himmler year 12 history. heinrich himmler introduction: “heinrich himmler was born on the 7th...

HimmleHimmlerr

YEAR 12 HISTORY

Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerINTRODUCTION: “Heinrich Himmler was born on the 7th

October 1900. He was a dull and ineffectual man who rose to become

the leader of one of the most insidious groups of soldiers ever seen,

responsible for the deaths of millions of people during World War Two.”

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Background:• middle class Catholic family. • one of three boys. • loved medieval history• not a spectacular student • attended Technical High

School for Agriculture in Munich.


• declared‘unfit’ for the army just after WW1• had connections to Ernst Rohm • took part in the Munich Putsch (1923)• Hitler formed the Schutz Staffeln (Protective Guards) –

the SS.


• joined the Nazis in 1925 and met Gregor Strasser

• appointed as Assistant Propaganda Chief of the National Socialist Worker’s Party (Nazi)

• Deputy Leader of the SS


• married Margarethe Borden in 1927 and bought 50 chickens with her dowry money

• Met Alfred Rosenberg and they became engrossed in the superiority of Nordic Blood

• it was Walther Darre who suggested that Himmler apply what he knew about animal breeding to people-the SS.


He told Hitler of his ideas:

“If I had power to rule this exquisite handful of men in his spirit, I could help in

perpetuating the Nordic race for ever. They could become the bulwark against the wave

of Jewish influences which threatens to drown our beloved people. They could be

symbols of the greatness of the German race of which we are the guardians.”


• January 6th 1929 – Himmler was appointed as Reichsfuehrer of the SS Black Guards

• racial purity• SS followed rules of Race, Obedience and

Sacrifice. • Himmler considered marriage to be a key to

racial purity


• 1931 Himmler’s Order No 65 – Marriage Order – required SS men to have his permission to marry

• SS couples were expected to have 4 children

• Only 10-12% of candidates were inducted into the SS


• Reichstag Fire – Gestapo established • 1933 Himmler was appointed as Police

President of Munich. • Order of Protective Custody allowed large

scale arrests to protect the Reich• Dachau was set up for those arrested, it was

guarded by SS soldiers who were offered 12 year contracts


• ‘Commitment to a Concentration Camp’ soon replaced the Order of Protective Custody.


Arrival at a camp meant donning a camp uniform with symbols.

Criminals –green triangles Jews – yellow star Bible Students – violet triangles Homosexuals – pink triangles Gypsies – brown triangles Work shy – black triangles Political - dark red triangles


• 1933 the LAH - Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (Adolf Hitler Bodyguard) was formed – the eilte of the elite

• Himmler was Police Chief


• 1934 Himmler was often unwell • SS - ‘Night of the Long Knives’ • Reinhard Heydrich ordered an SS

recruitment drive for 50,000 new men• two lightening strikes - ancient symbols

of Seig-Victory


• Himmler was obsessed by Teutonic Knights. • He bought the castle of Wewell?? Rebuilt as an SS HQ • In 1934 there was an unsuccessful Anschluss with

Austria• Hitler blamed Himmler for the failure of this Anschluss

and became cold towards him• In turn Himmler took it out on the ‘traditional enemies of

Germany-reactionaries, the Catholics, the Jews above all.’


• ‘World League of Anti-Semites’ was set up • German women seen with Jewish men were

deemed to have committed Rassenschande-Race Shame.

• 1935 Nuremberg Laws written• SS newspaper Das Schwarze Korps (The Black

Corps) was established• Hitler constantly left difficult decisions to Himmler.

“Let Himmler deal with it” – the Jews, Catholics and Party members.


• October 1935 Hitler asked Himmler to: ‘devote your whole strength to the

National Socialist Reich.’ • 1936 Himmler identified with King

Heinrich l. • He became interested in the occult

and consulted astrologers. • He was promoted to Reichsfuehrer-

SS.


• Himmler bought a mineral water company to discourage the SS from drinking alcohol

• He took an interest in repatriating German people who living outside of Germany

• He scoured museums for evidence of Aryan superiority


• He established Lebensborn to encourage population growth

• Women who had a number of children were awarded the ‘Mothers Cross’

• SS men were encouraged take 2 wives to help with population increase


• 1938 Austria - Anschluss • Jews - ‘If the Americans pay their fare and look

after them we shall gladly let them go…” • Mauthausen camp was established for Austrian

Jews.


Top: Himmler at German police

day 1937

• 1939 Jews had virtually disappeared from Germany

• Himmler instituted random house searches

• Himmler was now a powerful Nazi leader


• Waffen SS (Armed SS) was established. SS men were attached to regular army units

• Auschwitz was established for Polish Jews.


• Himmler received new orders to:

‘…bring back for final return into the Reich all German nationals in foreign countries…[and] to

eliminate [parts of the population which] represent a danger to the Reich…’

• He was promoted to be the Commissioner for the Preservation of German Volkdom.

• He shut down Polish schools


• He admired the Spanish Inquisition ‘What the Jesuits did for Rome the SS

must do for the Nazi Party’. • Einsatzgruppen (Action Groups) were

established to precede the army into new territory

• There were plans to exterminate 30 million people.

• Ghettoes were established


• Treblinka was built to eliminate the Warsaw Jews

• Gas vans were widely used • Humans were experimented on medically • Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated


• Himmler had an unshakable faith in Hitler:

‘Hitler is infallible, he never makes

a mistake.’ • August 1943 he was promoted to:

Reichsfuehrer of the Interior. • Woman Gestapo was established • In July 1944 he was made the

Commander of the Reserve Army (Home Guard).


At The End• He attempted to make terms with

the Allies – Hitler was furious• He refused to assume leadership

upon Hitler’s death • Grand Admiral Doenitz was named

as Hitler’s heir.


• 5th May 1945 he was intercepted at a checkpoint.• He swallowed a cyanide pill and died. • His body lay neglected for a couple of days• He was buried in a secret location by Sergeant Austen: ‘I had to dig the grave myself, nobody will ever know where he

is buried’.

• family tree• joined Nazis• unhappy marriage• selective breeding• Medieval obsession • Propaganda secretary• Deputy SS• Alfred Rosenberg• Walther Darre

Himmler’s actions reflected Nazi Policy:• Adored Hitler• Established concentration camps• Einsatzgruppen• Ghettoes• Lebensborn• Confiscated businesses• Selective breeding of SS


Himmler’s Symbols

• Death Camps

• Death’s Head

• SS

• Himmler’s aspirations were to create a perfect Nordic race of Teutonic Knights to rule the world.

• Inspired by the Spanish Inquisition

Characteristics of Himmler:

•physically weak •inadequate •lonely •dreamer •fanatic •dependent


Felix Kersten, Himmler’s masseur

PHYSICAL:• five foot six inches• weak • unfit• glasses• headaches• cramps• anguished• ill• shrill voice• soft hands• weak chinned• narrow-chested• prim• uniformed


inadequate:

• ignorant

• lacked perception

• naïve

• evasive

• worrier

• indecisive


LONELY:• poor mixer• indifferent• isolated• aloof• cold• insensitive• inaccessible


DREAMER:

• occult

• reincarnation

• Catholic

• nature lover

• perfectionist

FANATIC:• hard worker• persistent• good memory• inflexible• single minded• unimaginative• efficient• plodder


DEPENDENT:

• on Hitler

• on Heydrich


Himmler’s SS were responsible for the deaths of:

• 4-5 million Jews• 2.5 million Poles• 520,000 Gypsies• 473,000 Russian POWs• 100,000 mentally and physically ill


Year 12 Weimar and Nazi Germany - Himmler Poster available from www.schoolhistory.co.nz

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himmler year 12 history. heinrich himmler introduction: “heinrich himmler was born on the 7th...

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