Heinrich Himmler

by
Taylor Hall and Nicholas Johnson

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

He was trained as an officer at the end of World War I

Graduated from high school in 1919
Studied agriculture at the Technical University in Munich,
graduating in 1922
He was forced to take a job at a manure-processing facility
near Munich, and this is where he made contact with the
Nazi Party through the SA chief of staff, Ernst Rhm

BACKGROUND

He subsequently enlisted in the Nazi Party in 1923, quitting

his job a month later
Himmler joined because he had always wanted to be in the
military, but the Treaty of Versailles had prevented it
Luckily, he had developed good reputation among the Nazis
before entering the party

HIS ROLE IN HITLERS REICH

HIS ROLE IN HITLERS REICH

Upon his arrival in the party, Himmler was appointed by

Hitler as the Reichsfhrer-SS
Himmler developed the SS from a small group of 280
members into an elite corps of more than 52,000 by 1933
The Nazis used the SS to maintain internal security and
ensure racial purity
He received the nickname der treue Heinrich (the faithful
Heinrich) for his obedience and determination to satisfy
Hitler

MAJOR EVENTS

MAJOR EVENTS

Himmler led the SS during the Night of the Long Knives, during
which the SA, their leaders, and others who had provoked Hitler
were obliterated
Himmler was in charge of Germanys concentration camps, as
well as Eastern Europes death camps
He laid the groundwork as to how the mass killings of the
Holocaust would be accomplished
Himmler staged the so-called phony border incident, which
would be used by the Nazis to justify their invasion of Poland
He made a feeble attempt to negotiate peace following World War
II with the World Jewish Congress

AFTER THE WAR

AFTER THE WAR

Himmler attempted to flee in disguise

Captured by British forces and admitted his identity
Upon inspection, Himmler swallowed a cyanide capsule
hidden within his mouth
Dead in just a few minutes
Chose death over admitting to his crimes

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Heinrich Himmler. Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 7
Nov. 2014. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007407>.
Trueman, Chris. Heinrich Himmler. History Learning Site. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk, n.d. Web. 7
Nov. 2014. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/heinrich_himmler.htm>.