Thursday, July 14, 2011

How would Heinrich Himmler defend himself if he were at the Nuremberg trials?

Himmler was described as being only a vague follower of Nazi ideology. Born in 1900, he was one of the younger leaders in the Nazi upper echelon. Educated in agriculture, but not being a person of very robust constitution, he chose to be a chicken farmer and fertilizer salesman. I would describe him as being something of an intellectual maverick within the Nazi Party. He essentially knew that there were consequences to what he ordered people to do (hence he committed suicide rather than face trial). My guess is that he would seek justification for his actions if he had been put on trial in order to convince the Nuremberg jury that the Jews were a threat to world civilization and were dealt with accordingly. But he would also attempt to play down his role by denying that he ordered medical experiments, mass genocide, etc..

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