Can’t imagine if you were my history teacher in school. I would be a history teacher now I’m sure! Thanks for these. Really good and you draw me in every time. Can see why you have this many subs. Cheers!
I talked with countless vets in the 80s and 90s. One processed German going back home in 1945 and he admitted that Hitler himself could have passed right in front of him in his official uniform and he probably wouldn't have noticed after seeing so many ranking Germans going past. He once commented on this and said, "that solider should have been promoted and immediately sent home" in reward for finding Himmler
This is absolutely crazy. My family comes from Bremervörde and heard rumors that he was captured on the Oste Brücke. Not even my relatives that were alive at that time knew about Himmlers presence during that time .
Dr. Felton wastes no time starting 2022 right. We fans and admirers look forward to another year of his frequent, well researched and written, always accurate and verifiable fascinating tales and anecdotes of military history. Huzzah!
Fascinating information. I lived in Germany, taught in German "Gymnasien", studied Germanistik in Regensburg. However, I was more interested in language and literature than history. Thanks Dr. Felton for ongoing information about the members of Hitler's inner circle of command.
Hermann goring was exactly the same. Himmler by the way could well of got away had it not been for the pows of German officers who unmistakingly recognised him. Just imagine he may never have been caught.
It's unbelieveable in the sense he was in denial thinking ((they)) would actually take pitty on him . . But lmfao dude, do you have any idea how many former Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Officers and Generals-including thousands of SS men and Army soldiers in general-went on to serve not only in the West German Army, but the US Military and various other Western armed forces as well as programs like NASA and Intelligence Services like the CIA and MI6 and the KGB 🤔? That doesn't even include the hundreds if not thousands of German scientists, members of government, engineers, architects etc. The allies knew damn well a conflict with the Soviet Union (that country whose stated goal from its very existence was to dominate the globe and spread Marxism to ALL corners) was inevitable and unavoidable (ironic considering they helped start a second world war and destroyed Germany for them), hence one of the main reasons why Operation Paperclip (i.e. taking in German "Nazis" for the CIA/NASA/military etc like refugees) happened.
Stories of these high-profile Nazi figures in their last days give us one important lesson: No matter how favorable the current situation is to you, one can never tell how it will evolve and deteriorate. Always be modest and be careful. Don't treat others with contempt nor hostility. You never know when such circumstances might arise and bring about your destruction.
Or as the old bit of wisdom goes: "Always be civil to and treat with respect the people you meet on the way up, because you're going to meet them again if you're ever on the way back down!"
Yeah, it’s a pretty crazy and well-deserved reversal of fate for Himmler, to go from the second most powerful man in the Reich to a filthy fugitive fleeing justice.
@@historyarmyproductions I believe it to be true, look at his death mask, Himmler's face is swollen, no way he had that cyanid in his mouth the entire time. Just because one may think the Allies made mistakes or committed crimes with cover ups during these turbulent times doesn't make one a lunatic or Nazi supporter.
I watch as many of your shorts as possible and I’m never disappointed. I think the best part for me is how knowledgeable you get on little things like the farmhouse I never knew about. I Agreed that strange things happened that seemed on the surface to be weird as to why not have camp doctor do body search. Like Himmler said himself, he was a walking book on many unanswered questions. Thanks Mark , another home run!!👍
*'Replacement'* in Britain today... less than 50% of London's population is white (the people who built EVERYTHING). 20 years from now it will around 25%. Makes historical work like this so irrelevant. Non white couldn't care less about white history. K thru 12 and even college western history is a taboo subject.
I appreciate the longer form documentary presentation for this particular story and find it very compelling. Thank you for bringing these facts to light.
I was actually born in Bremervörde and allegedly my great uncle was a wittness to Himmlers arrest, he lived to tell me that at that point he was barely recogniseable as to how he looked in the newsreels. He only later learned that the man being arrested was Himmler. He told me the story while we were walking over the exact bridge he was arrested on.
He was too well known and too important to be taken in by a neutral country in Europe. He needed to flee to the Middle East or to South America. Even so, from Dr. Felton's presentation, it seemed he was very easily recognizable.
Thank you Mark, for ALL your films! They are so well researched and informative. Captain Tom Selvester was my father’s relative (cousin I think) but unfortunately I never met him. Just thought you might be interested!
They obviously had been preparing for it for some time, but the sheer logistics involved in bringing a shattered Germany under stable allied governance must have been mind boggling. And then they had to search for war criminals, prevent starvation and disease, deal with fanatical resistance, etc. This whole endeavour must surely warrant having its own story told.
Excellent comment. I have often thought whatever man was ultimately put in charge of taking over post-war Germany had a MAJOR job that had many, many areas to cover. I'd love to see the Manning Chart that shows the top all the way down to the bottom and each person's responsibility. I notice many fine details in old war movies, and just like in this one . . . there was that neat little guard shack with the American soldier. It looked like it had just been built. Where were all the American carpenters who made these things and many other items. Who made all those new signs posted everywhere for many different things? How did they print and distribute the new German currency? There was a lot of work being done that gets little acknowledgment while we just mostly study pre-battle information and the post-war trials. Each town, no matter how big or small had a Senor NCO set up to serve as a temporary Mayor. That's a lot of men and someone had to CHOOSE them. Often, an E-8 had this duty. And then, they had to screen all the government workers to see who could be trusted to help get things running smoothly again.
They didn’t prevent starvation, quite the opposite, in the first year of allied occupation dictatorship more than a million German civilians died from hunger and diseases, especially during Winter 45/46. And they only had to bring the country under control because they had, against all international law, arrested the legitimate German government of Reichpresident Dönitz, the last truly sovereign German government.
@@schneetiger9249 what international law did that violate? Donitz surrendered to the allies not sure what other course of action there could be. I’m not gonna sit here and say the allies are perfect angels but managing an immediate postwar Germany had to be a complete nightmare. Pretty much all infrastructure was bombed through the floor and countless millions were displaced. I’m honestly surprised there weren’t even more deaths all things considered because it could’ve been WAY worse.
Göering befriended various guards from what I understand, one probably slipped him a capsule. I would assume it would be an American/British sympathizer since it's unlikely a German could have done it, but who knows. Himmler probably had a similar story.
@@DrewPicklesTheDark apparently from the guard he had befriended himself said he bought him his personnal cigar box not knowing that a cyanide pill was hidden in said box in a fake cigar if i remember
Perhaps Himmler believed neutral Switzerland was too obvious of an escape choice, and believed going South was a better option as it would seem implausible to the Allies.
It seems to me that the Himmler interrogation was bungled. Instead of lulling Himmler into a false sense of security, they went for route 1 by stripping him twice, which wasn’t exactly the way to tease out information from him. There was then a lot of faffing around between officers as to what to do with him. Insisting that he change into British battle dress seemed frankly pointless and daft and only heightened his suspicion that the British were not taking his rank as Hitler’s number 2 seriously. If they wanted to put him on the defensive they were making an excellent job of it! Taking him to a private residence seemed bizarre and totally unnecessary. On hindsight, Himmler should have been seen and questioned by much more wily and experienced officers, The sudden decision to search his mouth was frankly idiotic! Surely, they should have known that many senior Nazis carried cyanide in their mouths. The fact was that the intelligent officers hadn’t thought through their plan of action. From the moment they captured Himmler, they were uncertain how to handle him as a prize prisoner! The most glaring error was the indecent haste shown by British officers to search his mouth. There was no hurry to do an oral examination as Himmler was in custody and that could have been left for a much later date. The objective should have been to extract as much information out of him as possible in.a discreet manner, rather than treating him as a common criminal. By acting as they did, Himmler realised his previous exalted position carried no weight with his captors and so he decided to shuffle off the mortal coil.
@@johnburns4017 By making him not want to. Had they sold Himmler the idea that he will have an active role in this upcoming war against the Soviets and an important position to fill, if he helps them, he would have most likely worked with the intelligence officers out of his own volition.
I don't blame the squaddies in charge of looking after Himmler for not being particularly respectful. They were holding the most evil monster after Hitler (who was beyond the reach of mortal justice by then), widely known to have been responsible for murdering countless innocent civilians and servicemen - and they should have been nicer to him? No doubt it would have been useful to have squeezed every hideous scrap of information out of him before giving him the starring role at Nuremberg - but really I'm surprised they kept him alive as long as they did.
Had he fled to Sweden it would have given the Swedes a real hot potato 🥔....what to do with a man who had been behind such terrible things. so they, the Swedes, where probably relieved that he didn't pay them a visit.
This is an EPIC series, and another wonderful history documentary by Mark. I knew the basic story of Himmler's death, but not in this level of detail - fascinating !
Definitely looking forward to the next one. I live near Lüneburg and for a couple of years I used to attend meetings that were held in that very room in Ülzener Straße 31a. So far this series of videos has been superb. I have just had a look at a map and see that in Kolkhagen there is a road named Zum Galgenberg which means "to the gallows hill".... probably irrelevant. I have never been there but now I might just go and have a look around.
@@defenda1 You forgot to put a "?" at the end of your question. I thought I had replied to this yesterday. Anyway, the meetings were all health-related and had nothing to do with the subject matter in hand. Indeed, most of the other participants were unaware of any connection with Himmler.
I feel like they may have overthought the false identities part. Sure the papers would lend some credibility. But a bunch of middle aged men could have claimed to volkssturm or just civilians. But then again the whole trip was a bad idea anyway so perhaps it’s to be expected.
So weird. I live near Satrup and now I want to know what farm it was. To think that my mother in law (decd) was an 8 year old child living near by at that time. I've always wondered what it was like here in that time. It's so rural. Much like where i'm from in the UK. You can walk for an hour and not see a soul.
When did this channel scream over 1.5m subscribers or even 1m ? Last time I remember looking it was barely at 300k. Well deserved Mark. Excellent content. 👍
It seems that the Germans had a WAY better grasp of Soviet Communism than the Brits or Americans. Thus it kinda did make sense to lie low until the Cold War broke out and then offer their services. Something similar worked well for the German rocket scientists.
Additionally to Dr Felton have said, the Dr Gebrardt who was with HH was the surgeon in chief at the SS clinic of Hohenlynchen, he have almost kill deliberately or not Speer during a knee operation in fall 44. In 1942, after the attack of Heydrich in Prague, he have operated him for his wounds, after 2 days the wounded would recover from his wounds, meanwhile he finally died from massive septicémia caused by the horse hair filling of his Mercedes upholstery projected during the blown up of the assailant grenade. His great friend and protector (Dr Gebrardt) the RFSS Himmler was mad at him and asking for strong studies for resolving further problems. Gebhardt sniffing opportunities to be more appreciated and become rich makes proposal to study that. He made terrible experimentations with detainees of concentration camp. None of the experiments were probative but causing tremendous sufferings to the so called rabbits of Ravensbruck. Those poors victims have been cutted in the legs in long scars, the wounds have been contaminated by dirt and closed by sutures. Few remained alive but enough for made a testimony to the court at Nuremberg trial. The substance used for "healing" was a discovery of Gebhardt, family of sulfamids but in reality composed of pectin same as you will find in jam's hardener.
@UC2afdqM8ZrmceG5ayXgKVcw nothing in his statement even strikes any reference to being a neo nazi. Stop throwing terms like that at everything it makes them lose the meaning it’s suppose to hold.
Pretty ironic that he went from being one of the most powerful people in Nazi Germany. The author of concentration camps and the leader of the SS that got many Jews, Romani...etc to become fugitive. Only to become a wanted fugitive himself running from the Allies at the end of the war.
He was a weaselly little coward who got ill at the sight of blood yet he wielded incredible power over the lives of millions of human beings. And like the coward that he was, he took the coward's way out rather than face his crimes against humanity.
My father told me he spent months after V.E. day. Rounding up Nazis albeit he didn't like to talk about his service. He was a artillery commander and responsible for much carnage. This explains some of his history. Thanks.
I was close personal friends with SS Sturmbannführer Heinz Macher for decades. He always attended the yearly OdR and "Der Führer" veterans events. I had the opportunity to talk to Machet sometimes hours on end about his experiences on the Ostfront. He was open and candid. He was a 20 year old Knights Cross winner and eventually won the Close Combat clasp in Gold as a Sturmpionier in Regiment "Der Führer". Macher was given the mission of destroying the SS Castle of Wewelsburg as well as recovering and hiding the huge cache of SS Officers Ehrenringe. He was not however open about being captured with the "Reichsheini" Himmler (as he was called by the fighting troops). He was apprehensive that once the Allies found out who he was traveling with that they would have all been summarily executed. Macher gave me his original 1942 Hoffman 8x10 B&W studioaufnahme Ritterkreuz portrait. One of my prized possessions in my extensive Waffen SS collection.
"close personal friends" How old are you, or what circles do you frequent?
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@@garetroth5683 He was a US Army lieutenant stationed in Berlin during the Cold War. That's what he said in previous comments. He used to have dinner with Soviet high command personnel in East Berlin, as the soldiers before the start of the confrontations were able to cross the border.
I like Mark Felton's material, but he quite often stands on the shoulders of other historians. As regards the real truth re Himmler , Mark only hints at what may have happened, but I'd wager he already read probably the account of the greatest Nazi historian of the Third Reich who is a German speaker and interviewed most of the top Nazis. This other historian knows what really happened to Himmler so if you want to know about Himmler and his death, read David Irving's account. He may have gathered notoriety over the years, but his knowledge on the Nazis is second to none.
I know this isn't the point but is it weird that everytime I see Himler I think he's an Imperial Japanese soldier? Like he looks like a white version of Tojo
I worked as a prison guard for 20 years, the ampule could have been transferred out of his mouth and back into his clothing while he dressed. To overlook that common sleight of hand sort of move is pretty shallow when analyzing this period and the events. If you have never had to guard someone it is hard for you to understand what doing so entails. Many a man who finally realizes his silly constructs are crumbling around him, and who is facing the hangman, eventually decides to turn his own cold hand. One of the realities of prison work is the high rate of suicide by your fellow Officers. Far more angst is expressed when some sum bag prisoner kills himself than is ever given over the life of a good family man overwhelmed by the stress of the work.
I was thinking the same, also explains him refusing to be searched again as he would be afraid he couldn't move it from his clothes to mouth undetected again
@@penultimateh766 constant exposure to inmate suicide, violence and death often traumatizes correctional officers. There is often a stigma among high stress jobs such as police, fire fighters, EMTs, military that if you aren’t steadfast in your mental health, quitting is often seen as the cowardly way out. It’s a toxic way of seeing it but the job culture is what often causes many workers to not seek help.
Not that we would’ve treated him great, but like goering, being leadership he should have tried to get to us. But then again if we did cow toe to Monty and let Patton do his job, we would have got to Berlin instead of the Soviets.
Supreme Commander in the west, General Eisenhower, knew of the post-war occupation plans for Germany agreed to at the Yalta Conference, such as who would get what and where. It would have made no difference who got to Berlin first so Eisenhower could see no good reason to send British or American troops into what have been the worst street-fight in history since half of Berlin (and Germany) was going to be given to the Russians anyway. Eisenhower was right, the Russians lost 100,000 killed and wounded taking Berlin. Horrible! If historian Steven Ambrose is correct, even the Red Army from generals on down to privates weren't crazy about taking Berlin, they KNEW it was going to be bad. According to Ambrose one Russian veteran told him: "Look, all we had to do was surround the city and pound it with artillery until they gave up. But that son-of-a-bitch Stalin wanted the city by May Day, and no-one was going to say no to him!"
@@olliefoxx7165 Well, if Hitler hadn't declared war on the US we would have stayed on the sidelines and done what then Senator Harry Truman suggested when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. When asked what the US should do about it Harry said: "I say we should just sit back and watch them rip the hell out of each other!" But it didn't happen that way, did it? And that's all I'm going to say about it, except running a country in wartime isn't as easy as you think it is. Decisions and deals have to be made you'd rather not make. And it sucks.
Mark Felton is a great Historian and his videos can't be matched. He is as good if not better than our American, Ken Burns. Mark, keep up the good work!
OUTSTANDING CONTENT yet again Mark! Have been hoping for this for some time now. You never fail to surprise me with the quality and depth of your research and videos, keep them coming please! As always, I have been spreading your channel to anyone interested in WW2!
I remember somewhere reading when Himmler announced his real name it was like a high pitched squealy whine that even alarmed the British. Man of such power as Heinrich had really be this anamorphic shaped oddity standing before them in the room, Meanwhile Gestapo Müller was already resting comfortably in a safehouse without a worry in the world.
Great video! I knew the general outline of Himmler's last days, but certainly not all the details. And let's just say that I would give a lot to hear the info that man was sitting on, before he committed suicide or was executed. But even if the Brits had managed to interrogate him, it would be classified to this day.
Yes, too bad we didn't get to learn his Intel. I'm sure it would have helped us with the Cold War. He could have been hanged later with the rest of the murderers. Good riddance to him.
Himmler downing tea 🫖 and sandwiches 🥪 😂😂 hopefully they were Darjeeling ☕️ and cucumber 🥒 sandwiches 🥪 hardly what you’d expect of a beer 🍺 swirling toff from Munich 😂
@@kellyharper8072 even worse than Hess case: how Do you explain to the public that you have the #1 of the SS.... & You have no clue where #2 (Hans kammler) is ?
Mark Felton. Another word of praise and appreciation on your work. A ytuber and you are a big time documentary producer.! Your vids are a great source for youth to get informed of our recent history. Those of us born in the fifties have lived through the wake of these events. We heard the many first hand experiences of our fathers and uncles. Your work fills in many pieces in this whole huge event of ww2.
Many believe that he was Bumped off by us to keep him Quiet and let his secrets die with him ! Cheers mr Felton something fishy went on thats for sure!
Hey Mark, I live in Bremervörde and heard about the story, you would laugh if I would tell you in which street I live in :D If you need any more details let me know! And I got a question as well. There are rumors that the british air force bombed parts of northern germany even after the official capitulation - can you maybe tell us something about that? Thank you!
It was the constant bombing night and day by the RAF and USAF that collapsed the infrastructure and factories - Rail networks that caused many deaths not only in civilian populations - it was the major cause of deaths in concentration camps as food supplies and Medical supplies could no longer be transported. When the British and US saw piles of emaciated corpses neither did they realize nor were told that they were the primary reason for that - instead - they were told LIES that the Nazis / German people were the cause. Typically today - people continue to be given misinformation /lies by the Government via its licensed PR department known as the TV Networks and regulated NEWS Media. The people- most of whom are Left-Brained - Just swallow it as they do not have the ability to be analytical nor conduct any study. What Britain and the US did was equally as horrific if not more horrific than what was done by a few psychopaths within the NAZI party. -- many of whom operated independently - without Hitler even knowing - One wil find the same breed of psychopaths today working mistreating animals who will be murdered/slaughtered - just because they had the misfortune of being born who they are.
@@andrew_koala2974 "When the British and US saw piles of emaciated corpses neither did they realize nor were told that they were the primary reason for that - instead - they were told LIES that the Nazis / German people were the cause." Well in a sense, the Nazis and German people were the cause if you think about it. Why were the allies bombing Germany in the first place? There is where the blame lies.
Imagine getting captured because you couldn't find another way across a river other than the heavily guarded bridge... You could have even just swam across
Dr. Felton, you intrigued me at 14:26. 🙋🏻♂️👨🏻🍳 “… thick British Army sandwiches.” Is that the “Egg Banjo” 🥚 🪕 to which you refer? I’m in culinary school now. I just retired from teaching 👨🏻🏫 in June.
What a great story. I was very surprised by the abrupt ending Sir Mark. No doubt you are the very best. Once again you leave me on the edge of the chair. 🇺🇸🏴🇬🇧
This series of videos are the most indepth set of videos involving the last days of Herr himmler that I've seen to date. I was a voracious reader of ww2 history while in high school back in the 1960s. Dr. Felton you are connecting all the dots for me with this series...thank you 😎
It is an interesting story and unfortunately I don't think we'll know all the details. Unless someone wants to raid the archives. I think their is a lot that we won't know all the details of.
@@deadelvis68 theirs a few things that the Germans knew, about the allies, Britain had a few things that would have been embracing. One though now reviled was the attempt at peace in 1942 (i think)
Actually, the archives often contain to much information. It takes years to get an accurate picture, even if you know what your looking for - and that's not a sound method for a historian.
