Hermann Göring: Minister of Aviation

The first large new government building erected by the National Socialists was the Reich Ministry of Aviation. The architect Ernst Sagebiel created this monumental structure with around 2,000 offices in 1935/36. The short construction period was used for propaganda purposes to put the new system on display. The Nazi-state as commissioner made sure to present themselves: two stately Reich eagles framed the entrance to the courtyard and the facade was also decorated with swastikas. Other reliefs showed military symbols such as the Iron Cross as well as the Pour le mérite, the highest German order of merit. This was an allusion to the head of the house, Hermann Göring.
Among the leaders of the Third Reich, this extrovert and bon vivant was a popular figure with the public. Besides his sociable nature, this was also due to the adventurous life he had led. At twelve, his father sent him to a military academy. In 1914, he first went to the front as an infantryman, but soon switched to the air force. He became a successful fighter pilot in World War I, was awarded the Pour le mérite and became well-known to the public. After the peace treaty, the conservative mili-tarist fundamentally rejected the Weimar Republic. This rejection was made stronger by the Treaty of Versailles, which affected the pilot Göring in a very personal way. Because it was forbidden for the Republic to maintain an air force and also civil aviation was greatly hindered. He therefore moved to Scandinavia where he got by as a pilot and representative of German aircraft companies. After he had returned to Germany he met Hitler in Munich and joined the Nazi Party. In 1923, he participated in the Hitler Ludendorff coup and, after its suppression, was able to flee abroad severely wounded. Amnesty granted by Reich President Hindenburg allowed the rebel to return home without penalty. In 1928, this self-professed enemy of parliament became a delegate in the Reichstag and then, in August 1932, even became its president.
After the accession to power, Göring set himself up as second in command in the Nazi hierarchy. As the provisional Prussian Minister of the Interior and, later, Minister President, he had direct access to the police which he rebuilt into a terror apparatus. Goering also secured himself a key position in the military sector as Reich Aviation Minister. By breaching the Treaty of Versailles, he was responsible for building up the air force at first in secret and later officially. In his ministry, crucial elements of remilitarisation and rearmament were mixed together.