What a confession Goering’s warden made: he was silent for 60 years
Hermann Göring was second only to Adolf Hitler in the Third Reich. But that was until April 1945, when the Führer blamed his successor for Berlin’s poor air defenses.
Goering was an ace himself. In addition, he commanded the Luftwaffe, the troops he created, for most of the war. Hermann’s brainchild was the Gestapo. The secret police came into existence in 1933.
All this information is just curious facts. Let us take a closer look at the question of how Goering took his own life.
Official version: voluntary. Allegedly, after the Nazi was convicted, he drank a fast-acting poison.
In general, the theory is not in doubt. Moreover, Herman had written 3 or 4 letters before that.
By the way, Goering strongly asked to replace his hanging with a firing squad in order to leave this world with honor. He was refused.
Apparently, this prompted the Nazi to do everything to end his life.
The main question is: Who passed the poison? And there are options. We’ll look at them a little later. In the meantime, I want to tell you about the confusion with letters. The fact is that some sources talk about three letters, others about four.
How many letters were there
G. Grotov writes in Reichsmarschall Goering that there were three letters:
· a long address to the German people;
· a touching letter to the family;
· appeal to the commandant of the prison where Goering was held.
I’ve seen the following options:
· to the family;
· to the commandant;
· to the pastor;
· to Winston Churchill.
Why Goering needed to write to Churchill I don’t know.
The fact is that one letter to Colonel Andrews, the commandant, was exactly what Goering wrote. And in it, the German indicated that he always had a capsule with poison with him. During the searches, it was not possible to find her. Goering asked not to blame those who carried out the searches.
The same Grotov and Albert Speer himself, Hitler’s personal architect, pointed out that the discipline of the Americans was so-so.
Before Göring, Robert Ley, a Nazi, a member of the Party and a philosopher, took his own life. It would seem that the Americans would need to tighten up discipline so that such cases do not happen again. But Goering was also able to manage his life.
Speer, by the way, said that he always carried a tube of toothpaste with poison with it. And no one discovered it.
Nevertheless, the theory that Göring was carrying a capsule of poison has been questioned by some historians. Let’s figure out the options.
Wife
M.Y. Raginsky, who acted as a prosecutor for the USSR at the Nuremberg Trials, pointed out in his memoirs that, most likely, a German officer was bribed, who allowed Goering’s wife to give him poison.
The prosecutor also recalled another version.
Journalism
M.Y. Raginsky pointed out that a certain journalist Bleibtrey made a sensational statement. Allegedly, he made his way into the courtroom while no one was there. And glued a capsule of poison to the dock. On the gum! And then Goering peeled it all off and used it.
Raginsky expressed doubt that this could have happened. No one was allowed into the courtroom ahead of time. The prosecutor suggested that the journalist simply wanted cheap fame.
Goering was helped by a warden
In 2005, this version appeared. Its author and performer is Herbert Stivers. He was one of Goering’s overseers. In the year Herman took his own life, the American was only 19 years old. He served his country wherever he was ordered.
Stivers remained silent for 60 years. And shortly before his death, he confessed everything. The old man said the following:
when he was 19 years old, he was forced to guard Hermann Göring. The work was not dusty, but boring. The guy, in order to entertain himself, talked to Goering on various topics. Sports, girls, Germany, politics – absolutely everything. Goering, too, was bored. Stivers also got an autograph from a Nazi – he later boasted on dates.
Further, the readings are confused. According to one version, Göring himself asked the young Herbert Stivers to bring him poison. And the guy, out of friendship, complied with the request.
According to another version, which is told with more “drawing”, Stivers met two guys during his dismissal… That is, he first met a German girl. And she introduced him to two guys. They told the young American that Goering was ill and asked him to hand over the medicine that was in the body of the ballpoint pen.
This version is mentioned by historians quite often. But the authorities do not take it into account, believing that in 2005 Stivers made it all up.