot be executed for abandoning a military post. Of course, crazier things than that have happened in April and May of 1945 than that! In my mind, Gunsche, Kempka, Monkhe (Mohnke could have had someone do the shooting) and even possibly Rochus Misch are all possible suspects. I don't mean to be so accusatory, but I'm just stating a possiblity that exists in my mind. Those are my thoughts, I dunno, what do you think?