Hermann Goering

Hermann Goering (1893-1946) was a Nazi leader. Goering had been a fighter pilot and celebrated air ace during the First World War, and led the squadron of Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron') after von Richthofen had been killed. He joined the Nazi Party in 1923 and participated in the Beer Hall Putsch. Following the failure of the attempted coup he fled to Sweden, returning to Germany in 1927 under amnesty. He was elected to the Reichstag in 1928 and became its President on 30 August 1932. Goering founded the Gestapo, was in command of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) during World War II, and was in charge of the Four Year Plan. In the final days of the war Martin Borman convinced Hitler to remove him from power. He later surrended to the Allies and was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death at the Nuremberg Trials. Hours before his execution he committed suicide by cyanide.