Rtn David Axon: The search for Heinrich Himmler

Our member David Axon gave us another fascinating talk about his father’s experiences immediately after the end of the Second World War. His father, an officer with British Military Intelligence, arrived in the British Sector of Germany the day after hostilities ceased. He was based in Lunenberg and reported to Field Marshal Montgomery, who headed the 22nd Army Division, which was responsible for intelligence and security in the Sector, including the security of the civilian population.

The situation was chaotic, with some 11 Million Germans fleeing the Russian advance and a similar number of former captives also on the move. All the roads were clogged except for the autobahn, which were reserved for military use.

At that time no one among the Allies knew the full nature and extent of the horrors perpetrated by the Nazi regime, although there was a list of Nazis wanted for questioning. Heinrich Himmler’s name was the first on the list. The problem the Allies had was that there were no photographs of him, only a description and examples of his signature from various official documents.

Josef Kramer, the Commandant of the Belsen Concentration Camp did give a lot of useful information. This included the fact that Himmler was thought to be in Flensburg. Himmler’s secretary was traced and questioned but did not know where he was. However, he was reported to have shaved his moustache and be making his way down to Bavaria, where he hoped to live in obscurity with his wife.

David’s father alerted the British control posts between Flensburg and Bavaria. On the 22nd May one control post about ten miles from Flensburg stopped three men who were all wearing dirty raincoats over German privates’ uniforms. The soldiers realised that one of the stamps in their papers was invalid and arrested them all. They slept under guard on the control post floor overnight and transferred to an internment camp the following day.

At the internment camp they were each issued with a tin mug and a tin plate and ordered to join a queue for food. One of the three started making a fuss and yelled “I am Heinrich Himmler! You can’t treat me like a common criminal!” He was separated out and David’s father alerted.

When David’s father and his squad arrived at the internment camp they did not recognised the man as Himmler until he took off the eye patch he had been wearing and put on a pair of glasses he had in his pocket. Then he was easily recognisable. His identity was confirmed when he was asked for his signature and that was compared with examples already held.

He was stripped and his clothes searched. Two metal cases were found in two of his pockets. One held a glass phial and the other was empty. It was quickly decided that he must have secreted the other phial. probably a poison capsule, somewhere about his person. As David put it, “they searched every orifice” but found nothing. He was searched by a Military Doctor and a Military Dentist, who similarly found nothing.

Himmler was then taken to the British headquarters at Lunenberg, where he was to be searched by a specially trained doctor from Military Intelligence. The doctor spotted Himmler getting something out from between his teeth with his tongue but was unable to stop Himmler biting down on it and releasing the poison. Despite all efforts to prevent it, Himmler died that night. A photograph was taken to prove that he had died and his body buried in an unmarked grave.