Hermann Göring

Hermann Wilhelm Göring (January 12, 1894 - October 15, 1946) was a prominent and early member of the Nazi party and one of the main architects of Nazi Germany. During World War II he acted as commander of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), and was the driving force behind the failed attempt to force Britain's surrender (or at least acquiscence) by the air battle known as the Battle of Britain. After that campaign he lost much of his influence in the Nazi hierarchy, exacerbated by the Luftwaffe's failings in Russia and against the Allied bomber raids. He was captured by American troops on May 8/9 1945 in Austria and he was taken before the Nuremberg Trials for war crimes, and despite defending himself vigorously he was sentenced to death, "His guilt is unique in its enormity" stated the judgement. He managed to commit suicide with a smuggled cyanide capsule the night before he was supposed to be hanged.

During World War I he flew in the Luftwaffe together with Manfred von Richthofen, the famous "Red Baron". He was the last commander of the Richthofen Fighter Squadron and finished the war as an 'ace', with twenty-two confirmed kills and the medals Pour le Merite and the Iron Cross.

It was Göring who is said to have originated the famous quote, "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun"; the version "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my Browning" has a subtle shift in just who in the dialogue has the potential to be the Philistine.