Himmler: The Loving Father in the Eyes of The Murderous Devil in the Eyes of the Jews

"Romantic fantasist, affectionate husband, passionate lover and exemplary father"

The cold-blooded high-ranking Nazi official Himmler was guilty of planning the massacre of millions of people, but in his private letters with his wife and children, he showed the faces of a "family man" and a "loving father". Reports published by the German newspaper Le Monde, based on the latest academic research results, have exposed this fact that was previously little known.

In 1941, a Nazi German official and a prisoner met and the two sides had a brief conversation.

"Are you Jewish?" yes. ”

"Your parents are Jewish?" yes. ”

"Do you have elders who are not Jews?" No. ”

"Then I can't help you."

Prisoners were executed and became yet another victim of Nazi genocidal policies. The German official who spoke to him was Heinrich Himmler, Hitler's die-hard loyalist and commander of the Nazi SS and secret police.

During World War II, Himmler controlled death camps across Europe, efficiently and ruthlessly carrying out genocidal plans. Sven-looking, always wearing round-rimmed glasses, declared: "If Hitler had asked me to shoot my mother, I would have done the same." ”

Nearly 70 years after the executioner's death, reports published in the German newspaper Le Monde, based on the latest academic research results, revived Himmler's image and presented a more three-dimensional appearance. The hundreds of letters he left behind before his death exposed the fact that he had previously been little known: Himmler in daily life had a "warm" face that did not match his cold-blooded style.

Private messages are full of children's love

Judging from the historical materials compiled and archived by historians in the past three years, Himmler "was a romantic fantasist, but also an affectionate husband, a passionate lover and a model father." The British "Daily Mail" commented. In a letter to his "petite, sweet, beloved wife," Himmler, who came from a bavarian family of teachers, affectionately wrote: "I love Berlin because you are there." Even if you still live in the poor little village where you were born, I will love where you are. ”

Himmler's first encounter with his wife, Margaret, was in September 1927. On the train to Munich, he had joined the Nazi Party two years earlier, preaching anti-Semitism to the blonde young woman who had had an unsuccessful marriage; On Christmas Day of the same year, the two married. After that, letters became an important channel for them to exchange feelings.

Himmler called Margaret a "dear, golden woman" and described himself as a "good and wild German royal soldier"—though the frail and short-sighted Himmler never really fought.

On racial issues, the two men and women with a difference of 6 years have similar positions. Less than 3 months after the marriage, Margaret began to complain to her husband about "Jewish scum". The latter wrote back: "Poor lover, you have to deal with the Jews for money ... How nice it would be if I could help you!" In June 1928, Margaret again "complained" that "the Jewish population will cause you fear." Himmler wrote back: "Don't be angry with the Jews, my good girl, let me share your worries." ”

The German newspaper Le Monde noted that the himmlers' early letters revolved mainly around everyday trivia, "but from it ... It has become possible to discern the worldview and self-perception of a self-righteous bureaucrat."

Another point that has caught the attention of historians is that Himmler often refers to himself as a "beast" or "savage" in letters to his wife, a title that the Le Monde quoted experts as saying that it reflected sexual fantasies between husband and wife. Margaret accepted this calmly, and declared in a tone of pride: "I am glad to have met a good evil man who is deeply in love with his evil wife." ”

"Dear Little Daddy"

However, it turned out afterwards that Himmler's feelings for his partner were less specific. After Hitler came to power in 1933, Himmler, who had run a chicken farm, became the inspector general of the Bavarian state police, and immediately won the party struggle, and was promoted to the second person in the Gestapo the following year.

With the rise of the Nazis, the Himmlers separated more and more frequently, and only socializing allowed them to gather. As a result, from 1938 onwards, Himmler had an underground affair with his secretary, Hedwin Pohnerst.

Despite his heavy schedule, between 1938 and 1944 Himmler wrote more than 200 private letters to his mistress. He called Hedwin "my little white rabbit," sometimes writing twice a day, expressing his love without hesitation.

Michael Holman, head of the German Federal Archives, said most of Himmler's love letters to Hedwin were in the hands of an American collector who had obtained the materials from a veteran who insisted that the letters had been picked up from a garbage can in Berlin. "These include official documents, the birth certificate of an illegitimate son of Himmler, and a number of previously unpublished photographs, including him sitting in an official car with the license plate SS-1 (appearing to be 'SS One')."

Was Margaret aware of her husband's infidelity? The outside world does not know. But in any case, the fatherly love acquired by the two eldest daughter, Gudrun Himmler, born in 1929, was not weakened. Himmler's nickname for his daughter was "Doll", and the father and daughter talked on the phone every few days, and he bought her exquisite children's clothes, often appearing at public gatherings arm in arm... Watching her beloved daughter grow up day by day, the payment of Himmler's personal letter also became "dear little father".

Himmler was not the only "family man" in the Nazi elite. According to the surviving information, the murderous Adolf Eichmann, the one-man Hermann Goering, and the clever Joseph Goebbels all swore an oath of love for their wives and children, saying that they were trying to climb the "career ladder" in order to give their wives a richer salary bag and let their families live happily.

These "two-faced people" with both warm and cold qualities inevitably confuse onlookers. As time magazine commented: "How can a loving father who smiles at his own children brutally kill the children of other people's families?"

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