German Leadership

"Who ate the pies ?"

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Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering (left) and Baldur von Schirach exchange ... recipes ? on the Obersalzburg, ?1935. Schirach was, at this time, Reich Youth Leader, notably the man who "presented" Germany's Youth to Hitler at the 1934 Reich Party Day, recorded in Leni Riefenstahl's landmark documentary, "Triumph of the Will". He was later dethroned from this post in a typically Nazi internal coup, possibly facilitated by his wife's falling-out with Hitler over an injudicious comment regarding mass murder, to be replaced by Arthur Axmann. This left Axmann in the position, ultimately, of helping to feed his young and unprepared charges into the 1944-'45 Nazi "Gotterdammerung" machine of self-destruction. Von Schirach was, perhaps, more fortunate, at least in the short term. He got the "consolation prize" of the Gauleitership of Vienna, where he could attend any number of agreeable art exhibitions, concerts, operas and so on, leaving the SD to get on with the serious business of running things generally and, in particular, deporting Jews and other undesirables eastwards, an activity of which Vienna was a key centre. Best regards, JR.