Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (1893-1946)

[Luftman129]

Hello,

Did Göring have any relatives serving in the Wehrmacht as a tanker? The reason I'm asking this is in Otto Carius memoirs of the Russian front, he mentions an oberfeldwebel with the last name Göring numerous times.

[USAF1986]

Reichsmarschall Göring had a relative who was a late-war Stug officer in the Luftwaffe division bearing his name: his nephew, Hauptmann Dr. jur. Heinz Göring. Although this is not the Göring described by Carius in his memoirs, I thought I’d include a summary of Heinz Göring’s career as a matter of interest.

Best regards,
Shawn

EDITED: Inaccuracies in promotions corrected.

Hauptmann Dr. jur. Heinz Göring

Born: 4 September 1907, Wiesbaden
Killed in action: 29 July 1944 near Pogorzel, east of Warsaw, Poland.

Notes:
• Son of Heinrich and Dora (née Barth) Göring, the brother of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring; Heinz was thus the Reichsmarschall’s eldest nephew.
• Heinz Göring completed law studies on 20 July 1936 in Wiesbaden (Doctor of Law).
• Married Charlotte Seelhof in March 1942.

Promotions:
• Gefreiter der Reserve: 6 March 1937
• Unteroffizier der Reserve: 16 July 1938
• Wachtmeister der Reserve: 22 September 1938
• Leutnant (Kriegsoffizier): 1 August 1940 – RDA 1 August 1940
• Oberleutnant (Kriegsoffizier): 1 July 1942 – RDA 1 July 1942
• Hauptmann (Kriegsoffizier): 17 September 1944 – RDA 1 July 1944 (posthumous)

Commands & Assignments:
• End of 1936-1937: Called up for military service; served in the Luftwaffe as a gunner in 11./Flak Regiment 9 in Münster. Called up several times in the years thereafter for reserve training duty with the regiment.
• 14 March 1940-8 July 1940: Platoon Leader, 1./Reserve Flak Battalion 141.
• 9 July 1940-19 September 1940: Platoon Leader, I./Regiment “General Göring.”
• 20 September 1940-27 August 1941: Platoon Leader, IV./Regiment “General Göring.”
• 28 August 1941-28 February 1942: Platoon Leader, 17./Wachbatl. 1/Regiment “General Göring.”
• 1 March 1942-15 June 1942: Platoon Leader, IV./Regiment “General Göring.”
• 16 June 1942-30 September 1942: Platoon Leader, 2./Ersatz Battalion/“Hermann Göring” Brigade.
• 1 October 1942-26 October 1942: Platoon Leader, 4./Ersatz Battalion/“Hermann Göring” Brigade.
• 27 October 1942-3 December 1942: Platoon Leader, 8. (Panzer Pioneer)/Ersatz Regiment “Hermann Göring.”
• 4 December 1942-25 October 1943: Company Commander, 11./Ersatz and Training Regiment “Hermann Göring.”
• 26 October 1943-11 December 1943: Ordonnanz-Offizier (IIa), Panzer Regiment “Hermann Göring.”
• 12 December 1943-10 March 1944: Platoon Leader, 10./III. (Stug.)/Panzer Regiment “Hermann Göring.”
• 11 March 1944-29 July 1944: Company Commander, 10./III. (Stug.)/Panzer Regiment “Hermann Göring.” [On 29 July 1944, he was severely wounded near Pogorzel when he left his Jagdpanzer IV and a Russian shell exploded in the trees above him. He was put aboard another Jagdpanzer IV for transport to the rear; however, three Russian T-34s soon destroyed it. Survivors of the action indicated the wounded Göring fell into Russian hands and died.]

Decorations & Awards:
• Iron Cross, 1st Class (1939): 23 August 1941 (for service in Russia with IV. Battalion, Regiment “General Göring”).
• Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1939): 8 July 1941 (for service in Russia with IV. Battalion, Regiment “General Göring”).
• Luftwaffe Flak Combat Badge: 10 December 1941.
• Luftwaffe Ground Combat Badge: 2 November 1942.
• Wound Badge in Black: 28 January 1944 (temporarily blinded by a bomb explosion in Italy, December 1943).

SOURCE: Anderson, Paul. The Unknown Göring. Privately published in the United Kingdom, no date (16-page booklet detailing the life of Hauptmann Dr. jur. Heinz Göring, the eldest nephew of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring).

[Momchil Milanov]

Thanks for the info USAF1986
Do you have a photo of Heinz Göring?

Best regards
Ernst Barkmann

[USAF1986]

Not a problem! These are from the source listed in my previous post.

The author of the previously cited booklet found the photo of Heinz Göring in Panzer uniform in a Berlin flea market. The back of the photo is inscribed: “In memory of my dear, dear Heinz. Fallen on 29.7.44 near Pogorzel, east of Warsaw. Taken during his last leave in Jan/Feb 44 in Oeyenhausen.” This photograph led the author on his quest to identify the soldier, which, much to his surprise, turned out to be the Reichsmarschall's nephew!

Best regards,
Shawn

[Phil Nix]

In a book about Me 110 in 1940 there is mention of Hans-Joachim Göring Oberleutnant in 9 staffel ZG 76 shopt down an killed at the Verne Portland Great Britian by members of RAF 87 Squadron 11.7.40. There is no pic of him but there is a shot of the crash site. Book is "Zerstörer" by John J Vasco and Peter D Cornwell published by JAC publications Drayton Norfolk GB, there is no ISBN no
Philmil

[Agrarian Hungarian]

Does anyone have any information on whether there was any investigation into Göring's suicide? Was it ever established how the cyanide capsule came into his possession and who was involved? What are the most likely theories of what actually happened?

[Kaan Caglar]

The most believed story is told by Herbert Lee Stivers, who was a 19 year old US Army guard at the time of Nuremberg trials. When he became a 78( ) year old retired old person he decided to confess that he "might" have delivered the cyanide capsul to the hands of the very Hermann Goering himself. The story goes as,
He was talked into it after meeting a flirtatious local girl.He met this girl on the street, and she "seemed" interested in his role of being a guard in such a big trial.
Then she gets two mysterious men with her, and she introduces them to our guard, and these guys want him to deliver messages to Goering,hidden inside a fountain pen. So after a couple of these exchanges, a special one occured. The fountian pen now had a pill in it, which was explained to the guard as "some useful medicine to Goering" for his headaches and nightmares. It seems our girl never showed up again after the guard delivered the capsule. This is the story Herbert Lee Stivers told to LA Times.
Although in his dying letter, Goering claimed he had his capsule for all the 11 months of trial time many historians dont believe him. Another claim was Erich von dem Bach-Zalewskis one, who was also arrested but set free after a few years as he gave testimonials against his superiors in the trials. He showed cyanide capsules to the authorities with serial numbers really close to the removed ones from the one used by Hermann. But many historians also dismiss this claim and believe the one that Lt. told the world.
Best Regards
Kaan

[Dan]

Irving's book on Göring goes into detail about Göring's priest and an American officer and fellow hunter.

[R.M. Schultz]

Back in 1985, when it was first published, I picked up a nicely researched investigation of how Göring effected his suicide: The mystery of Hermann Goering's suicide, by Ben E. Swearingen (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego, 1985).

As I remember, Swearingen’s thesis was that the cyanide capsule was already in Göring’s luggage (secreted in jar of cold cream) and that one of the guards, Lieut Jack Wheelis, was persuaded to go to where the prisoner's belongings were held and (in exchange for a gold watch, also in the luggage) sneak the capsule into Göring. The “proof” of this was that Wheelis told the whole story to his son and there were photographs both of Göring and Wheelis wearing the watch. I found the story rather convincing, more so than any other I’ve heard over the years, but it has been years since I read it and I’m sure there has been new research since then.

[Beppo Schmidt]

In his book Nuremberg: Infamy on Trail, Joseph E. Persico addresses this in the epilogue and also concludes that Göring had the cyanide capsule hidden in his baggage and had someone, most likely Wheelis bring it to him, knowingly or unknowingly, inside an article of clothing.

[Johnnyrocket]

You must get John K. Lattimer's book titled: Hitler and the Nazi Leaders.

It has all about this suicide ampoule contaniner (3 in total that Göring had ) and even has photos of the actual capsal container (1.75" X 2.5" in size).

Steve

[Ziv]

I am surprised that the fact that Goering was the highest Mason in Germany never gets brought up.

Since there are British Masons and American Masons one could consider it a highly likely theroy that Goering was helped by his fellow Masons.

[Lord_Darth_Zealous]

Does anyone have a full list of all of Hermann Göring's Orders and Decorations, in particular those Orders bestowed upon him by the former Reigning Houses of Germany?

In his book 'Royals and the Reich' Jonathon Petropoulos statesthat Göring often cajoled, tricked or bribed the former reigning houses into giving him the top class of their top honours before and during the the Third Reich.

I dont believe he recieved any of the top Orders from the Houses of Hohenzollern or Wittelsbach, but am interested to see which ones he might have recieved?

Anyone got a full list?

[Dieter Zinke]

No problem:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... ed#p700691

Dieter Z.

[Lord_Darth_Zealous]

Danke Dieter!

Wonder how we get a list of the Honours he cajoled out of the former reigning Houses of Germany for the period before and during the Third Reich. Not that he deserved them!