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Thursday, June 03, 2010
No brotherly love for Hitler
WHILE Adolf Hitler ruled the roost in Germany he was held in mighty esteem by the German people.
As I write this piece I am reminded once again of the newspaper cutting I came across in the public toilet in O’Connell Street, Dublin – which was the toilet paper in use at the time –which stated of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin: "Herr Hitler was there again to brave the rainstorm and receive his usual tumultuous welcome from 100,000 throats." That tells its own story.
Now, who was the runne rup to Hitler in the popularity stakes at that time? There could be quite a few and well in the running must be Hermann Goering.
There is a book just published which tells the story of Goering and his brother.
While Hermann was a strong follower of Hitler right from the start, his brother was the exact opposite. He had no liking whatsoever for Hitler and here, in a nutshell, is the story as it is unfolded in the book.
During World War I Hermann Goering distinguished himself as a fighter ace and he was famous throughout Germany when the war ended.
He was born in a suburb of Berlin in 1893. His brother Albert, who was two years younger, got a bullet in the stomach on the Western Front during the war. They were close friends as well as being brothers. After the war ended they were to take different paths.
Hermann became a follower of Adolf Hitler while Albert detested the man right from the start. As a result they went their separate ways for more than a decade.
Albert told a friend at that time that he had a brother in Germany "who was getting involved with that bastard, Hitler."
Albert continued to help Jews and risked his life several times over in so doing. Because of his name, many Jews were suspicious of the man.
As I am writing this piece I have to record a true story about Richard Beamish, a member of the famous Cork firm that bears the name. He was also chairman of the stewards at Killarney Races for many years. Richard was married in Germany and who turned up as a guest at his wedding – none other that Hermann Goering. I listened to Richard telling that story himself on RTÉ Radio – it’s a small world.
To come back to the Goering brothers, despite their political differences, it seems that in their private lives they remained devoted to each other.
Hearing reports of the atrocities taking place in concentration camps, Albert confronted his brother, who brushed the claims aside.
Albert made one big move – driving a convoy of trucks to Theresienstadt concentration camp where 33,000 prisoners died.
He told those in charge that he was Albert Goering and he needed workers. He filled up the truck and took prisoners to freedom.
On the last occasion that the two brothers met, Hermann apologised to his brother for all the suffering he caused him.
On 16 October 1946, Herman, having been sentenced to death for war crimes, cheated the hangman by taking his own life.
Albert spent 15 months in prison before anybody would listen to his story. Finally released he joined his family in Salzburg. He found no work. His name didn’t help.
Always a great man with the ladies, he alienated his wife who moved to Peru with their daughter.
He turned to drink and died penniless in 1966 – his life relegated to a footnote of his brother’s brutal history.
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