Chapter 200 epilogue (2)

(2) Until the very end, Heinrich Himmler hoped to make some kind of arrangement with the Allies, but was careful not to make a mistake.After Hitler's death, he fled to the north and asked the Führer's successor to appoint him as the second man in the new German regime.Dönitz said, "That's impossible. I have no work for you." In desperation, Himmler turned to Schwerin von Kloschick for advice. "Please tell me, what will become of me?" he asked the new foreign minister. "I have no interest in what will happen to you or anyone else," he replied angrily. "I'm interested in our mission, not our individual destiny."

Kroshik offered him two options: suicide, or anonymity. "However, if I were you, I would drive to Montgomery and say, 'Here I am, I am the SS chief Himmler, and I am ready to take responsibility for my men.'" That night, Himmler only briefly said to his relatives and friends that there was a new important task unfinished, and only a few people could go with him.He shaved off his beard, put a patch over one eye, and changed his name—nine people accompanied him, including Werner, his chief adjutant in the Waffen SS.Grottmann was inside—in hiding.When Grottmann discovered that his master had a vial of cyanamide and was prepared to use it if necessary, he accused Himmler of trying to escape responsibility by taking a shortcut—an avenue that, again, was closed to his followers.He said, as the Reich Commander, your responsibility Himmler is not only to take responsibility for the actions of the subordinate officers and soldiers, but also to declare clearly that the Waffen SS, the SS Guards, and the Guards of the concentration camps belong to completely different organizations of.Himmler hesitated. "After I've taken the poison," he said, "you young officers will tell the world what happened in Germany—what I did and what I didn't do." Two weeks later, Himmler was captured by the British.A doctor found something in his mouth during a routine examination. When he reached for it, Himmler bit the medicine bottle and died instantly.Suicides still occur, but in smaller numbers than estimated, especially among government personnel.Only one, Robert Rey, committed suicide while awaiting trial at Nuremberg.

At Nuremberg, the most recalcitrant prisoner was apparently Göring.When he came to the prison, he was carrying a large pack of baladosin pills, and he took as many as 40 pills a day.However, by the time he testified in court, he had completely quit the drug habit and had lost 40 percent of his body weight, to 153 pounds.In court, he defended his Führer almost single-handedly.Unlike many of the other defendants, he never shifted the blame to others or used Hitler as a shield.He is responsible for leading the prisoners, giving orders aggressively, and adopting a unified strategy for the defense.Back in his cell, he enthusiastically rubbed his hands, called himself the best team captain, and bragged that he'd set accusers and audiences on fire.If some of the defendants objected or weakened, Goering, who had regained his strength, threatened them and scolded them into silence. "It sickens me to see the Germans sell their souls to the enemy!" he said during one lunch, striking back at the table. "Fuck," he added, "I just hope you all have the courage to boil down our defense to five simple words: Lick my ass!" Of the 22 main defendants, only three (Shahit , Papen and Fritzcher) were acquitted, eight were sentenced to long prison terms; the rest were sentenced to death. At 10:45 p.m. on January 15, 1946, Goering tricked the hangman with a bottle of cyanamide.Two hours later, the executions began.

The first to climb the thirteen steps of the gallows was Ribbentrop. "God bless Germany," he said aloud. "My last wish is to maintain the unity of Germany, so that East and West can reach an understanding."Only after seeing so much indisputable evidence at Nuremberg did he believe that thousands of Jews had been murdered, because Hitler had repeatedly told him that the Jewish problem would be solved by deportation. "I never dreamed," he told American psychologist G. M. Gilbert, "it would end like this!" Keitel was next to be hanged.A few minutes earlier, when the pastor had prayed for him for the last time, he had wept.Now he mustered up his courage. "I call upon Almighty God to forgive the German people. For Germany - all! Thank you!" He turned to the priest - an American. "I thank you and those who sent you from the bottom of my heart." The executioner, Sergeant John Woods, had been looking forward to the execution.He put the noose around Keitel's neck and covered his head with a black cloth.In the final moments the Field Marshal chanted: "Germany above all else!" Keitel had privately told Gilbert during the trial that Hitler had betrayed him. "If he didn't deliberately deceive us with a big lie, then he deliberately kept us in the dark and let us fight under the false impression!"