Humanizing Heinrich Himmler
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Humanizing Heinrich Himmler: Power and Alliances in Transition A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences Florida Gulf Coast University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in History By Sara Elise Gottwalles July 24, 2014 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of The requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in History ___________________________________________ Sara E. Gottwalles Approved:August 25, 2014 ___________________________________________ Paul R. Bartrop, Ph.D. Committee Chair/ Advisor ___________________________________________ Erik Carlson, Ph.D. ___________________________________________ Eric Strahorn, Ph.D. The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Abstract Heinrich Himmler was known as Hitler’s executioner, the Architect of Genocide, an evil genius, a murderous monster, and der treue Heinrich. But the Reichführer SS, once a sickly child bent on placating and pleasing all of those around him had a great deal of influence during his rise to become one of the most dangerous individuals of the twentieth century. His rivalries formed his political career just as much as his friendships—interestingly enough, the two lines often crossed. This work examines Himmler’s rivalries on his rise, and peak of power. Some would argue that his downfall was also brought on by his enemies, but the evidence contained in this work states otherwise. Himmler was the cause of his own fall from power with at the very most, mere assistance from an outside source. Himmler was naive, manipulative, easily persuaded, an obsessive people pleaser, and had a weak personality. These qualities and faults ultimately were self-damaging to Himmler. This work specifically focuses on Himmler’s relationships with Göring and Heydrich, discussing his rise to power, and Bormann is studied in relation to Himmler’s peak of and halt to power. The first two men assisted Himmler in his ascent, and Bormann, wavering between friend and enemy, quite literally acts as the preventative gatekeeper between the Reichsführer-SS and Hitler, and thus prevents any further ascent to power. By examining these rivalries we are able to get a better view into Himmler’s mind and personality. Each of these relationships were quite diverse, and Himmler was able to gain various positions, knowledge, and experience. Hitler was supportive of rivalries within his Reich, and many of these have been closely examined by contemporary historians. What this work offers which has previously not been scrutinized is a close examination of the relationship of Himmler and Bormann. Though the thesis is dense through this chapter, its preceding chapters are vital to building knowledge of Himmler’s interactions with various other leaders. Additionally, the Bormann chapter examines Himmler’s ability to retain power until Bormann prevented his further ascension, subsequently leading to Himmler’s fall from power. This thesis includes primary and secondary documentation from sources such as diaries, captured German records, memoirs, and monographs. Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the support and assistance of so many people. I would like to thank my parents for always being near a phone during the final stages of writing to listen to a draft, talk me through a bump in the road, and to assist in a game of “what is the word I’m looking for?” They each nurtured my love for history throughout my adolescence, encouraging me to learn, ask questions, and maintain an open mind capable of critical thinking. My Aunt Cheryl instilled in me an interest which has grown into a scholarly passion during my years of Holocaust study. Her early education proceeding with caution due to my young and impressionable mind sparked a curiosity in me to continue developing my Holocaust knowledge. My friends and colleagues deserve my most sincere gratitude for their patience and support. Many of them acted as captivated (or held captive) audiences, offering helpful advice and words of encouragement. To Tristan Laznovsky, Alisa Platas, Jessamyn Inglis, Martha Rosenthal, Matthew Seifert, Gary Coleman, Tom Santin, Linda Keene, Michael Elliot, Heather Kiszkiel, Anna Waite, Tom Bailey, and Crystal Clemons, thank you all for joining me on this long journey. To Ms. Eve Grimm—We have made it! Thank you for everything you have done for me. I am truly grateful to you for your encouragement, kind heart, and tough love. Finally, I must extend an immeasurable amount of gratitude to the man who has acted not only as an advisor, but as a caring father-figure to me, Dr. Paul Bartrop. For all the conversations over coffee, the hours of labor, and your overall genuine interest in my well-being and my future, there are not words to express my gratitude. Thank you, sir. You are The Great Red Pen. Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….…1 Himmler…………………………………………………………………………..…………..…13 Personality and Brief Biographical Study of a Studious Boy Turned Executioner Göring…………………………………………………………………………………………..38 Ascent to Power: Himmler’s Rise Under the Navigation of the Last Red Baron Heydrich………………………………………………………………………………………...54 The Architect and the Aryan Archetype Bormann………………………………………………………………………………………...77 Written Out of Power Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….…….…115 Bibliography………………………………...…………………………………………………119 1 Introduction “The best political weapon is the weapon of terror. Cruelty commands respect. Men may hate us. But, we don’t ask for their love; only their fear.”- Heinrich Himmler When considering the senior members of the Third Reich hierarchy, and more specifically, Heinrich Himmler, it becomes apparent that scholarship on the Reichsführer-SS contains gaps concerning his psychological profile. Due to this missing information, there has previously been a lack of cohesion between work concerning Himmler’s personality and his relationships with his rivals. The assessment in the pages that follow discuss the important impact of three rivalries on the political career of Heinrich Himmler. These relate to fellow Reich leaders Hermann Göring (Hitler’s designated successor from 1934 until 1942), Reinhard Heydrich (Himmler’s immediate subordinate), and Martin Bormann (Secretary of the Reich Chancellery). Exploring Himmler’s relationships with each of his rivals substantiates the contention that he would not have ascended to power without a substantial measure of infighting with these three men. This work will provide a new approach to the study of Himmler’s personality. His character will become apparent through an analysis of his personal life, and the interactions with his contemporaries. Limited work was published specifically on Himmler until the 1990s. Though he was included in books examining the Third Reich as a whole, such as William Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, published in 1959, and a specific study of Third Reich personalities in 1970 2 by Jochim C. Fest, The Face of the Third Reich: Portraits of the Nazi Leaders.1 Monographs relating specifically to Himmler’s biography have been sporadic. There have been entire decades devoid of scholarship explicitly devoted to Himmler. In 1953, the first major biography of Heinrich Himmler was written by journalist Willi Frischauer. Frischauer allowed his bias against Himmler to affect his writing, resulting in a skewed view of his subject. Both of Frischauer’s parents perished in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, explaining Frishauer’s disdainful portrayal. His journalistic integrity suffers in the writing of his work. Interestingly, Frischauer’s book on Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring published two years prior in 1951, is a well written and researched piece, also standing as one of the first published biographies on Göring.2 Following Frischauer’s work, the most prominent biographies on Himmler were published by Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel in 1965, and Bradley Smith in 1971.3 While Manvell and Fraenkel utilized secondary sources as well as primary sources comprised of memoirs and diaries, Smith’s work was primarily based on Himmler’s unpublished diaries. The confusion surrounding scholarly writing about the Nazi State has been impacted by author bias, the complex nature of the topic, the availability of primary sources, and, often, absence of conceptual connections within the available information. Many of the authors previously mentioned were challenged by at least one of these complications. Smith presented his audience with a worthwhile biography of the first twenty-six years of Himmler’s life. He 1 See William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1959) ; Joachim Fest, The Face of the Third Reich: Portraits of the Nazi Leadership (New York: Pantheon Books, 1970). 2 See Willi Frischauer, The Rise and Fall of Hermann Goering (Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1951). 3 See Roger Manvell, and Heinrich Fraenkel, Heinrich Himmler: The Sinister Life of the Head of the S.S. and Gestapo (New York:Fall River Press, 1965) ; Bradley Smith, Heinrich Himmler: A Nazi in the Making (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1971). 3 utilized Himmler’s diaries as a primary source, and then explains the historiographical importance of the information discussed. His work is concise and well written. Though Manvell