HERMANN WILHELM GOERING (1893-1946) German Nazi political leader

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HERMANN WILHELM GOERING, (1893-1946), German Nazi political leader and chief of the air force. Behind a facade of liberality, geniality, and flamboyant behavior, he concealed considerable brutality and cunning. His World War I fame and his social connections, as well as his intelligence and energy, seemed to open great opportunities for him in the Nazi state. His erratic and capricious style of life and work eventually frustrated most of his efforts, however.
Goering (or Goring) was born at Rosenheim, Bavaria, on Jan. 12, 1893, the son of a high colonial official. He entered the army, became one of Germany's World War I flying aces, and won the Pour le Merite, Germany's highest award for valor, as leader of the famous Richthofen squadron in 1918. After the war he led a vagrant life as a pilot and as an aviation agent. While in Sweden he married Karin von Kantzow. They settled in Munich in 1922, and Goering soon joined HITLER, who appointed him commander of the SA (Storm Troopers). In the Nazi Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, Goering was wounded and escaped to Austria. He became addicted to drugs while recovering but was cured after his return to Sweden in 1925.
In 1926 an amnesty permitted him to return to Germany. He again joined Hitler and acted as a liaison with aristocratic, business, and military circles. Elected to the Reichstag in 1928, Goering became its president in 1932.