World War II: Hermann Göring: Proceedings in the Case of Göring's Suicide
This collection contains 171 pages of documents related to the suicide of Hermann Göring.
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (1893 - 1946) during World War I was a German fighter pilot ace. He went on to become a politician, military leader, and convicted war criminal. Göring was injured during Adolf Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. After Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Göring formed the Gestapo. Followed by positions as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, President of the Reichstag, Reich Marshal, and initially Hitler's chosen successor.
After World War II he was tried at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Göring was found guilty on the four counts he was charged with, then sentenced to death by hanging.
On October 15, 1946, two hours before he was to be hanged, Göring committed suicide by poisoning himself by ingesting potassium cyanide.
These documents consist of selected records originally prepared by the Allied Control Authority (ACA) for Germany and subsequently held by the Berlin Document Center (BDC) and found at National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD in Record Group 242 - National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized.
This collection contains:
Report of Board of Proceedings in the Case of Hermann Göring (Suicide) October 1946 (English)
Report of the Commission of the Inquiry on the Suicide of Herman Göring (117/232 pages). This section contains two copies of the Report of the Commission of the Inquiry on the Suicide of Herman Göring. The report includes affidavits, photographs, and exhibits regarding the investigation of the suicide of Hermann Göring.
Letters Written by Herman Göring Before His Suicide
This section contains four letters written by Herman Göring before his suicide at the conclusion of his prosecution at the Nuremberg trials. Report by the Quadripartite Commission for the detention of Major War Criminals.
American Newspaper Coverage
32 full-sheet American Newspaper pages carrying articles covering the suicide of Herman Göring, dating from October 15, 1946, to April 2, 1951.
Hermann Goering Post-Mortem Photographs
Three photographs of Hermann Goering taken after he committed suicide in prison following the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg.
