The figure of Heinrich Müller is shrouded in riddles and secrets. The SS Gruppenfuehrer, Lieutenant General of Police, was not present at the Nuremberg trials among the other accused. His own death helped him to avoid this, which caused a lot of doubts. Was it a tragic end to the life of a famous Nazi, or was it a performance by a good analyst and conspirator that enabled him to spend the rest of his biography in peace and prosperity?
Childhood and youth
Heinrich was born in Munich in 1900 into a Catholic family of a former gendarme. After primary education, the parents sent their son to a working school in the Bavarian city of Schrobenhausen, he completed his studies in Krumbach. Despite his good academic performance, the teachers considered the spoiled child suspicious and dishonest. The boy spent the next three years as an apprentice at an aircraft factory. In June 1917, he volunteered for the service and got into the aviation. The seventeen-year-old youth began his army career on the Western Front. For his independent raid on the French capital, he was awarded the Iron Cross. Two years later, he retired to the reserve, worked as an air navigation instructor.
Career
For further service, Müller chose the police. Its main task was a merciless struggle against any manifestation of communism. During this period, there were changes in Henry's personal life. In 1924 he started a family with the daughter of a famous publisher. Soon the wife gave birth to a son, and then a daughter.
When the National Socialists came to power in Germany, Mueller's career took off. In 1934, he was transferred to serve in Berlin, awarded the title of SS Obersturmbannfuehrer and Police Inspector. Colleagues noted his zeal and ambition, desire to gain recognition at any cost. By his behavior, Müller proved that he was in the right place. He worked without rest, meticulously, knew how to listen and not stick out. Heinrich's further promotion up the career ladder was hampered by only one fact - he was not a member of the party. Soon, not without the influence of the party office, he announced that he was leaving the church and became a member of the NSDAP.
In 1939, Müller became head of the Gestapo. The Lieutenant General reached the pinnacle of his career - the top of the Reich. He possessed information about any person, the word "Gestapo" and the sinister figure of her boss cast fear on everyone. Co-workers were repulsed by his appearance: a shaved head, compressed lips, a strong look. During a friendly conversation, colleagues felt as if they were being interrogated. He performed his duties to identify and neutralize enemies of the state impeccably. The head of the police personally led the liquidation of the Red Chapel organization, uncovered and prevented an attempted coup in 1944, and directed the destruction of civilians in the occupied territories. Each new deed was followed by a new reward.
Mysterious disappearance
The police chief was last seen on May 1, 1945, in Hitler's bunker. He experienced the death of the Fuhrer in the immediate vicinity. Eyewitnesses testified that he refused to break out of the encirclement, citing the fall of the regime and unwillingness to be captured by Russia. After that, his tracks are cut off. Two months later, a corpse was found in a temporary grave, outwardly similar to Heinrich Müller. In the pocket of his uniform there was an official document in his name. This was the only confirmation of the general's death. An exhumation two decades later confirmed that the remains belonged to another person.
What happened to the head of the Gestapo in the last days of the war? The answer to this question gave rise to a huge amount of speculation and rumors. Most historians are inclined to believe that Mueller did not die. Probably, he successfully managed to leave the territory of the country. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay appeared among the possible places of stay of the general. There is a version that he was recruited by foreign intelligence, perhaps American or even Soviet.
The secret of the chief of the Gestapo tried to reveal in his novel "Seventeen Moments of Spring" the writer Yulian Semyonov, a film of the same name was released based on the book. The picture became part of the golden fund of Russian cinema. Thanks to the work of director Tatyana Lioznova and actor Leonid Bronevoy, the figure of the head of the secret police, Heinrich Müller, became known to a wide range of people.
