Göring's Secret - The Story of Adolf Hitler's Marshal | Free Documentary History

these reels of film were missing for decades nobody guessed that hitler's second in command had a secret passion films from his private connection show him in his favorite role [Music] at the height of his power amidst the cheering masses hermann goering's reception in austria in may 38 for a long time he was hitler's closest confident [Music] as commander-in-chief of the luftwaffe going created a powerful weapon [Music] hitler and guring their careers were closely entwined how far do they follow a common path what do these films reveal about the most flamboyant character in national socialism [Music] [Music] schwarffrider north of berlin identically located between lakes and forest goring's castle-like residents once stood here karen hell [Music] the residence of a man who said about himself i am indeed a renaissance man i love splenda [Music] he wants to be the jovial face of dictatorship but herman goering marshall of the third reich was involved in everything for which the regime was responsible elimination of political opponents million-fold crimes a murderous world war [Music] karen hall named after his first wife is the symbol of a brilliant career the once modest hunter's lodge becomes a grandest state which the proud lord of the manor filmed with his own camera during the war as the defeats increased and german cities fell beneath a hail of bombs it was to hear that he more and more frequently withdrew to a private world far from reality he watches films like this in his home cinema the population suffering under the bombings the luftwaffe's immense losses the millions of victims all his unfulfilled promises such images distract at least we lived well for 12 years he will say later in 1945 following hitler's death goering a prisoner of war is the highest ranking living nazi he's taken to a camp for german war criminals while to be tried in front of an allied court [Music] he will never acknowledge his responsibility not even at the nuremberg trials you must plead guilty or not guilty i plead not guilty in the end he takes the law into his own hands with poison [Music] it was the unexpected last move in an astonishing career [Music] herman wilhelm goering the son of a former colonial civil servant grows up in an old night's castle in south german franconia it belongs to his jewish godfather with whom his mother has an affair [Music] goring is considered a difficult child and his mother prophesies that he will become either an influential man or a big time criminal [Music] if you want to understand my brother said his sister paula you must go to feldenstein castle where he spent his romantic youth reading the sagas and playing nights day in and day out even as a child going enthused about all things military if there is a war he said i will sure to be a credit to the name of goring [Music] during world war one he had his first battle experience as a young soldier in alsace he's injured and makes new plans in a military hospital second lieutenant goering is aiming high he wants to be a military pilot and a war hero he can report the shooting down of 22 planes from the kaiser himself he receives the highest prussian award poorly married [Music] as the last commander of a legendary richtofen fighter squadron he becomes known throughout the country but defeat puts an end to his breathtaking career his world falls apart [Music] after the war germany is no longer permitted an air force but guring wants to continue flying and goes to sweden to become an air taxi pilot one day the explorer count eric von rosen brings guring to his castle in rocklestad this visit changes his life he meets karen to be his first wife she leaves her husband and children and marries guring the world war one fighter pilot a scandal for society at the time after karen's death in 1931 goering cultivates her memory he names his yachts after her there are paintings of her and even a room to her memory [Music] going as a penchant for nordic mythology [Music] he named his retreat in shore fighter karen howe it sounds like valhalla the after world for slain warriors who fought courageously in battle later goring will have his wife's remains removed from sweden to carry hell [Music] shortly after their wedding in 1922 they moved to munich where the national socialist german workers party is just making a name for itself face to face with hitler for the first time guring mercy himself says is completely captivated hitler makes guring commander of the party's own military troops the sa saying a war hero with a pulimerite excellent propaganda [Music] in a push in munich in november 1923 hitler attempts to seize power but the bavarian police opened fire on hitler's followers in front of the felt heron hall goring is seriously wounded doctors give him morphine to relieve the pain thus begins a lifelong drug addiction [Music] in 1924 hermann and karen guring traveled to venice at the behest of hitler who's in prison going is to ask mussolini italy's fascist leader for money goring is on a wanted list he needs several injections of morphine daily he's a man with no perspectives for a whole year the gorings try to arrange a meeting with mussolini but he has no interest in meeting the messenger of a leader whose party is rock bottom in germany guring's mission is a failure he returns to sweden to karen's family a political failure marked by drug addiction he's reached his lowest point the doctor in a psychiatric hospital describes him as suicidal depressive egocentric a hater of jews [Music] released from prison in germany hitler sets about attaining power by other means goring is determined to get involved he's back in germany in 1927 seemingly restored to health determined to bring about the downfall of the weimar republic at hitler's side the political atmosphere is charged the world economic crisis gives rise to fears about the future and mass unemployment hitler's followers and communists battle on the streets hitler appoints gerring his plenipotentery in berlin because the highly decorated war hero has excellent contacts to the aristocracy under the world of high finance in 1932 the nazis become the most powerful party in the reichstag and gerring president that hitler is able to seize power is also due to his helper guri as minister for the interior in prussia goring immediately begins to clamp down on political opponents shortly afterwards the reichstag is burning the causes of the fire are disputed that the consequences are decisive fundamental rights are suspended persecution becomes legal jewish businesses are boycotted the sa hunts down communist and social democrats and the construction of wild concentration camps begins from the 11th of april 1933 goering is minister president of prussia georgetown elected to this high office by a majority of the representatives of the german people and as the candidate of the strongest party i am determined to run this office for the utmost benefit of the german people above all i am determined to restore this parliament to its former state of dignity as conceived by our former great statesman bismarck the secret police and he takes on a key role in the establishment of a dictatorship he will not tolerate any competition the sa begins to make demands for power together with ss commander himmler going plans an intrigue against the leadership of the party troops these pictures were taken on may the 23rd 1934 at goldsheimer hyder near dusseldorf goering commemorates albert leo schlager a member of german paramilitary resistance troops shot by the french 1923 just a month later on the night of the long knives 200 people are murdered including all the prominent members of the sa and their leader and strong guring retreats to his house at obersalzberg in close proximity to hitler [Music] the dictator admires the ruthlessness of goering's actions and appoints him his successor should he himself die hello caesar you coming to visit me have you had a meal you full up come on jump spring i have no conscience says guring adolf hitler is my conscience following rome's murder his reputation abroad becomes as bad as ever caricatures portray him in a bloody butcher's apron wielding an axe [Music] but goring wants to be seen differently he wants to engage in foreign policy and knows that such an image will make things difficult he wants to be popular adored by the masses like here in austria in may 1938 [Music] he leaves the gestapo and the police in the hands of himmler heydrich and the ss [Music] goring second in command after hitler wants to enjoy power and take on a representative role for this purpose hitler places a special fund at his disposal and at state expense makes him a present of a house what was initially a swedish style modest log hut becomes karin hal a splendid residence at shaw finder these pictures are also from among goring's private positions diplomats and state visitors are entertained here [Music] his drug addiction still affects him badly his fondness for dressing up and self-aggrandizement seems really grotesque but inwardly goring remains true to himself it is forbidden for german nationals or other blood-related persons to marry jews anti-semitism becomes the word of lord the nuremberg race laws are announced by guring in passing at the party rally in 1935. of all the high offices which going stockpiles one is of particular importance to the former fighter pilot bryce air minister with a brief to build up a new air force in 1935 at the party rally going presents the weaponry which has been manufactured secretly over the past years the treaty of versailles is broken openly in front of the eyes of the world at the end of the year goring has 1800 planes at his command [Music] the new air force is to play a decisive role in hitler's strategy [Music] in 1936 it comes to a baptism of fire in the spanish civil war goring presenting medals to soldiers of the legion condor one soldier films the proceedings the bombing of the spanish town of ghanica demonstrates to a shocked world what the air force is capable of it's scurrying who paves the way for that the new air ministry the center of berlin the man who wields power here also plays a pivotal role in the economy in 1936 goering becomes commissioner of the four-year plan and with that dictator of the economy and armaments it's hitler's will for the economy to be ready for war in four years time so far this is his most important task this new office shows how very much hitler trusts his second in command because war was given highest priority imports raw materials currency goring has control of almost everything and already has his eye on the next goal hitler demands the annexation of austria and goring seizes the opportunity uses threats to put pressure on the austrian government until chancellor shushnik steps down making the way free for hitler on the 4th of april 1938 canton's chief forester aurelius meyer films hitler's arrival in klagenfurt private film footage shows hitler's return staged as a triumphant procession throughout the land the annexation of austria is the height of the alliance between hitler and goring if the dictator expresses doubts going sweeps them aside and acts they complement each other in times of crisis says hitler going shows cold blood on the 15th of may 1938 guring travels to the scenes of his youth as an old school nationalist seizing austria was the fulfillment of his dreams of a greater germany here too though unobserved by the cameras jews and political opponents are humiliated on the streets and arrested goring travels to mountain dorf in the area of salzburg to one of the castles he knew as a child and there celebrates meeting his sisters olga and paula again both are married to austrian lawyers [Music] goring sense great business opportunities in the annexation of austria hermann gerving's rice vega one of the largest industrial complexes in europe is striving to expand southeast and now austria the gateway to the balkans is under german control goring is pleased while he is indulging in memories of childhood hitler is preparing the next step towards war he is planning to crush czechoslovakia and going is to organize the economic mobilization but he wants to prevent a great war because he doubts it would be successful [Music] guring knows the necessary economic and military conditions are lacking but he does not dare to say this openly on the contrary in front of representatives of the aviation industry he seems confident that there will be a huge mess up and that we will have to go into a great war which i would not shy away from germany would then be the number one power in the world and would have control of the world markets and be a wealthy country but we would have to take a risk says guri [Music] he avoids open conflict does as hitler wants and behind the scenes practices peace diplomacy in karen howell he receives diplomats from hungary poland and great britain first and foremost goring wants to improve relations with london [Music] he sees germany as a great imperial power but he does not want a world war in september 38 at the munich conference goring presents the text of a treaty designed to maintain the fragile peace for the moment for this hitler will criticize him severely october 38 german troops marched into the sudetenland as stipulated in the munich agreement but hitler wants more than what he calls flower wars november 38 the christening of goering's daughter edda in karin hell at his side his new wife emmy solomon the relationship between hitler and guring is disturbed for the first time the dictator talks of him as a coward mark 39 while hitler is marching into czechoslovakia goring is holidaying in italy all of a sudden he's lost influence hitler has now other advisers joachim from rip and trope for foreign affairs goving senses that war is inevitable though he does not dare to contradict openly each time i stand in front of the fuhrer he says my heart sinks to my boots these pictures from goering's private archive were taken at an air show on the island of uzidom and udet responsible for strengthening the air forces out of his depth he used to commit suicide in november 41. new types of planes are presented guring assures hitler that the luftwaffe is ready for war in control of the economy and armaments no one can judge better than goring whether the reich is really capable of waging a great war but he suppresses reality and allows himself to be impressed by four thousand of the most up-to-date planes and numerous vaped-up fighter squadrons by summer of 1939 there are 400 000 on duty for the luftwaffe the four airborne fleets seem to be perfectly equipped for an extensive wall the blunt sword has been sharpened over the past four years even though in comparison to the air forces of other countries there is a lack of bombs and fuel commander-in-chief going still tries to prevent the threatening war 6th of june 1939 in berlin the capital has been decorated for the reception of the legion condor it is the eve of world war ii we should stop playing poker going almost pleads to hitler the answer was i have always played poker in spain 5 000 german soldiers helped franco to victory in his attempt for power a trial run without too many losses now something of a far more terrible dimension is threatening guring holds secret talks with england he wants to preserve peace and to continue living a life of luxury and splendor just like a man of the renaissance [Music] he has a lot to lose the attack against poland begins on the 1st of september 1939 guring's luftwaffe gains control of the skies almost effortlessly the poles don't stand a chance dive bombers with ear spitting sirens clear the path for the attack of ground forces [Music] guring is devoted to hitler as he owes him everything private films show him at the opening of the winter relief in october 39. his half-hearted attempts to influence hitler come to nothing goring remains obedient it is he who orders the dispossession of all polish jews the german occupiers set up ghettos like this one here in litzmanstadt today is watch where jews live in appalling conditions soon the ghettos are mere intermediary stops before deportation to the extermination camps goring is also involved in this war in november 38 when the synagogues are burning it is going to decide that the jewish population in germany while to pay one billion rice marks as atonement as he says jews are to be dispossessed and forced into exile goering however takes great care to ensure that his name is not associated with the crimes in the french campaign the luftwaffe shows distinct signs of weakness the british expeditionary force has withdrawn to dunkirk on the channel coast guring promises that his planes will destroy the allied troops but things turn out differently 338 000 british french and belgian soldiers managed to flee had goring been able to keep his word there would have been little chance of england preventing a german invasion two weeks previously rotterdam had been severely hit by the luftwaffe while negotiations for holland's surrender were taking place goring's planes raised the defenseless city to the ground the news of the negotiations had reached the german command too late the campaign on the western front had ended unexpectedly quickly hitler awards the victorious supreme commanders the marshals baton alone does a little better a title is created especially for him marshall of the reich he is the highest ranking officer in the german army and has a residence karen howell that is becoming more and more splendid a mansion full of art treasures from all over the world gerbing collects old masters tapestries sculptures and there's no holding him back when he is dead set on an object to him france's defeat means rich opportunities for plunder [Music] paris is full of art and the man who is second in command in the state comes to take whatsoever he desires the louvre sacred to every lover of art for gerbing nothing more than a self-service department store for art on his shopping list great names such as rubens velazquez kranna the younger granathioga [Music] that many of the paintings have been in jewish procession only shortly before as of no consequence the collector does not negotiate in most cases he alone determines the price then he has his shopping loaded onto a special train to be brought to karen hall there is something addictive in the way he collects for his hermann goring museum erecting a memorial to himself [Music] experts search everywhere in the occupied countries for art treasures for goring's collection any owner refusing to cooperate puts his life at risk [Music] following the campaign on the western front the luftwaffe has bases in the netherlands belgium and the north of france the british isles are within reach hitler wants to invade england and guering's luftwaffe is to achieve air supremacy and bomb the island into submission [Music] going believes that his planes can destroy the royal air force in just five weeks a visit to an air base in france in the summer of 1940 with gerring's old world war one comrade bruno lutzer an air force general left of goring they've known each other since september 1914 lurcher's vivid reports of air warfare attracted goring to the luftwaffe at the time now in 1940 goering says lerzer is his laziest general [Music] nevertheless he leaves him be because as goring says i need someone to drink a bottle of red wine within the evening [Music] the battle of britain will be his first serious defeat the royal air force is equal to the luftwaffe british spitfires inflict serious losses at the end of september 1940 plans to invade are set aside indefinitely [Music] the commander-in-chief of the luftwaffe withdraws from public view from october 1940 until january 1941 goering is on holiday on the legs at caron hell even at the height of the battle for the air he doesn't forgo going to east prussia to hunt because in the meantime he's become imperial master of the hunt rice jagermeister the mistakes and the building up and planning of the luftwaffe are glaringly obvious but goring blames others he is in the middle of a war which he did not want but which he is however waging with all the consequences [Music] the 22nd of june 1941 with the attack on the soviet union the war of humiliation demanded by hitler begins goring is well informed about the shootings of civilians behind the front line what is more in the spring of 41 he gave reinhard heydrich chief of the ss security service orders to draw up a set of guidelines for troops on who to put in front of the firing squad above all political officers and jews millions of soviet prisoners lose their lives in this war in the capital berlin goring as hitler's second in command has almost unlimited power in july 41 victory over the soviet union seems to be within reach reinhard heydrich whose special troops on the eastern front shoot thousands every day as guring give him sweeping powers [Music] going orders heydrich to prepare the way for the final solution of the jewish question in german areas of influence in europe everywhere in germany the deportations begin these private film recordings show the last 293 jews from dresden being loaded onto a train at the beginning of march 1942. the destination is the ramp at the extermination camp in auschwitz-birkenau only 10 are believed to have survived goring's signature is a further step towards organized murder but officially he doesn't want to have anything to do with the crimes at all the luftwaffe is not prepared for this war its defense system was chaotic even engineers like villi messerschmitt cannot solve the central problem there are not enough planes and too little powerful engines [Music] besides soldiers these gliders also transport light military equipment and they played an important role in the battle for crete [Music] other new technological developments come too late or are of no use anst udet is responsible for the defense disaster he breaks down under the weight of responsibility and takes his own life preliminary decisions are made on the eastern front the attack on moscow fails [Applause] a whole army falls in stalingrad [Music] goring had promised a daily delivery of 500 tons of supplies by air only a fraction of that reached the encircled troops [Music] his standing with hitler sinks to its lowest point [Music] night after night british bombers carry out devastating attacks on german cities he'd eat his hat if an enemy plane ever reached the right says goring his luftwaffe is powerless the anti-aircraft units can only obstruct the stream of bombers not stop them guring is also responsible for air raid defense the reich air defenses association with its millions of members comes under his command private film recordings from march 1943 air raid defence police units carrying out an emergency drill in central berlin the greatest worry is about gas attacks youths and adults wear the so-called people's gas mask people think they are well equipped for the coming attacks nobody has any idea of the devastating power of high explosives and fighter bombs like in hamburg july 43 a fire storm in the streets destroying large parts of the hanseatic city temperatures reach up to 1000 degrees over 40 000 people die how will goring react to such a catastrophe he seems unperturbed lethargic he doesn't make any decisions at the most he distributes medals [Music] his luftwaffe cannot stop the allied attacks technical developments such as airborne radar the so-called liechtenstein sets bring short-term benefits to aerial warfare but the british find means to ward off the attacks blinding the radar with strips of aluminium foil this was a crucial factor in the attack on hamburg [Music] attacks are also directed at the civilian population designed to demoralize them [Music] germany under bomb attack uncensored pictures never shown in newsreels of the time [Music] air supremacy on the eastern front has been long lost while goring is holding court in caring hell and showing off his latest art acquisitions [Music] the commander-in-chief does not want to see such pictures he is alienated from his troops [Music] hunting interests him more than anything [Music] and with his camera he records what seems to him more important than the high losses of his pilots or the falling cities stacks on its private hunting grounds [Music] since spring of 1944 the u.s air force has control of the air over germany goring's fighter planes can do little against this superior strength there is a lack of everything engines petrol pilots above all a lack of clear decisions coming from above the bombing reaches its destructive climax as yet hitler's berk hoff escapes the attacks the warlord is outraged by the defeat of the luftwaffe and the empty promises of his designated successor in may 44 american forces bombed the fuel industry [Music] the backbone of german war industry is broken [Music] transport routes are systematically destroyed when the allies land in normandy on the 6th of june 44 the german luftwaffe plays no role [Music] it has been defeated the extent of the losses is catastrophic in november 44 alone 404 fighter planes are lost and 244 pilots killed [Music] some sort of miracle weapon might turn the tide the greatest and only hope of regaining air supremacy lies in the jet fighter me262 1400 of these jets are delivered to the air force but more than 200 never leave the ground but even the greater number of jets would have been powerless against the superior strength of the fleet of bombers adolf galland luftwaffe general is known for calling a spade a spade again and again he calls attention to the hopeless material inferiority of their weapons but guring does not suffer any criticism falls out of favor he will be made the scapegoat responsible for the collapse of the luftwaffe at the end of january 45 he is replaced as luftwaffe general the battle for air supremacy over germany is over german pilots ever younger and badly trained are sent on suicide missions at the end of the war goring withdraws to beshte's garden in berlin the red army is fighting its way towards hitler's bunker in the city center in a radio message going announces that he will take over the government if hitler does not make contact the second in command thinks that his time as successor has come in berlin however hitler senses betrayal and orders the ss to arrest goring in his house he is divested of all his offices the us army is approaching over salzburg the ss brings guring to mountain dorf in austria to one of the castles of his childhood after hitler's suicide he plans to negotiate with us general eisenhower he still believes that he cannot be bypassed on the 7th of may 1945 hermann goering voluntarily becomes an american prisoner mistakenly believing that the victors will negotiate with him as a german emissary the surprise gis seize the weapons medals and the emerald ring of the former marshal of the right his wife emmy and edda his daughter are taken prisoner by american soldiers despite arrest gerving's self-confidence is unbroken he holds a press conference will he admit his guilt he had had no idea about what was happening in the concentration camps says goring it's all himmler's doing he as marshall of the right would never have permitted such a true cities not a trace of remorse [Music] anybody of any standing in guring's luftwaffe is now prisoner of war adolf galland talking shop with american pilots field marshall kessel ring till recently commander-in-chief on the western front hunts already rudel no german pilot flew as many sorties as he did 2 350. herman goering seems to be indeed surprised to find himself on the list of war criminals [Music] an american journalist reporting from goering's press conference the big man felt rather uncomfortable he was sweating as he asked the translator to point out that because of some row he the martial or the right had not been on speaking terms with a fuhrer for a long time completely incommunicado he emphasized waving his finger please emphasize this it's important he said [Music] guring the highest ranking living nazi is brought to nuremberg in the city where once the party rallies were held and now laid waste by carpet bombing the most important war criminals are to stand trial before an allied court [Music] nuremberg had been singled out for air attacks and was a wasteland of ruins but the one building that has escaped is the court the scene of the nuremberg trials of the major war criminals the prisoners are held in these cells the man whom the allies call nazi number one is also watched day and night [Music] guring who until recently swallowed dozens of pills is off drugs and on a diet on the 25th of november 45 goring enters the courtroom for the first time in history politicians and military personnel are held accountable for their crimes before a court the wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated so malignant and so devastating that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive they're being repeated guring expects the death penalty he is completely without remorse the once most powerful man next to hitler claims to have known nothing about the million-fold crimes i have never expressed agreement with the idea that one race can be said to be the master race over all the others on the contrary i have always stressed the differences in the races during the cross-examination the american chief prosecutor robert jackson tries to corner the accused but with guri it always leads to a dead end that is right isn't it i have already answered that quite clearly but these explanations belong to what has already been said uh your council will see to that self-confident and verbose guring plays to the gallery one last time and accuses the allies of having done the same things as the nazis his goal is to leave a positive image of himself for posterity [Music] but the weight of evidence is enormous the soviet prosecutors show a film that destroys any illusions [Music] auschwitz the most appalling crime against humanity ever amongst others it is going who's responsible he is found guilty of all indictments and sentenced to death right to the bitter end he shows no sign of remorse but all of these things were necessary things as i understood you to protect jazz yes yes these things were necessary because of what we were up against [Music] the judgment did not affect him in any way goering told the american court psychologist the execution is to be held on the 16th of october 1946 he plans his last coop and writes a letter to the prisoner commander he had three capsules of poison in his possession when he was brought to prison i put the first one in my clothes so that it would be found when i was searched [Music] i hid the second one so well in my cell that it could not be found in spite of the frequent and thorough searches i had it with me at the court sessions in my boots [Music] the third capsule was in my small toilet bag and a round pot of skin cream it was downright impossible to find this hidden capsule of poison was going's final secret another secret is uncovered in bethesda's garden shortly after the end of the war [Music] american troops reach the ruins of hitler's berk hoffman goering's country house in the immediate vicinity [Music] guring's mountain guide befriends a gi and gives him rolls of film from goring's private property as a souvenir for decades they gathered dust in a cellar in the u.s until they were found again and carefully restored [Music] guring's private films show key scenes in the life of the most powerful man after hitler in the ns dictatorship [Music] hitler's closest confident [Music] the jovial face of the regime [Music] a man with many faces [Music] karen howell his castle-like residence near berlin has blown up during the last days of the war prior to that the art treasures were brought to safety and then later confiscated by the us army rubble clearanced troops in an attempt at erasing history but traces always remain [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary - History

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full Documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), History, History Documentaries, Free Documentary History, History Documentary, Hermann Göring, Hermann Göring Documentary, Adolf Hitler, Third Reich, Third Reich Documentary, World War II, History of Germany, Second World War, Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, Jagdgeschwader I, Luftwaffe, Luftwaffe Documentary

Id: IRGOd7UP_sU

Length: 54min 33sec (3273 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 03 2022