The Yesterday Channel (UK) aired a six-part series entitled “Nazi Murder Mysteries” late last year. I blogged about the other episodes and you can read their reviews below:
- Episodes 1 (Hitler’s Niece) and Episode 2 (The Duke of Windsor) can be found here
- Episode 3 (A Serial Killer in Berlin) can be found here
- Episode 4 (Bella in the Wych Elm) in which I participated, can be found here
- Episode 5 (Hermann Goering) can be found here
- Episode 6 (Rudolf Hess) can be found here
The fifth episode aired in early December.
Episode 5 – Hermann Goering
I have to say, I really didn’t know a lot about Hermann Goering prior to watching this episode.
I knew that he was head of the German Luftwaffe and that he escaped the hangman’s noose after the Nuremberg War Crimes trials by taking a cyanide capsule, but that was about it.
The truth, however, seems far more complex and interesting! He was apparently a drug addict and managed to give quite a capable defence at the war crimes trials.
This episode of Nazi Murder Mysteries obviously focuses on the mystery of Goering’s death. The American investigation concluded that Goering had had the pill hidden on his person. But that conclusion simply raises more questions. How did Goering manage to hide a cyanide capsule from his captors for so long? Surely the Allies knew about the Nazi penchant for hiding cyanide capsules in false teeth? For years, rumours have swirled that one of the American guards smuggled a capsule to Goering. Was there any truth to those rumours?
Review
Interesting episode which opened up the question of Goering’s suicide.
4.5 out of 5 – well done.