The son of a distinguished
army officer, Hermann Göring was commissioned
in the Prussian army on 22 June 1912. In 1914,
he served with an infantry regiment in the Vosges
region before he was hospitalized with rheumatoid
arthritis. While recovering, his friend Bruno
Loerzer convinced him to transfer to the German
Air Force. Later that year, Göring completed
his training with FEA 3 and joined FFA 25 in
1915, often flying as Loerzer's observer. After
training to become a pilot, he scored his first
victory on 16 November 1915. Serving with various
units over the next three years, he accumulated
seventeen more victories. Following the death
of Wilhelm Reinhard, Göring assumed command
of Manfred von Richthofen's JG 1 on 8 July 1918.
When Göring joined the Nazi Party in
1922, Hitler gave him command of the SA Brownshirts.
Badly wounded in the Munich beer hall putsch
of 1923, Göring fled the country for
four years. Upon his return, he aided Hitler's
rise
to power and later become President of the
Reichstag, Prime Minister of Prussia and
Commander-in-Chief
of the Luftwaffe. As founder of the Gestapo,
Göring was instrumental in creating
the first concentration camps for political
dissidents.
Hitler's designated successor was captured
by the American Seventh Army at the end of
the war.
In 1946, Göring was tried for conspiracy
to wage war, crimes against peace, war crimes
and crimes against humanity. He was found
guilty of all charges and sentenced to death
by hanging.
Two hours before his scheduled execution,
Göring
committed suicide by taking a poison capsule.
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