(5/5) Timewatch Himmler, Hitler and the End of the Reich

World War II Second World War Videos
By the spring of 1945, Himmler had lost faith in German victory. He came to the realization that if the Nazi regime was to have any chance of survival, it would need to seek peace with Britain and the United States. Toward this end, he contacted Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden at Lübeck, near the Danish border, and began negotiations.
When Hitler discovered this, Himmler was declared a traitor and stripped of all his titles and ranks the day before Hitler committed suicide. Hitler's successor as Chancellor of Germany was Joseph Goebbels. At the time of Himmler's denunciation, he held the positions of Commanding General of the SS, Chief of the German Police, Realm Commissioner of German Nationhood, Realm Minister of the Interior, Supreme Commander of the People's Storm (Volkssturm), and Supreme Commander of the Home Army.
Unfortunately for Himmler, his negotiations with Count Bernadotte failed. Since he could not return to Berlin, he joined Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, who by then was commanding all the German forces within the northern part of the western front, in nearby Plön. Dönitz immediately sent Himmler away, explaining that there was no place for him in the German government.
Himmler next turned to the Americans as a defector, contacting the headquarters of General Dwight Eisenhower and proclaiming he would surrender all of Germany to the Allies if he was spared from prosecution as a Nazi leader. Eisenhower refused to have anything to do with Himmler, who was subsequently declared a major war criminal.
Unwanted by his former colleagues and hunted by the Allies, Himmler wandered for several days near the Danish border, around Flensburg, the capital of the Dönitz government. Attempting to evade arrest, he disguised himself as a sergeant-major of the Secret Military Police, using the name Heinrich Hitzinger, shaving his mustache and donning an eye patch over his left eye, in the hope that he could return to Bavaria. He had equipped himself with a full set of false documents, but someone whose papers were wholly "in order" was so unusual that it aroused the suspicions of a British Army unit in Bremen. He was arrested on May 22, and, in captivity, was soon recognized.
Himmler was scheduled to stand trial with other German leaders as a major war criminal at Nuremberg, but committed suicide in Lüneburg by swallowing a potassium cyanide capsule before interrogation could begin. His last words were "Ich bin Heinrich Himmler!" ("I am Heinrich Himmler!"). Shortly afterward, Himmler's body was secretly buried in an unmarked grave on the Lüneburg Heath. The precise location of Himmler's grave remains unknown.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• World
• War
• II
• Heinrich
• Himmler
• Adolf
• Hitler
• German
• SS
• Joseph
• Goebbels
• Grand
• Admiral
• Karl
• Dönitz

[MrLooserKid]

Mr great Grandfather was guarding himmler when he killed himself. Probably was the guard in the film next to his corpse too. Stole his glasses off his body and soon after ordered to put them back lol.

[2bn442RCT]

@MrLooserKid Yes send me an e-mail with any detail or information on the internet.

[kayjay1988]

Excellent series...lots of new perspectives and new film...great to have in a collection...thanks for the upload.

[2bn442RCT]

Or perhaps post birth abortion.

[Plevna47]

Informative movie. Thank you for posting this.

[b42baritone]

To this day, Himmler daughter, still love what her father has done to Germany.

[leahcimnoswad]

What a waste of humanity. An utter disgrace.

[dasboogiewoogie1]

If you're fascinated by Himmler at the end of the war, you should check out Brendan McNally's dark comic novel about the "Flensburg Reich" GERMANIA.

[cjms08]

great upload i caught the last 10 minutes on tv and it was not going to play again for another month so thanks

[ChristianConservativ]

Who cares if Himmler betrayed Hitler! They should have both been aborted at birth.