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The Private Heinrich Himmler
Letters of a Mass Murderer
By Katrin Himmler, Michael Wildt, Thomas S. Hansen, Abby J. Hansen St. Martin's Press
Copyright © 2014 Plon
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4668-7089-5
CHAPTER 1
Letters
1927–28
"All that is filthy is kept far from our home — our castle."
Heinrich Himmler, February 15, 1928
After a long search, Heinrich Himmler finally found employment in the illegal National Socialist Party (NSDAP) in the summer of 1924. In May of that year Gregor Strasser (a pharmacist from Landshut), the chief party functionary, was elected to the Bayerischer Landtag [Bavarian parliament] on the ticket of the Völkischer Block (a folkish splinter party), a front for the NSDAP. In December he was even elected to the Reichstag at the national level. Because Strasser no longer had the time to devote to party organization in Lower Bavaria, the young Heinrich Himmler took over that administrative function within the party. In August 1924 he described his new activity to an acquaintance: "I have an enormous amount to do. I am in charge of organization and expansion in all of Lower Bavaria at all levels. Given all the work I have, there's never a moment to think about finding the time to write a letter. The organizational work, which I supervise by myself, suits me well. What would make the whole thing particularly wonderful would be knowing that one were preparing the imminent victory and fight for freedom that lie before us. But as it is, we in the folkish movement are engaged in selfless work, which will not bear visible fruit in the near future, always knowing that the fruit of this work will ripen later and that, for the moment, our business is to fight what seems to be a losing battle."
But the battle was not lost. In May the Völkischer Block won 17.4 percent of the votes in Bavaria, as many as the Social Democrats won; in these elections the right-wing parties were also able to win an above-average number of votes for themselves. In December 1924 Adolf Hitler was released from prison, and in February 1925 he reestablished the NSDAP, even though the ban on public speaking that had been imposed on him was valid for a few more months. In Bavaria the ban lasted until March 1927, and in Prussia until November 1928.
It was now Himmler's task to integrate the one thousand or so party members in Lower Bavaria (who were organized into twenty-five local groups) into the reconstituted NSDAP. Given the difficulties of issuing new party members' documents, collecting membership dues, etc., this was no easy matter.
This also meant that he was on the road a lot in Lower Bavaria visiting local groups, giving speeches, and clarifying organizational details on-site. Between 1925 and May 1926 alone, he addressed twenty-seven different meetings in Lower and Upper Bavaria and another twenty in Westphalia, Hamburg, Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and elsewhere. In his incessant travel commitments he was no different from other party functionaries. In 1925–26, Joseph Goebbels was also tirelessly on the road, speaking all over Germany and supporting local National Socialist groups. In April 1926 Goebbels even came to Bavaria on a lecture tour. "In the afternoon, with Himmler, in Landshut," Goebbels noted in his diary on April 13, and he continued: "Himmler: a good fellow, very intelligent. I like him."
At the Reichsparteitag [annual party rally of the NSDAP] in Weimar in July 1926, Gregor Strasser was made Reichspropagandaleiter [propaganda chief] and Himmler rose in the ranks accordingly: he was named acting chief of propaganda, transferred to party headquarters in Munich, and at the same time became acting Gauleiter [regional leader] of Lower Bavaria. Whereas he had previously been responsible specifically for Bavaria, his sphere of activity now spread to encompass all of Germany. Since Gregor Strasser was completely occupied as a delegate to the Reichstag and a high-ranking party functionary, the daily propaganda work fell to Heinrich Himmler. He had to make sure that propaganda material was sent out. He also stayed in contact with the local groups, had to coordinate party speaking engagements throughout Germany, and most important, had to organize the so-called Hitlerversammlungen. As a result, a very special role in the party apparatus fell to him, for on the one hand, it was up to him to determine which local group would enjoy the privilege of an appearance by Hitler, and on the other hand, he kept in close contact with Hitler in order to arrange his speaking engagements. Despite the fact that in retrospect a picture of Himmler as a pale party functionary has emerged, he was actually at the very heart of the power center of the NSDAP and enjoyed very good contacts with the "Boss," as Himmler refers to Hitler in his letters, and as he was generally known by those in his inner circle.
On his travels Himmler read, among other things, Hitler's Mein Kampf, then still in the two-volume edition. The first volume, which presented a stylized political autobiography of Hitler, had appeared in 1925; the second volume, which outlined the political program of National Socialism, appeared in 1927. Himmler bought the first volume as soon as it appeared in July 1925 and, as his handwritten marginalia show, began to read it immediately. He interrupted his reading, however, and did not finish the book until 1927, according to an entry in his Leseliste [reading list]. "There are amazingly many truths in it," he noted. "The first chapters about his youth contain certain weaknesses." Perhaps this was the reason he interrupted his reading.
Himmler also bought the second volume immediately upon its publication. By December 17, 1927, he had reached the end of the third chapter, and on December 19, when he had already been in Berlin with Marga for a day, he read to the end of the eighth chapter. This suggests that Marga might also have been reading Mein Kampf in these days.
If one follows the checkmarks and underlinings, it appears that Himmler was especially interested in Hitler's statements on Volksgesundheit [racial hygiene] and racism. He underlined this sentence: "The assertion that defective people must be prevented from producing other defective people is an assertion of purest rationality and, in its methodical application, signifies the most humane deed of humanity." He noted in the margin "lex Zwickau." With this Himmler refers to the initiative of Gustav Emil Boeters, the doctor from Zwickau, who in the 1920s unsuccessfully demanded a radical law requiring enforced sterilization, which was later passed by Hitler's government in July 1933. Hitler had issued a vehement warning against miscegenation and against the danger for the racially pure that occurs through products of racial mixing. Himmler commented: "The potential for undoing racial mixing exists." In a note to Hitler's demand for "the recognition of blood" — meaning "racial bias in general" and also "for individuals in the population" who must be evaluated differently according to their "racial affiliation" — Himmler writes this question: "Are consequences drawn from this?"
Himmler also emphasized Hitler's program to structure all education and training to give every young German "the conviction of being absolutely superior to others. In his physical strength and agility, he must recover the belief in the invincibility of the entire "Volkstum." Himmler's comment on this was "education of SS and SA."
He continued to travel a great deal, both in Bavaria and throughout Germany. In January 1927 he held speeches in Thüringen preceding an election to the regional parliament. In February he was in Westphalia; in April, in the Ruhr; in May, in Mecklenburg and Saxony; in June, North Germany; and in July, Vienna. On one of these trips, in September 1927, on the train that returned to Munich from Berchtesgaden, he made the acquaintance of Marga Siegroth.
Marga Siegroth, née Boden, had spent a week's holiday at Berchtesgaden and stayed on for a further week in Munich before returning to Berlin. She had been unhappily married from about 1920 to 1923, but nothing is known of her first husband except his family name, Siegroth. Marga's father, Hans Boden, a former landowner in Goncerzewo (Goncarzewy), near Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) in Pomerania, had purchased a thousand-dollar gold savings bond as his portion of a private women's clinic in Berlin at the height of the inflation. The clinic was located in a block of flats at 49 Münchner Strasse, in the middle-class neighborhood of Schöneberg, where Marga lived and worked as head nurse.
There is absolutely no doubt that if she attracted the attention of Heinrich Himmler, it was not merely because of her blonde hair and blue eyes, but also because of her profession — all the more because during World War I she had taken a job as a Red Cross nurse, which in his eyes was an exemplary occupation for a woman. In their subsequent letters, they both write about that war and refer to it specifically, as when Marga writes, "Ever since the battlefield I have gotten used to writing without a table" (22.12.27).
As the head nurse in this private clinic, she led a very independent, rather comfortable life with a workday of only a few hours. She had her own maid, and her meals were provided by the clinic's cook. There was time in the afternoons and evenings for shopping in the city and dates with friends to attend cultural events. Nonetheless, she does not seem to have been happy with her life. Although her employment contract ran until the month of April 1929, she often considered leaving this position before the end of her tenure, or even changing clinics. One reason was clearly her bad relationship with the doctors in the establishment: "If only it were not for these impossible doctors," she complains repeatedly. It may be that she also considered her work as a desperate move after the failure of her marriage, especially since the status of a divorced woman was hardly a glorious one at the time. The clinic secured her financial independence — but she would soon voluntarily abandon her work to enter into her second marriage.
Marga Siegroth not only dreaded human company, but was almost "terrified" by anything that disturbed her routine and her daily tranquility. As she never ceased to emphasize later on, dealing with others was nearly always a source of "annoyance" or "disappointment" for her. Her misanthropy ("There are also very different sorts of individuals," letter of 4.11.27), coupled with an extremely high standard for other people, and her own rigidity and lack of warmth in dealings with others, later quickly cooled her relations with the Himmler family. Although they welcomed her cordially at first, they soon limited their contacts to infrequent formal visits.
Her skepticism about other people in general, and men in particular, is a theme that reappears chiefly in her first letters, when Heinrich Himmler hopes that she will stop mistrusting him. But this is difficult for her, for in her own words, she has "lost faith, in particular, in the honesty and sincerity of a man's respect for a woman" (26.11.27).
During the train trip of nearly three hours, both certainly had occasion to note what separated them: a Prussian mentality on one side, Bavarian on the other; a Protestant religion for one, Catholic for the other; and the fact that Marga was not only a divorced woman, but also seven years older than Heinrich. However, they not only shared the same aversion to the Weimar Republic and the Jews ("this rabble"), but also had common interests. As his journals show, when Heinrich was a student of agriculture, he had dreamed of one day owning a property with "a beloved girl." With Marga, an old dream suddenly came back to life because, although at that time she was a confirmed city dweller, she had a much better idea of actual country life than he himself did — more than most young girls of good family could ever have, because she had grown up on a large farm. Marga thus had practical experience with cultivating fruits and vegetables and raising animals. Not only could she preserve food for the winter, but she could also turn over the soil in the garden beds and even slaughter pigs. In addition to that, she was a head nurse with bookkeeping skills, and not least of all, Himmler found it appealing to think that she could care for him and his delicate health. Marga, too, was soon filled with enthusiasm at the prospect of moving to the country and building a life there together with her new husband.
They clearly got along well enough that, on the very next day, Marga wrote him a formal postcard (showing a scene of Berchtesgaden) in order to make plans to meet. She told him where she would be staying in Munich, at the Hotel Stadt Wien, right near the central railroad station. Their first disagreements became apparent during a long walk together along the Isar River ("the path where we nearly came to blows at the time," 25.12.27). Both of them later refer frequently to their early disputes. At one point Himmler writes, "you know, in the early days, we argued, and for as long as we live, we never have to do that again" (13.2.28). And she confirms this: "I believe you are right, in the early days we argued enough to last us the rest of our lives. Every sentence was an argument and a doubt" (14.2.28).
19.9.1927
Herr Heinrich Himmler
Diplom-Landwirt [certified agronomist]
Munich
Barerstr. 44/II
Am staying at the Hotel Stadt Wien.
Cordially
M. Siegroth
* * *
Himmler's first letters have been lost, but in his correspondence folder, he notes that he first wrote to Marga Siegroth ("M.S.") on September 26, 1927. After the date of Marga's letters, he also noted, by hand, the date on which he received them — as he did with all his correspondence. The editors have indicated this convention with parentheses. All other parentheses in the letters are by Heinrich and Marga Himmler themselves. Editorial notes are in brackets and and set in italics.
* * *
Berlin West 30. 29.9.27
(Munich. 4.10.27, 9:00)
Dear Herr Himmler!
Thank you for your lovely note. It found me in a less than good mood, for I have found more annoyances here than I ever would have believed possible. I will and must put an end to this business. But it is difficult to start from scratch; but that is why it must be done.
How are you? Your health? How about the mustard, vinegar, and onions?
Have you been back to a "good" café? If so, then please write me a card.
Say hello to the Hofkino for me [a local movie theater — Trans.]. (Sarcasm, as usual!!) I await the promised letter. Demanding as always, don't you think?
I have read your writings with great interest. What can I send you in return? Just the red book, yes?
The weather is so beautiful. And it rained so often in Munich.
Very cordially yours,
Frau M. Siegroth
Berlin W. 30. 16.10.27
Münchener Str. 49
Dear Herr Himmler!
Today is the first quiet day, and I have enjoyed it to the hilt. As for the rest, just work and boredom. How are you? Much to do, surely, and your health? But whatever you can do, you want to do, and whatever you want to do, you can.
I have so often said this to myself lately, when I thought I could not go on.
The weather must still be absolutely magnificent where you are. Are you traveling a lot? When are you coming to Berlin?
Otherwise, I am all right.
Very cordially yours
M. Siegroth
Berlin, 2.11.27
(Munich. 4.11.27, 24:00)
Dear Herr Himmler.
At last the final monthly accounts are done, now I just want to thank you for your correspondence and for the newspapers. As for the latter, one can also buy them in Berlin, which I have done. So I ask you to send me some from Munich. I have also read the ones from Weimar.
As to your letter, I shall keep silent: I certainly did not laugh. "Actually, one should not be decent and nice." Incredible, the number of things you have undertaken. Your stomach is just taking revenge for what you constantly put it through. This is understandable, since it has good reason.
One works to be able to pay taxes, at least that's fun: taxes!
I read Ludendorf's [sic] book on the Freemasons.
The book criticizes the Jews, I find that the facts speak volumes, so why all these remarks? Life truly offers too many pleasures.
With my regards, yours
Frau M. Siegroth.
* * *
Marga had obviously read the recently published pamphlet by Erich von Ludendorff, the former imperial general and military leader of World War I, who was also a committed Folkish nationalist and anti-Semitic politician. His Vernichtung der Freimaurerei durch Enthüllung ihrer Geheimnisse" [Destruction of Freemansonry Through the Revelation of its Secrets] (Munich, 1927) was full of hatred toward the Jews. According to Ludendorff, the goal of the Freemasons was "the Semitification of populations and the institution of the reign of the Jews and Jehova." According to Ludendorff's own information, the text published at the author's expense rapidly found its public, even though the middle class press had barely mentioned it and the bookstores had at first boycotted it. By the end of 1927 more than one hundred thousand copies had been sold.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Private Heinrich Himmler by Katrin Himmler, Michael Wildt, Thomas S. Hansen, Abby J. Hansen. Copyright © 2014 Plon. Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
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