The Second Most Powerful Man in Germany Essay -- Heinrich Himmler, Adol

Greed, covetousness, avarice, cupidity; these are what killed Heinrich Himmler, the second most powerful man in Germany to Adolf Hitler during World War II. As the second most feared man in the Nazi regime, (Smith) he could not handle just being the second most; he had to be the most powerful. Himmler was in charge of the SS, SA, SD, Gestapo, and eventually provisional president of the police of Munich. The Holocaust began in Germany in the early 1920s and ended in 1945. The Holocaust caused the death of 6 million Jewish people and 5 million non-Jewish people. At least 1.1 million of that 11 million were children. The SS (Schutzstaffel) was the secret police of the Nazis, Hitler’s bodyguard. By the end of the Holocaust, two thirds of the Jews from Europe were killed by these men. The SA, a force similar to the SS but much less authoritative, was originally led by Ernst Roehm, but Himmler persuaded Hitler to kill him. (Encyclopedia of World Biography) When Roehm was dead, Himmler took authority over his division. The Gestapo was the police force that was in charge of all of the camps. They worked in camps and took the lives of millions of prisoners in the camps that Himmler designed. Even though Himmler had so much power, he constantly wanted more and more, worrying that he would lose supremacy over these divisions, and relentlessly doing anything possible to become the number one most powerful man in this era. Heinrich Himmler was born on October 17, 1900 to the son of a Catholic school teacher. (Encyclopedia of World Biography) He was brought up as a devout Roman Catholic in a close middleclass family. He had two brothers, Ernst Himmler and Gebhard Ludwig Himmler, with Heinrich being the middle child. (Worth) ... ... Oxford UP, 2012. Print. Source G: Trueman, Chris. â€Å"Heinrich Himmler.† Heinrich Himmler. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. Source H: â€Å"Heinrich Himmler (German Nazi Leader).† Encyclopedia Britannica online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 30 Jan 2014. Source I: â€Å"Heinrich Himmler.† Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004, â€Å"Himmler, Heinrich.† The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed. 2013, and â€Å"Himmler, Heinrich.† World Encyclopedia 2005. â€Å"Heinrich Himmler.† Encyclopedia.com Highbeam Research, 01 Jan, 2004. Web. 30 Jan 2014. Source J: Bessel, Richard. . Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987. N. pag. Print. Source K: â€Å"Love Letters of a Nazi Monster: Newly revealed private papers of death camp chief, Himmler, shows how he deluded himself. He was a ‘decent’ family man.† Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, Jan, 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.