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Goering and Goering: Hitler's Henchman and His Anti-Nazi Brother
The true story of the Goering brothers—one a Nazi war criminal; the other an anti-Nazi resistance fighter
They were the most unlikely siblings—one, Adolf Hitler’s most trusted henchman, the other a fervent anti-Nazi. Hermann Goering was a founding member of the Nazi Party who became commander of the Luftwaffe, ordering the terror bombing of civilians and prompting the use of slave labor in his factories. His brother, Albert, loathed Hitler’s regime and saved hundreds—possibly thousands—from Nazi persecution. Here, for the first time, James Wyllie brings Albert out of the shadows and explores the extraordinary relationship of the Goering brothers. Albert deferred to Hermann as head of the family but spent nearly a decade working against his brother’s regime. If he had been anyone else, he would have been imprisoned or executed. Despite their extreme and differing beliefs, Hermann sheltered his brother from prosecution and they remained close throughout the war. This is a powerful story of how Nazi Germany divided families and the legacy Hermann Goering left behind.
They were the most unlikely siblings—one, Adolf Hitler’s most trusted henchman, the other a fervent anti-Nazi. Hermann Goering was a founding member of the Nazi Party who became commander of the Luftwaffe, ordering the terror bombing of civilians and prompting the use of slave labor in his factories. His brother, Albert, loathed Hitler’s regime and saved hundreds—possibly thousands—from Nazi persecution. Here, for the first time, James Wyllie brings Albert out of the shadows and explores the extraordinary relationship of the Goering brothers. Albert deferred to Hermann as head of the family but spent nearly a decade working against his brother’s regime. If he had been anyone else, he would have been imprisoned or executed. Despite their extreme and differing beliefs, Hermann sheltered his brother from prosecution and they remained close throughout the war. This is a powerful story of how Nazi Germany divided families and the legacy Hermann Goering left behind.
252 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 16, 2015
Albert Goering was a fascinating guy. The brother of Hitler's right hand man, Albert nevertheless managed not to become evil, and in fact spent the war helping people who had incurred the Nazis' wrath -- not just Jews but various political opponents as well. He's someone who deserves to be lionized next to Oskar Schindler.
And there is indeed a book that does that -- Thirty Four by William Hastings Burke. But that's a piece of investigative reporting that chronicles various incidents of Albert's heroism. This book here is a dual biography of Albert and his brother. Unfortunately, it's largely derivative, especially when it comes to Hermann. But that's not the problem.
The real issue with this book is what it's derivative from. Wyllie's portrait of Hermann is surprisingly sympathetic, painting him as a weak-willed man who was pushed into becoming Hitler's #1 henchman by his ardently Nazi first wife; a man who was wrecked by a horrible drug habit; and, most surprising of all, a man who acted to save Jews himself on several occasions. Wyllie does note that Hermann mainly helped Jews when pushed to do so by Albert or his second wife, an actress who herself had a number of Jewish friends, and he tears apart Hermann's claim that he didn't know anything about the Holocaust. But one still gets the impression of a man who was in over his head and went with the current in the hope that it would drag him back to land instead of further out to sea.
This attitude towards Hermann puzzled me until I happened to check an end-note and saw that the source for a claim was given as "Irving, D." When I flipped back to the bibliography, my worst fear was confirmed -- Wyllie was citing a biography of Hermann Goering by well-known Holocaust denier David Irving. What's more astounding, the bibliography also cites Richard Evans' Telling Lies about Hitler, a book that's all about Irving's crimes against history, including a lengthy debunking of the Goering biography. Evans concluded that Irving's work is so shoddy that "not one of his books, speeches, or articles, not one paragraph, not one sentence in any of them, can be taken on trust as an accurate representation of its historical subject." No one who claims to be an historian can cite Irving and expect to be taken seriously. Even if not everything Irving said is a lie, there's no way to know whether any given fact is correct without following the citation back to the primary source, in which case you should just cite that source instead of Irving.
I do not think Wyllie shares Irving's pro-Nazi inclinations -- even if he presents Hermann in an unduly positive light, he doesn't deny his crimes, and he points out that Hermann's denials of involvement in the Holocaust don't fly -- but intent doesn't matter. Wyllie is too credulous to be trusted.
It'd be one thing if this were some forty year old book, written before Irving's distortions had been exposed. But it's not. There is no excuse for any history written in this century to cite him. Even if he's only one source that Wyllie relied upon, it casts doubt upon Wyllie's abilities as a researcher.
And there is indeed a book that does that -- Thirty Four by William Hastings Burke. But that's a piece of investigative reporting that chronicles various incidents of Albert's heroism. This book here is a dual biography of Albert and his brother. Unfortunately, it's largely derivative, especially when it comes to Hermann. But that's not the problem.
The real issue with this book is what it's derivative from. Wyllie's portrait of Hermann is surprisingly sympathetic, painting him as a weak-willed man who was pushed into becoming Hitler's #1 henchman by his ardently Nazi first wife; a man who was wrecked by a horrible drug habit; and, most surprising of all, a man who acted to save Jews himself on several occasions. Wyllie does note that Hermann mainly helped Jews when pushed to do so by Albert or his second wife, an actress who herself had a number of Jewish friends, and he tears apart Hermann's claim that he didn't know anything about the Holocaust. But one still gets the impression of a man who was in over his head and went with the current in the hope that it would drag him back to land instead of further out to sea.
This attitude towards Hermann puzzled me until I happened to check an end-note and saw that the source for a claim was given as "Irving, D." When I flipped back to the bibliography, my worst fear was confirmed -- Wyllie was citing a biography of Hermann Goering by well-known Holocaust denier David Irving. What's more astounding, the bibliography also cites Richard Evans' Telling Lies about Hitler, a book that's all about Irving's crimes against history, including a lengthy debunking of the Goering biography. Evans concluded that Irving's work is so shoddy that "not one of his books, speeches, or articles, not one paragraph, not one sentence in any of them, can be taken on trust as an accurate representation of its historical subject." No one who claims to be an historian can cite Irving and expect to be taken seriously. Even if not everything Irving said is a lie, there's no way to know whether any given fact is correct without following the citation back to the primary source, in which case you should just cite that source instead of Irving.
I do not think Wyllie shares Irving's pro-Nazi inclinations -- even if he presents Hermann in an unduly positive light, he doesn't deny his crimes, and he points out that Hermann's denials of involvement in the Holocaust don't fly -- but intent doesn't matter. Wyllie is too credulous to be trusted.
It'd be one thing if this were some forty year old book, written before Irving's distortions had been exposed. But it's not. There is no excuse for any history written in this century to cite him. Even if he's only one source that Wyllie relied upon, it casts doubt upon Wyllie's abilities as a researcher.
February 27, 2017
Hermann Goering had an anti-Nazi brother who used his name to help Jews and other politically opposed people - Fascinating subject. Unfortunately this duel biography about Herman and Albert is rather thin when it comes to the latter and relies far too heavily on detouring into explanations of the political situations surrounding them and deviating into unnecessarily lengthy biographies of other people who were only tenuously linked to these men.
Having said that, Wyllie has a style of writing that never feels too academic, the book being an easy and enjoyable read. He also manages to imbue a fresh perspective on Hermann as 'a very soft man', highlighting the opportunist aspect of his character over his antisemitism, something encouraged by his hate-filled wife Karin (not that it relieves him of his part in the Holocaust).
Stand out points of the book for me were:
1. Hermann was raised by a wealthy Jew (Epenstein) in a fairy-tale castle. His Jewish 'father' was more than a benefactor, his personality and lifestyle acting as a template for the future Reichsmarschall.
2. While courting a woman who would eventually become his second wife, Hermann thought it appropriate to give her a framed picture of his dead wife as a gift, the old romantic.
3. Albert Goering was not only opposed to the Nazis but took such an active role in helping save their enemies that their numbers are of Schindler-like proportions. Unfortunately after the war he was not treated well by the Allies and the two years he spent in prison (not even charged with anything) had an irreparable effect on his health.
4. Despite their political (or rather, moral) opposition the brothers were relatively close, and Hermann always felt a duty to his brother before the Nazis, getting him out of trouble on numerous occasions and even providing assistance to his Jewish friends when asked (although it should be noted - not that Wyllie does - that many high-ranking Nazis, even Hitler, had 'exceptional' Jews they aided in escaping persecution).
Overall, I found it an interesting read with some fresh takes on Hermann but felt myself wanting to know so much more about Albert, the womanising, religious anti-Nazi. As an introduction it works well, but more serious readers may want to seek out some more expert literature on the matter.
Having said that, Wyllie has a style of writing that never feels too academic, the book being an easy and enjoyable read. He also manages to imbue a fresh perspective on Hermann as 'a very soft man', highlighting the opportunist aspect of his character over his antisemitism, something encouraged by his hate-filled wife Karin (not that it relieves him of his part in the Holocaust).
Stand out points of the book for me were:
1. Hermann was raised by a wealthy Jew (Epenstein) in a fairy-tale castle. His Jewish 'father' was more than a benefactor, his personality and lifestyle acting as a template for the future Reichsmarschall.
2. While courting a woman who would eventually become his second wife, Hermann thought it appropriate to give her a framed picture of his dead wife as a gift, the old romantic.
3. Albert Goering was not only opposed to the Nazis but took such an active role in helping save their enemies that their numbers are of Schindler-like proportions. Unfortunately after the war he was not treated well by the Allies and the two years he spent in prison (not even charged with anything) had an irreparable effect on his health.
4. Despite their political (or rather, moral) opposition the brothers were relatively close, and Hermann always felt a duty to his brother before the Nazis, getting him out of trouble on numerous occasions and even providing assistance to his Jewish friends when asked (although it should be noted - not that Wyllie does - that many high-ranking Nazis, even Hitler, had 'exceptional' Jews they aided in escaping persecution).
Overall, I found it an interesting read with some fresh takes on Hermann but felt myself wanting to know so much more about Albert, the womanising, religious anti-Nazi. As an introduction it works well, but more serious readers may want to seek out some more expert literature on the matter.
April 27, 2015
Jag vill gärna säga något bra om den här boken. Kanske att den ger en slags översikt över nazismens uppgång och fall - jag blir sugen på gamla krigsfilmer och att läsa något fylligare om andra världskriget. Men mycket mer är det inte.
Premissen för denna historiska skildring är alltså att Hermann Göring hade en bror - Albert - som var hans ideologiska motpol: En aktiv antinazist.
So far, so good.
Men boken igenom anstränger sig verkligen Wyllie för att framställa Hermann i extremt dålig dager. Han beskrivs nästan uteslutande i nedlåtande och hånfulla termer, trots att hans handlingar i sig räcker gott och väl för att ge läsaren en negativ bild av denne nyckelperson inom nazismen.
Och i kontrast har vi så brodern Albert, där Wyllie går i motsatt riktning och i möjligaste mån slätar över alla eventuella oegentligheter för att utmåla honom som hjälte - med resultatet att hans faktiska gärningar nästan bleknar i skenet från den plastgloria Wyllie placerat ovanför hans huvud.
Jag provoceras oerhört av detta. Inte minst eftersom jag väntat mig en någorlunda objektiv redogörelse av historikern Wyllie. Eller kanske en djupdykning i de spänningar och den dynamik som måste existerat mellan bröderna Göring.
Det är ju inte så att det saknas stoff. Albert är i sig inte endimensionell. Han skodde sig bra under andra världskriget med hjälp av sitt namn och även om han hjälpte en hel del människor och inte var rädd att sticka ut hakan, så var han ingen ängel. Och Hermann hade sina sidor, han med. På sätt och vis kanske de kompletterade varandra i sina styrkor och svagheter.
Men det får vi aldrig veta. Inte av Wyllie i alla fall.
Det här var oseriöst och riktigt dåligt.
Premissen för denna historiska skildring är alltså att Hermann Göring hade en bror - Albert - som var hans ideologiska motpol: En aktiv antinazist.
So far, so good.
Men boken igenom anstränger sig verkligen Wyllie för att framställa Hermann i extremt dålig dager. Han beskrivs nästan uteslutande i nedlåtande och hånfulla termer, trots att hans handlingar i sig räcker gott och väl för att ge läsaren en negativ bild av denne nyckelperson inom nazismen.
Och i kontrast har vi så brodern Albert, där Wyllie går i motsatt riktning och i möjligaste mån slätar över alla eventuella oegentligheter för att utmåla honom som hjälte - med resultatet att hans faktiska gärningar nästan bleknar i skenet från den plastgloria Wyllie placerat ovanför hans huvud.
Jag provoceras oerhört av detta. Inte minst eftersom jag väntat mig en någorlunda objektiv redogörelse av historikern Wyllie. Eller kanske en djupdykning i de spänningar och den dynamik som måste existerat mellan bröderna Göring.
Det är ju inte så att det saknas stoff. Albert är i sig inte endimensionell. Han skodde sig bra under andra världskriget med hjälp av sitt namn och även om han hjälpte en hel del människor och inte var rädd att sticka ut hakan, så var han ingen ängel. Och Hermann hade sina sidor, han med. På sätt och vis kanske de kompletterade varandra i sina styrkor och svagheter.
Men det får vi aldrig veta. Inte av Wyllie i alla fall.
Det här var oseriöst och riktigt dåligt.
May 7, 2024
From another book, I found out about Albert. It was a sentence that confused me because I’ve never heard of him before. So I googled and tried to find out more about him. This is how I came to read this biography. While the title is “Albert Göring” in German it is in fact a biography of Herman and Albert. The proportion 2/3 Herman and 1/3 Albert. While I understand that context is important and to be able to contrast them, you need to know about Herman, that’s not what I had wanted. I feel like I don’t know that much about him than from the Wikipedia article.
I didn’t think that Herman was portrayed in a positive light as some reviews mention, he’s just described. And even though we of course want to believe that a person who is involved in this horror is purely evil, humans are rarely that. That can be confusing, no doubt.
The book is good to gain an overview but if someone is looking for information on Albert, this is not the book for you.
I didn’t think that Herman was portrayed in a positive light as some reviews mention, he’s just described. And even though we of course want to believe that a person who is involved in this horror is purely evil, humans are rarely that. That can be confusing, no doubt.
The book is good to gain an overview but if someone is looking for information on Albert, this is not the book for you.
April 21, 2024
Brilliant contrast of two brothers.
This a first rate piece of historical analysis of Hermann Göring and of his younger brother Albert - a picture of the way the Nazi heavies operated from the 1920s into the 1930s and then the war years - and of those who did not sell their souls to the Nazi ideology. First-rate and nuanced history.
This a first rate piece of historical analysis of Hermann Göring and of his younger brother Albert - a picture of the way the Nazi heavies operated from the 1920s into the 1930s and then the war years - and of those who did not sell their souls to the Nazi ideology. First-rate and nuanced history.
November 11, 2011
I enjoyed this read very much. James Wyllie paints a whole different picture of the Goering brothers. Hermann might have been delusional but after reading this book I can't help seeing him as a man with great character...and even if he did not stand up for it like his brother, it seems to me that Hermann was far from the worst of nazis when it comes to the persecution of jews.
Memorable quotes:
(13 May, 1945 - interrogation centre, Augsberg)
"The brothers were allowed to walk a few paces together... Hermann said: "I am very sorry that it is you who has to suffer so much because of me. You will be free soon."
"When allied interrogators asked Albert whether Hermann was a 'hard man' he replied, 'on the contrary, he is very soft.'"
Memorable quotes:
(13 May, 1945 - interrogation centre, Augsberg)
"The brothers were allowed to walk a few paces together... Hermann said: "I am very sorry that it is you who has to suffer so much because of me. You will be free soon."
"When allied interrogators asked Albert whether Hermann was a 'hard man' he replied, 'on the contrary, he is very soft.'"
December 12, 2014
I read this book when I was doing a research project for an ethics class two years ago. I decided to reread it for literature genre breakdown. This is not a children's literature book, I would recommend it for high school and above. This is a biography of the life of two brothers during the Nazi regime and how they differed in their stances. This is a great book to get some additional insight to what happened during the war and how the two brothers were on different sides. This could be assigned as an independent read during the World War II unit in history. This was a slower read and seemed a little boring in some chapters but it gives a detailed account of what it was like to live in that era. This would be a good book for additional research in the field.
September 8, 2023
A little shallow at times when you consider the consequences of both brothers' actions. But otherwise it would also become a gigantic work in many volumes.
You learn that virtually all powerful business people before the war supported the regime and profited from its inhumanity both before, during and after the war. After the war they maintained their powerful positions and also profited after the war from the reconstruction of Europe.
The familiar faces, the small fish and some medium-sized fish were punished, while the capital and the gray crowd got away.
But then again the allies didn't want to make the same mistake twice.
You learn that virtually all powerful business people before the war supported the regime and profited from its inhumanity both before, during and after the war. After the war they maintained their powerful positions and also profited after the war from the reconstruction of Europe.
The familiar faces, the small fish and some medium-sized fish were punished, while the capital and the gray crowd got away.
But then again the allies didn't want to make the same mistake twice.
May 4, 2014
A friend put me on to this book because over the years I've contemplated the fact that I may be distantly related to the infamous Hermann. This is a fascinating character study of Hermann & his brother Albert. Albert was not sold on the Nazi agenda, & he was able to appeal to Hermann's sense of family loyalty to get a number of Jewish artists & musicians removed from the detention lists. I learned so much about life among the privileged in Germany (& Vienna) in this terrible time.
January 24, 2016
An interesting historical account of two brothers that were polar opposites. I was more fascinated and interested in the accounts of Albert, the anti-Nazi brother, and amazed by the countless numbers of people he helped to survive the war.
July 29, 2013
More of a biography of Hermann, leaving Albert still something of enigma.
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May 25, 2019I have the german edition: Albert Goering
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