perate and developed a
lifelong addiction to mor-
phine and other pain-
killing drugs.
In 1927, a general
amnesty was extended to
putsch participants, and
Göring resumed his Nazi
Party functions by Hit-
ler’s side. The following
year he gained election to
the Reichstag (lower as-
sembly) and worked en-
ergetically to advance the
party agenda. Four years
later, as the Nazis slowly
became the dominant
party, Göring functioned
as president of the Reich-
stag. In 1933, Hitler was
appointed chancellor by
the elderly President
Paul von Hindenburg,
and Göring’s influence
and responsibilities in-
creased commensurately. Among his many
appointments were that of Reichsminister,
minister of the interior, and Prussian prime
minister. More ominously, he had a direct role
in the creation of the dreaded Gestapo, the
German secret police, and also helped create
the first concentration camps for political
prisoners. These gruesome responsibilities
were subsequently handed off to a willing
Heinrich Himmler in 1935, after Hitler ap-
pointed Göring head of the newly created
German air force—the Luftwaffe.
By the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Ver-
sailles, Germany was expressly forbidden
from possessing military aircraft. Undeterred
by such legalities, but not yet wishing to ex-
cite foreign attention, Hitler directed that Ger-
man military aircraft be covertly developed in
the Soviet Union. It thus became Göring’s re-
sponsibility to establish and organize new
state industries capable of developing and
supporting a modern air force. By 1935, Hitler
chose to ignore the Versailles constraints alto-
gether, the Luftwaffe was
formerly announced, and
once again Göring effec-
tively discharged his du-
ties. By 1939, his charge
was the most modern and
best-equipped air force in
the world. Furthermore,
its tactical doctrine was
closely integrated with
support for armored, or
panzer, forces. Thus was
born the concept of blitz-
krieg warfare—a light-
ning tank advance cov-
ered by swarms of air
cover. However, both
Göring and the German
general staff blundered
by failing to develop
heavy bombers for strate-
gic bombardment. Be-
cause future European
wars were anticipated to
be short, most German
aerial thinkers—Göring included—did not
view such expensive, ornate weapons as ab-
solutely necessary. As events unfolded, the
Third Reich paid heavily for this neglect.
However, Hitler remained pleased by Göring’s
performance, and in 1939 he designated
Göring to be the Führer’s heir apparent.
In September 1939, Hitler’s aggressive for-
eign policy culminated in an attack on Poland,
which precipitated the onset of World War II.
As envisioned, Göring’s Luftwaffe spear-
headed the aerial onslaught, clearing the skies
of Polish resistance and then assisting land
forces. Poland was crushed within weeks, as
was France in June 1940. Consequently,
Göring was elevated to reichsmarschall,Ger-
many’s highest rank. However, the Luftwaffe’s
very success on the continent now brought it
head-to-head with a brand new adversary—
the Royal Air Force. At Dunkirk, the British
air arm defeated Göring’s declared intention
to bomb fleeing Allied units into submission,
and they escaped intact. The ensuing Battle ofGÖRING, HERMANN
Hermann Göring
Library of Congress