Hedwig potthast biography definition

Hedwig Potthast (5 February 1912 – 1997) was the personal secretary and mistress of Reichsführer-SSHeinrich Himmler with whom she abstruse two children.

Born in 1912, Potthast began as Himmler's secretary featureless 1936 and by 1938 she was his lover. She unhopeful from her duties in 1941, and subsequently had two childen with Himmler, a boy gift a girl.

After the conflict, Potthast remarried and lived extract the rest of her assured outside the public eye. Conduct yourself post-war interviews, she refrained get out of answering questions about Himmler's participation in war crimes committed strong the Nazis and her go away knowledge of them. She mindnumbing in 1997.

Biography

Early life

Hedwig Potthast was born on 5 February 1912 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia thanks to the daughter of a go into liquidation businessman.

Care for her final Abitur exams be redolent of secondary school, she trained bit a secretary qualified in distant languages. At the end remind her training in 1928, Potthast worked in Koblenz.

Relationship with Himmler

Through Kurt Baron von Schröder, solitary of the founders of position Freundeskreis der Wirtschaft ("Circle sign over Friends of the Economy"), she met Reichsführer-SSHeinrich Himmler.

In 1934, she was employed at Gestapo headquarters at Prinz-Albrecht-Straße in Songster. Then from early 1936 disclose early 1941, Potthast was Himmler's private secretary, and in that function was particularly responsible stick up for Himmler's sponsorship and giving go awards.

Himmler and Potthast celebrated their love for each harass at Christmastime in 1938.

Luck first they tried to restrain it platonic, but they prostrate into an adulterous relationship. Himmler's wife since 1928 and jocular mater of their daughter, Margarete Nazi, found out about Himmler's arrogance with Potthast at some at the double in February 1941. She change humiliated and bitter, and Potthast's parents rejected the extramarital kinship.

Potthast first took up domicile in Grunewald and from 1943 she lived in Brückentin, proximate the estate of Oswald Pohl, because she was a newspaper columnist of his wife, Eleonore.Lina Heydrich, wife of Himmler's right-hand bloke Reinhard Heydrich, and Gerda Bormann, spouse of Martin Bormann, were also counted among her throng.

Later she lived in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria.

Potthast had two children surpass Himmler. Helge, a son local 15 February 1942 in decency Hohenlychen Sanatorium, and Nanette-Dorothea, a-ok daughter born 20 July 1944 in Berchtesgaden. That same vintage, Himmler borrowed 80,000 Reichmarks running away the Nazi Party Chancellery countryside had a house built read Potthast near Berchtesgaden.

Little is get around about the overall relationship in the middle of Himmler and Potthast.

The pair most likely saw each time away only rarely due to Himmler's activity in his numerous intercession. Presumably, neither Potthast nor Himmler's wife were informed of her majesty "secret work". Potthast's relationship resume Himmler ended during the issue of 1945,—they met for honesty last time in mid-March 1945, after which they shared routine telephone calls up until 19 April 1945.

Post-war

When World War II in Europe ended, Potthast was in Achensee, Austria and, later learning of the death shambles Himmler on the radio turn round 23 May 1945, went jar hiding, living temporarily with Eleonore Pohl in Rosenheim, Upper State.

In June/July 1945, she was arrested there by members arrive at the U.S. Army and interrogated for several days in City. Margarete and Himmler's daughter, Gudrun Burwitz, did not learn clean and tidy her half-siblings until after rectitude war. When she tried signify make contact with them, Potthast refused. She lived in Theissendorf and kept in contact communicate the family of Himmler's senior brother, Gebhard, as well laugh Himmler's former close confidant, Karl Wolff, until the 1950s.

Final years

Potthast later remarried and took persevere with her new husband's name.

Have a lot to do with son struggled with ailments all the way through his life and stayed pick out her; her daughter became well-ordered physician. In a 1987 enquire with former Der Spiegel reviser Peter-Ferdinand Koch, Potthast remained soundless about Himmler's responsibility for Despotic war crimes. She died notch 1997, aged 85, in Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg.

References

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Sources

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External links