

 

Losing Weight

When he turned forty-six on January , , the gift that
would please him the most was a scale model of the sprawling
Hermann Göring Works. He was not interested in war  he
wanted to exploit the economic potential of southeastern
Europe. Politically he was increasingly at odds with Hitler. As he
heard the Führer unveil his plans for world domination in a se-
ries of secret speeches that January and February , he would
feel the gulf between them growing wider. In the coming year
Göring would repeatedly appear on the side of the moderates.
But he was cautious even then, not wanting to forfeit his hard-
earned status as Hitler’s principal lieutenant.
Little was left of their earlier intimacy. Leaving Germany
for San Francisco in February , Hitler’s adjutant Fritz
Wiedemann would reflect that in recent months he had seen
Goebbels, Hess, Bormann, and other Nazi notables among the
late-night guests at Hitler’s table, “but rarely Göring.”