Göring. A Biography

(Michael S) #1


fittings executed in gold and platinum.
Carinhall inventory, dated Feb. , , in OMGUS files, NA, RG., box .
Luftwaffe war conferences: Recorded in Milch’s  diary and notebook and
HG’s file on the Battle of Britain, now in the Library of Congress,
Ac., (DJ film ); and see the Hoover Library microfilm D.G,
“Reich Air Ministry: Briefings and Conferences with Reichsmarschall,”
July-Aug., .
Battle of Britain: From Sept.  through Feb. , the diaries and notebooks
of Field Marshal Milch are particularly useful (on DJ film ). On Sept. ,
, he wrote: “Then to see Göring with Luftflotte commanders Jeschon-
nek and Bodenschatz. . ‘When [can we bomb] London?’... . Göring
[will visit] Holland Friday, spend Saturday, Sunday at Ghent. Göring’s
going over there for about fourteen days to exert stronger influence on the
commanders.” And on Sept. : “Conference with Göring in his train near
Beauvais... Thinks the British are scraping together their last forces.
British [have] issued tough operations orders  [our planes were]
rammed twice.” After the same conference Milch noted: “Luftwaffe h a s
jurisdiction over everything connected with the Luftwaffe. Death sen-
tences to be executed by hanging in the village concerned; leave them
hanging twenty-four hours. Death sentence too for cases where our pris-
oners have been badly tortured.” For a lower-level chronicle on the Battle
of Britain, see the lecture given on Feb. , , by Capt. Otto Bechtle, op-
erations officer (Ia) of KG bomber wing (based in Holland), in NA,
RG., box m.
Fascinated by the Soviet Union: Based on the war diaries of the High Com-
mand (OKW), Naval Staff (SKL), and of Halder, Lech, and Bock, and
notes taken by George Thomas (ND, -PS).


Chapter : The Art Dealer
The Art Dealer: Göring’s “art dealing” activities were fully investigated for
years after the war by the British Monuments and Fine Arts Commission
(see the files in PRO class T, and IWM, FO., box ) and by its
American counterpart, the Commission for the Protection and Salvage of
Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas (records in NA, RG.).
The latter retained the files of “Orion,” the OSS Art Looting Investigation
Unit, especially its draft report (box ) and interrogs. (box ); see fur-
ther the report, “Works of Art Mentioned in Various Transactions on Be-
half of Göring during  and ” (box ), the files of the Einsatzstab
Reichsleiter Rosenberg, ERR (box ), of Hitler’s dealer Karl Haberstock
(box ), of Hermann Bunjes (box ), of Alois Miedl (box ), and of
Walter Hofer (box ). Some of this material is duplicated in the OM-
GUS Property Division records (NA, RG., Mrs. Ardelia Hall Collec-
tion), Interalia, box : HG’s financial records and inventories; box :
correspondence of HG and Miss Limberger, notes on purchases; box :
HG’s jewelry, dispatch lists, correspondence; boxes , , and :
chronological HG files, –; boxes, , , and : numerical HG
files. In general on HG’s art activities, see his remarks on May , 
(SAIC/X/), and interrogs. at Nuremberg, Oct. , , and , and Dec. ,

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