Margarete Himmler
Margarete Himmler | |
---|---|
Born | Margarete Boden 9 September 1893 |
Died | 25 August 1967 | (aged 73)
Other names | Margarete Siegroth Marga Himmler |
Occupation | Nurse |
Spouse | |
Children | Gudrun Burwitz |
Margarete Himmler (née Boden; 9 September 1893 – 25 August 1967), also known as Marga Himmler, was the wife of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.[1][2]
Youth, first marriage, and divorce
Margarete Boden was born in
Her first marriage was short and produced no children. Due to the economic support of her father, she was able to operate and direct a private nursing clinic in Berlin.[5]
Marriage to Heinrich Himmler
Himmler met his future wife, Margarete Boden, in 1927. They met during one of his lecture tours and remained thereafter in written contact.[6] In one surviving letter, Boden refers to Heinrich Himmler as the "Landsknecht[7] with the hard heart" but she was nevertheless impressed by his romantic style of writing and his sincere love for her.[8][9][10] The blonde, blue-eyed nurse corresponded perfectly to Heinrich Himmler's ideal woman.[4]
Seven years his senior, Boden shared his interest in herbal medicine and
Heinrich and Margarete married in July 1928.
Himmler later gained a large house in the Berlin suburb of Dahlem free of charge as an official residence. The couple now saw each other rarely as Himmler became totally absorbed by work.[17] Gebhard, Heinrich Himmler's older brother, characterized Margarete as a "cool, hard woman with extremely delicate nerves who radiated no warmth at all and spent too much time moaning"[15] who had in spite of these characteristics, been an "exemplary housewife", one who devotedly loved Heinrich and remained true to her husband.[18] Margarete Himmler joined the Nazi Party as early as 1928 (member number 97,252).[19][20] Due to Himmler's enormous responsibilities, the relationship with Marga was strained.[21][22] The couple did unite for social functions; they were frequent guests at the home of Reinhard Heydrich. Margarete saw it as her duty to invite the wives of the senior SS leaders over for coffee and tea on Wednesday afternoons.[23] Despite her best efforts and the fact that Margarete was married to the Reichsführer-SS, she remained unpopular in SS circles. Former Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach wrote in his memoirs that Heinrich Himmler was constantly "henpecked", essentially had zero influence at home, and had to yield to Margarete’s will.[24]
During the
Hedwig Potthast, Himmler's young secretary starting in 1936, became his mistress by 1938. She left her job in 1941. Himmler fathered two children with her: a son, Helge (born 1942) and a daughter, Nanette Dorothea (born 1944 at Berchtesgaden). Margarete, by then living in the town of Gmund am Tegernsee in Bavaria with her daughter, learned of the relationship sometime in 1941. Margarete and Himmler were already separated, and she decided to tolerate the relationship for the sake of her daughter.
Second World War
Once
For her efforts, Himmler reached the rank of colonel in the German Red Cross.[29] In February 1945, in writing to Gebhard Himmler, Margarete said of Heinrich, "How wonderful that he has been called to great tasks and is equal to them. The whole of Germany is looking to him."[30]
Heinrich Himmler was close to his first daughter, Gudrun, whom he nicknamed Püppi ("dolly"); he phoned her every few days and visited as often as he could.[27] Hedwig and Margarete both remained loyal to Himmler. Margarete and Heinrich Himmler last saw one another in April 1945, sharing time together with Gudrun at their Gmund residence.[31]
Post-war
In 1945, Margarete and Gudrun left Gmund as
In September 1945, Margarete Himmler was again interrogated, but this time it was during the
Margarete was categorized in 1948 at Bielefeld as a lesser offender (Category III) and was to be
According to this judgment, she was not to be held accountable for the crimes of her husband, despite that she had not been distant from them. Additional arguments were presented that she and her daughter had benefited from the rise of her husband. Because of this, another denazification proceeding, started by the
Gudrun left Bethel in 1952. From the autumn of 1955, Margarete lived with her sister Lydia in Heepen. Her adopted son Gerhard also lived with them in her apartment.[35] Margarete’s final years were spent with her daughter in Munich.[36] Gudrun emerged from the experience embittered by her alleged mistreatment and remained devoted to her father's memory.[37][38]
Assessment
Peter Longerich notes that Margarete Himmler probably did not know about the official secrets or planned projects of her husband during the Nazi era.[27] She said after the war she did not have any knowledge of Nazi crimes, but she remained a committed National Socialist and was certainly anti-Semitic.[39] Jürgen Matthäus described her as a typical Nazi who wanted the Jews gone, and observed that despite any efforts contrariwise to isolate herself from the regime and its crimes, she profited from them.[40]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Wyllie, James (February 2020). "Nazi wives: the women beside Hess, Goebbels, Göring and Himmler". HistoryExtra. BBC History Revealed. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ a b Wittler, Christina. Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des „Reichsführers SS“ Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 194
- ^ Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des "Reichsführers SS" Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 194
- ^ a b Himmler 2007, p. 117.
- ^ Jürgen Matthäus: „Es war sehr nett“. Auszüge aus dem Tagebuch der Margarete Himmler, 1937–1945. In: Werkstatt Geschichte 25 (2000), p. 75
- ^ Longerich 2012, p. 103.
- ^ The Landsknecht were mercenary soldiers in the German and other continental European armies in the 16th and 17th centuries. Historian Andrew Morrall claims that the ‘’Landsknecht’’ represented for Germans in particular, the "exemplum of a race of men, free, natural, and courageous". See: Andrew Morrall, "Soldiers and Gypsies- Outsiders and Their Families in Early Sixteenth Century German Art", in Artful Armies, Beautiful Battles: Art and Warfare in Early Modern Europe, by Pia F. Cuneo, ed. Pia F. Cuneo, History of Warfare (Boston: Brill, 2002), p. 160.
- ^ Himmler 2007, p. 119.
- ^ Himmler's letters to his wife were discovered in Israel and reported by the newspaper Die Welt and in an opinion of an expert from the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives) are without a doubt, authentic. Verschollene Briefe Heinrich Himmlers aufgetaucht, In: Die Welt on 24 January 2014 on welt.de
- ^ "Ich fahre nach Auschwitz. Küsse, Dein Heini" Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, on: msn.com on 26 January 2014
- ^ a b Manvell & Fraenkel 2007, p. 17.
- ^ Himmler 2007, p. 118.
- ^ Himmler 2007, pp. 117–118.
- ^ Himmler 2007, p. 122.
- ^ a b Himmler 2007, p. 140.
- ^ Manvell & Fraenkel 2007, pp. 17, 258.
- ^ Flaherty 2004, p. 27.
- ^ Cited by Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des „Reichsführers SS“ Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 195
- ^ Jürgen Matthäus: „Es war sehr nett“. Auszüge aus dem Tagebuch der Margarete Himmler, 1937–1945. In: Werkstatt Geschichte 25 (2000), p. 77
- ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5.
- ^ Longerich 2012, pp. 109, 374–375.
- ^ Manvell & Fraenkel 2007, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Gerwarth 2011, p. 111.
- ^ Baldur von Schirach: Ich glaubte an Hitler. Mosaik-Verlag, Hamburg 1967, p. 213.
- ^ Gerwarth 2011, p. 83.
- ^ Lina Heydrich, c.(1950) in the Journal Der Spiegel, speaking about Margarete Himmler. Cited from: Katrin Himmler: Die Brüder Himmler. Eine deutsche Familiengeschichte. S. Fischer, Frankfurt a.M. 2005, p. 237; Context, parts cited and parts paraphrased from Gerwarth, Heydrich, p. 83.
- ^ a b c Longerich 2012, pp. 466–468.
- ^ Longerich 2012, p. 468.
- ^ Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des „Reichsführers SS“ Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 198
- ^ Longerich 2012, p. 732.
- ISBN 386153231X, p. 106f.
- ^ Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des "Reichsführers SS" Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 193
- ^ Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des "Reichsführers SS" Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 197
- ^ Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des „Reichsführers SS“ Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 197f.
- ^ Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des „Reichsführers SS“ Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 199f.
- ^ Ernst Klee: Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. S.Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, p. 248.
- ^ Himmler 2007, p. 275.
- ^ Sify News 2010.
- ^ Christina Wittler: Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des „Reichsführers SS“ Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte, Bielefeld 2010, p. 200
- ^ Jürgen Matthäus: "Es war sehr nett". Auszüge aus dem Tagebuch der Margarete Himmler, 1937–1945 Archived 2010-03-07 at the Wayback Machine (pdf; 7,92 MB). In: Werkstatt Geschichte|Werkstatt Geschichte 25 (2000), pp. 75–93.
Bibliography
- Flaherty, T. H. (2004) [1988]. The Third Reich: The SS. Time-Life Books, Inc. ISBN 1-84447-073-3.
- ISBN 978-0-300-11575-8.
- ISBN 978-3-492-05632-8. (not revised)
- ISBN 978-0-330-44814-7.
- ISBN 978-0-19-959232-6.
- Manvell, Roger; Fraenkel, Heinrich (2007) [1965]. Heinrich Himmler: The Sinister Life of the Head of the SS and Gestapo. London; New York: Greenhill; Skyhorse. ISBN 978-1-60239-178-9.
- Matthäus, Jürgen: „Es war sehr nett“. Auszüge aus dem Tagebuch der Margarete Himmler, 1937–1945 (pdf; 7,92 MB). In: Werkstatt Geschichte 25 (2000), p. 75–93.
- Staff (2 December 2010). "Shadowy Nazi support group still honours daughter of SS head". sify.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- Wittler, Christina. Leben im Verborgenen. Die Witwe des „Reichsführers SS“ Heinrich Himmler Margarete Himmler (1893–1967) In: Bärbel Sunderbrink (Hrsg.): Frauen in der Bielefelder Geschichte. Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, Bielefeld 2010, ISBN 978-3-89534-795-5, p. 193–205.
- Himmler, Katrin & Michael Wildt (Hrsg.). Himmler privat. Briefe eines Massenmörders. Piper, München. 2014, ISBN 978-3-492-05632-8. (nicht ausgewertet)
- Himmler, Katrin. Die Brüder Himmler. Eine deutsche Familiengeschichte. S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2005, ISBN 3-10-033629-1.
- Longerich, Peter. Heinrich Himmler. Biographie, Siedler, München 2008, ISBN 978-3-88680-859-5.