Yet sixty years after himmlers capture by british troops and subsequent suicide, the letters mysteriously turned up in tel aviv and, in early 2014, excerpts were published for the first time by the israeli newspaper yediot aharonot providing a rare, if jarring, glimpse into the family life of one of. Yet he was hitlers top enforcer, in charge of the gestapo, the ss, and the socalled final solution. Gudrun was brainwashed by her nazi parents so she never stood a chance. The blonde, blueeyed nurse margarete corresponded perfectly to. Rather than turn her back on the ss reichsfuhrer, who ran the.
Katrin himmler, a political scientist who is heinrich himmlers greatniece. For in her heart gudrun burwitz remains gudrun himmler, the beloved daughter of nazi reichsfuhrer heinrich himmler, the lord of death in the third. Heinrich himmlers daughter remains an unrepentant nazi. Waving goodbye to her grandchildren, gudrun burwitz has the look of a woman ready to live the rest of her days in peace and quiet. Heinrich himmler was born on october 7 1900, in munich, to gebhard himmler and anna maria himmler. Never renouncing nazi ideology, she consistently fought to defend her fathers reputation and became closely involved in neonazi groups that give support to exmembers of the ss. Her father was head of the schutzstaffel ss and a close friend of adolf hitler, the leader of the national socialist german workers party nsdap. Author, historian, journalist, presenter, petanquiste, crosscountry runner. Margarete himmler left with daughter gudrun in allied internment during the nuremberg trials in nuremberg, 24 november 1945 in 1945, margarete and gudrun left gmund as allied troops advanced into the area.
How nazi offspring dealt with their families hellish. Heinrich himmlers most popular book is the subhuman. Gudrun burwitz, the daughter of top nazi, heinrich himmler, was employed by west germanys foreign intelligence agency bnd in the 1960s. Gudrun himmler with her father, heinrich himmler, in berlin in 1938. Eine deutsche familiengeschichte in germany in 2007.
Gudrun margarete elfriede emma anna burwitz was the daughter of heinrich himmler and margarete himmler. Ultimately, her goal is to write a book called simply heinrich himmlerto clear her fathers name. Gudrun burwitz, now in her 80s, has continued to cherish her memories of her evil nazi father, the architect of the final solution, who she claims was the victim of an allied smear campaign. Burwitz, now a greying grandmother but once known as gudrun himmler the daughter of notorious nazi mass murderer heinrich himmler. Katrin himmler, the himmler brothers, pan macmillan, 2012, p. A german family history her book traces the lives of the three himmler brothers the eldest was gebhard himmler, the sons of a respected secondary school headmaster in munich. Gudrun burwitz, everloyal daughter of heinrich himmler. Heinrich grew up catholic but later became a big antichristian. Gudrun burwitz, the truebelieving daughter of heinrich himmler, the architect of the holocaust and nazi germanys highestranking official after adolf hitler, died may 24 in or near munich.
She was a deeply unpleasant holocaust denier but her views were as a result of her childhood. Gudrun burwitz, everloyal nazi princess and daughter of. Gudrun burwitz was the true believing daughter of heinrich himmler, the architect of the holocaust and nazi germanys highest ranking official after adolf hitler. The fuhrer will not believe that the soldiers will no longer fight. Katrin himmler is heinrich himmlers greatniece, a writer and political analyst. You learn from the book how much himmler was into the. There were three brothers, gebhart, heinrich and ernst. Gudrun burwitz, everloyal daughter of himmler, is dead at. Gudrun himmler gudrun burwitz spartacus educational. Heinrich himmler historical records and family trees. Gudrun burwitz, everloyal daughter of himmler, is dead at 88. Once upon a time the himmlers were just a normal german family, middleclass, hardworking, welleducated. She married the journalist and author wulf dieter burwitz, who later became a party official in the bavarian section of the farright npd, and had two children.
Although now on the decline, and probably even more so with the passing of gudrun burwitz, it has been a brave and useful group for national socialism. She also became a member of stille hilfe silent help, an organization providing support to arrested, condemned or fugitive former ssmembers. The only child of ss chief himmler, gudrun burwitz backed stille hilfe a shadowy organisation that aids former nazi soldiers, and was said to. Gudrun margarete elfriede emma anna burwitz nee himmler, 8 august 1929 24 may 2018 was the daughter of heinrich himmler and margarete himmler. Fischer verlag and in 2007 in english by macmillan as the himmler brothers. Gudrun burwitz wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Described as the dazzling nazi princess, gudrun burwitz was noted as a major proponent of nazism. This is a view that is argued by hugh thomas in his book, the unlikely death of heinrich himmler 2001. The silent help is not only about former national socialists.
Heinrich married margarete boden on july 3 1928, at age 27. He was at hitlers right hand guy who jumped at anything that came up. Gudrun burwitz, the truebelieving daughter of heinrich himmler, the architect of the holocaust and nazi germanys highestranking official after adolf hitler, has died in or near munich. The nazi princess gudrun burwitz war history online. Himmler met his future wife, margarete boden, in 1927.
Ss leader heinrich himmlers daughter gudrun burwitz remains a committed nazi. At the end of world war ii, it was assumed that the letters of heinrich himmler were lost. The ss chiefs daughter has fond memories of accompanying her father to dachau, the first nazi concentration camp and himmler. Katrin himmler, granddauther of himlers brother ernst, and author of the. This riveting family memoir provides essential new information on the private life and background of one of the twentieth centurys most notorious killers not a lone. The private heinrich himmler by katrin himmler overdrive. She is the granddaughter of ernst himmler 19051945, who was the younger brother of heinrich himmler, one of the most powerful men in nazi germany and a main architect of the holocaust. Gudrun himmler, the daughter of heinrich himmler and margarete himmler, was born on 8th august, 1929.
Katrin himmler, grandniece of himmler, has not refused to have children to end her greatuncles. After the allied victory, she was arrested and made to testify at the nuremberg trials. Gudrun burwitz, daughter of nazi heinrich himmler, continued her fathers legacy by. In one surviving letter, margarete refers to himmler as the landsknecht with the hard heart but she was nevertheless impressed by his romantic style of writing and his sincere love for her. Heinrich himmlers daughter gudrun burwitz, unrepentant. Gudrun margarete elfriede emma anna burwitz nee himmler, 8 august 1929 24 may 2018. She was named after a character in a novel written by himmlers favourite writer, werner jansen. Her father, as reichsfuhrerss, was a leading member of the nazi party, and chief architect of the final solution. Himmlers daughter gudrun burwitz has died at 88, a significant. Dusty sklar is a contributing writer to our magazine and the author of gods. Heinrich luitpold himmler was born in munich on 7 october 1900 to a conservative roman catholic middleclass family. Trotzdem nannte sie sich weiter gudrun himmler, bis sie dieter burwitz heiratete, einen funktionar im. Holocaust architect heinrich himmlers daughter gudrun.
Yes, she stammered, at which there was a deathly hush in the classroom and the teacher, embarrassed and unsure, quickly moved the lesson on. The book, which was published last week, has already been hailed as an important new way. Gudrun burwitz, everloyal daughter of nazi mastermind. Gudrun burwitz was the true believing daughter of heinrich himmler. He was great at seeing opportunities and making the most of them. Gudrun burwitz, daughter of heinrich himmler obituary. Eine deutsche familiengeschichte was published in 2005 in germany by s.
Heinrich himmlers daughter remains an unrepentant nazi seventy years ago today one of historys most notorious monsters died after biting on a. She was an unrepentant nazi and a holocaust denier. Daddy has found it terribly difficult with the incredible amount of work, she wrote in her diary in 1945. The nazi leadership of the reich security main office. Katrin himmlers cool but meticulous examination of the himmler story reveals in all its dark complexity the gulf between the normality of bourgeois family life and the horrors perpetrated by one member. Heinrich himmler is an interesting figure to study. Gudrun margarete elfriede emma anna himmler was born on aug. A german author, katrin himmler, who was born in 1967 is the granddaughter of ernst himmler, who lived from 19051945. We can only wonder, as biographer peter longerich asks, how could such a banal personality attain such a historically unique position of power.