Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was one of the most powerful figures of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler’s closest associate. A decorated fighter ace of the First World War, he joined the Nazi movement in its early years and became one of its most ambitious and ruthless leaders. As Prussian Minister of the Interior, he founded the Gestapo and turned the police into an instrument of terror. Later, as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, he built Germany’s air force and oversaw the economic exploitation and plunder of occupied Europe.

Göring played a central role in the persecution of Jews, the use of forced labour, and the vast program of looting that enriched both himself and the Nazi elite. His rank of Reichsmarschall made him the highest-ranking officer in the German armed forces and Hitler’s designated successor. Arrogant, vain, and addicted to morphine, Göring embodied the corruption and self-indulgence at the heart of the Third Reich.

After the fall of Nazi Germany, Göring was captured by Allied forces and became the highest-ranking defendant at the Nuremberg Trials. Convicted of war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity, he took his own life in October 1946 — one day before his scheduled execution.