Göring the flamboyant Hermann Göring was a large loud flamboyant man he was genuinely
charismatic but also a figure of ridicule he is well Remembered in many movies and
TV series as such his uniforms weight and obsession with glamor made him as notorious
as his actual military and political functions Goring was commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe
managed the economy and was the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany behind Hitler
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A young Göring was Charming fit and a genuine war hero he earned Imperial Germany's highest
award the poor Le Merit or Blue Max for gallantry serving as a World War One fighter pilot while
flying with the Richtoven Squadron when Göring ring joined the Nazi party in 1922 he considered
himself socially Superior to most members but he fit in he was anti-semitic Nationalist and liked
authoritarianism as a war hero he provided credibility to the party and quickly became
a prominent figure when World War II started Göring focused as much energy on the war as he
did his own image and Status he accumulated vast wealth he collected art and antique stolen from
Jewish collections he liked flashy cars and weapons his opulent collections went as far
as World War One aircraft a full-size luxury train and castles he kept lion cubs borrowed
from the Berlin Zoo which would be swapped for new Cubs once they grew too large to manage
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thank you [Music] Göring liked to Showcase his wealth as much as he did his military importance
one of his favorite ways was wearing his three neck awards at once Goring would wear his Blue
Max Knight's cross and his Grand Cross together he received his Grand Cross for the victories of
the Luftwaffe in 1940 during the French campaign Göring was the only individual to receive this
award during World War II Göring liked to stand out and designed his own uniforms and was well
known to change uniforms multiple times a day on at least one hilarious occasion he was forced to
change due to one of his lion cubs soaking him in urine his typical uniform was a soft Pearl gray
departing from the blue-gray uniform scheme of the Luftwaffe Göring liked to stand out in a crowd
in July of 1940 Hitler promoted Göring to the rank of Reich Marshall
a specially created rank which made him senior to all other military ranks
Göring helped design new insignia for his new special rank shown here are his custom
shoulder boards and color tabs showing crossed martial batons surrounded by Laurel leaves
this was his special breast Eagle design which had extra long and more pointed Wings growing
further were many hats and visors this one features a laurel wreath embroidered
completely around the cap band also notice how the eagle is stitched directly to the visor cloth
Beyond his uniform Göring had his own unique command Flags equally lavish and
bombastic shown here is Göring's standard for his position of Reich Marshall in 1940 left and right
this was made yet more extravagant in 1941. it featured more command batons and gold Laurel
leaves Göring also had a command flag for his position as commander-in-chief of the
German air force which was last frequently used once he was promoted to Reich Marshall
this flag features his Luftwaffe of field Marshal batons and his Blue Max award
likely Göring's most recognizable Badge of office was his baton or batons he had
too baton signified the highest of military rank and prestige in the German military with
no other purpose than to display achievement the custom had several Origins the most common being
the trend of carrying ceremonial mazes in 16th century Europe these became symbols of status
or royalty one example are Maces frequently used in Parliament where the House of Commons
can only operate lawfully when the Royal mace is present at the table away with this bubble
in World War II Germany field Marshals were the only rank to carry batons 26 batons in total were
awarded to 25 individuals gurring was unique in that he was the only individual to receive two
one for his command of the luftwaffe and one for his Superior position of Reich Marshall
his Reich Marshall baton was one of the most extravagant batons created during World War II
with over 600 diamonds guring's Reich martial baton is displayed at the West Point Museum in
West Point New York and his luftwaffe baton at the National Infantry Museum in Georgia [Music]
gurring further stood out for his white uniforms but they were not always admired they earned him
some scorn from the German people who would watch him on newsreels in the theater they wondered how
he kept his uniform so pearly white when many of them rationed soap to wash their own clothes this
skepticism was warranted growing particularly in the second half of the war tended to neglect
his martial roles though he did remain an Outdoorsman he seemed willing to get dirty
in his uniforms for sport guring had a love for the outdoors he was Reich master of hunting and
forests but of course when he hunted he loved to dress up Hans ulrish rudel the top Stuka pilot
of the war recalled twice meeting during finding his costumes outlandish first a medieval hunting
costume practicing archery with his doctor and second dressed in a red toga fastened with a
golden clasp smoking an unusually large pipe likely the best quote on goring's fashion is
from Italian foreign minister galliazo Channel who once noted Goring wearing a fur coat that
looked like what a high-grade prostitute wears to the Opera guring's use of makeup for events
likely added to this mockery Goring was said to have taken to using makeup after meeting
his second wife Emma a well-known celebrity of the time guring's wedding to Emma was a
state-sponsored event for which Hitler was the best man he's followed by Germany's basement
Göring's popularity was short-lived during World War II respect for growing declined first when the
Luftwaffe lost the Battle of Britain then steeply once German cities began to be regularly bombed
furthermore the liftoff could not be relied on to resupply troops in the east in places
like Stalingrad the war became unglamorous and Göring lost interest he focused more and
more on himself continuing to accumulate and hide wealth amongst his many Properties by
War's end he possessed up to 200 million dollars worth of looted Art and treasure
champagne much of this art and treasure would never be seen again gurin kept much of what he
collected that is to say stole at his lavish country hunting estate Karen Hall Northeast of
Berlin here he hunted and hosted large parties where he displayed his wealth for all to see
to prevent Karen Hall from falling into the hands of the advancing Red Army Göring had the compound
blown up in April of 1945. though many of his treasures were moved to Birches Garden not all
of the work could be moved so late in the war art was left behind much of it was in fact buried in
bunkers on the estate these were of course discovered and looted or simply vandalized
either by citizens in the area or the advancing Soviet soldiers several pieces were recovered
however and some are on display in public museums such as this Roman sarcophagus decorated with
lions on display in Berlin guring had acquired it in 1942 from an art dealer in Rome [Music]
Hitler finally turned on guring in April of 1945 guring believing Hitler was unable
to govern over Germany from the besieged city of Berlin telegrammed him on the 23rd of April 1945
asking for permission to take over his leader of Germany this telegram was intercepted by guring's
rival Martin Foreman Who convinced Hitler Goring was a traitor subsequently the SS were ordered
to play scoring under arrest he was held at his Martin dwarf Castle until the 5th of May
when he was freed by passing luftwaffe a unit he made his way to the U.S lines to surrender
where he did so peacefully under Arrangement he carried with him many uniforms and possessions
including a significant stash of opioid pills his surrender created some controversy he was treated
for a time as a VIP or Statesman this surrender is exaggerated in the 2000 production Nuremberg
though it's still a well worth watching film covering guring's arrest and trial
I prefer to surrender to a fellow Airman
there was however real truth to Göring 's preferential treatment he is shown
here taking a stroll with an American servicemen after his capture he is even
shown here still wearing his Diamond Luftwaffe pilot Observer badge while in custody he gave
a full press interview where he was allowed to present himself as a diplomat of sorts to
reporters Göring believed he was going to get special treatment and that Eisenhower
want to use him in a command or governance role he carried with him at his surrender a
gold-plated Walter pistol which he hoped to surrender to a top Allied Commander
during special treatment didn't last long however he would be taken to Nuremberg for trial part of
his imprisonment meant going on a diet and kicking his drug addiction so he'd be fit to stand trial
guring's confidence in dominating presence rarely diminished during his trial gurring
was always sure to enter the courtroom first Goring relished his time on the stand he was
a skilled speaker who took every opportunity to frame himself as a peacemaker and Diplomat who
either tried to mitigate Nazi Germany's crimes or claim He was unaware of them his refusal to
accept any accountability at the trial only solidified him as an evil manipulative man
in history adding to his courtroom image where no doubt his famous sunglasses these were one
item Goring did not wear as an ostentatious fashion choice these were Polaroid glasses
meant to help protect the eyes of the defendants the Nuremberg trials were meticulously filmed
and at the time this required bright studio lights which were blinding during the long
hours of the trial though Goring always tried to dominate the trial with flair here he is
trying to read a special statement to the Court's disapproval during his plea foreign
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that defendants were not entitled
to make a statement ultimately Göring was found guilty and sentenced to death he was second in
command in the world's most brutal War and the director of the slave labor program of Nazi
Germany after being found guilty Göring may have used his Charisma One Last Time Göring managed to
escape the hangman he obtained a cyanide capsule perhaps from a guard Göring took every opportunity
to charm anyone with influence he met he presented one Army Lieutenant with his gold watch Penn and
a cigarette case in exchange for gaining access to some of his personal confiscated belongings
but the drug may have also been smuggled to him by an honor guard for the trial
a few values I have they are in my blue briefcase in the package after Göring 's death his body was
displayed at the execution ground for Witnesses he was cremated and his ashes scattered
all right I'm Johnny thanks for watching this video on Hermann Goering I hope you
have a nice rest of your day and we'll see in the next one yesterday