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Hechler, a former Congressman from West Virginia was assigned to interview many of the defendants tried at Nuremberg had the opportunity to interview former Reichsmarschall Herman Goring. It is a very interesting interview which reveals many answers to questions that regularly appear on in this forum. It is well worth the read.
Thanks for posting this. In all that I read about the Nazi hierarchy, Goring comes across as the least insane, least driven by hatred, most rational of the upper tier leaders. This is not to say that he rates admiration of any sort or wasn't fully guilty of the Nazi crimes against humanity, just that he was the best of a bad lot. He has something of an evil clown image because of his assortment of eccentricities and obesity, but he was actually a very able and intelligent man.
If it had been Goring running the show rather than Hitler, I doubt that there would have been the Holocaust, his Jew baiting seemed to be a go along to get along expedient rather than any personal animosity. He still would have exploited them, robbed them, found them useful scapegoats, but I don't see that he had it in him to order a general extermination. He was no friend to the Jews, but he does not seem to have shared the obsession about them manifested by Hitler and the others.
He made his choices and justly paid the consequences for them, but if his life had been nudged in a different direction rather than under the influence of Hitler, he might have been a fairly decent person by the standards of the day.
Thanks for posting this. In all that I read about the Nazi hierarchy, Goring comes across as the least insane, least driven by hatred, most rational of the upper tier leaders.
Everything that I've read about Goring has lead me to the opinion that he was just a gangster who saw a great way to become as rich and powerful as he could. I would think that so-called white supremacist gangs like the Aryan Brotherhood would idolize Goring more than Hitler since they have so much in common.
Everything that I've read about Goring has lead me to the opinion that he was just a gangster who saw a great way to become as rich and powerful as he could. .
The Nazis were a Thugocracy, so all of the leadership may be characterized as gangsters to one degree or another.
Despite his later Nazi persona, Goring was a WW1 German pilot, who was decorated and showed that he was not afraid to risk his own life, in combat.
I agree that he took the "easy road " as a part of the Nazi leadership group, and indulged his own passion for the good life, fine wines, and stolen art work. And heroin.
Compared to some of the others, he was a less repulsive character, but still one who deserved the punishment that the court sentenced him to. Sadly he managed to swallow cyanide, and kill himself, rather than face the hang man. I think that he may have bribed a guard, to allow him to kill himself.
they asked Goring why barbarossa failed and he said Hitler was sick in the summer of 41 therefore his genious was diluted. he said hitler should have attacked both Moscow and Ukraine in September not one at a time. The follow up should have been but the military did not have sufficient resources therefore it had nothing to do with hitlers lack of genius
I think it's important to remember that in this interview, like in almost all of the ones conducted post-war, Goering was playing to his audience. I find it very interesting to hear what he has to say, but I wouldn't take any of it as gospel. There was also a good deal of time where Goering was an outsider among Hitler's inner-circle and while he may be speaking to what he thought was correct or what his interpretation was, his words/views aren't necessarily those of Hitler and the other senior leaders.
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