1105501
Hermann Göring
Scroll down to see images of the item below the description
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, 1893-1946. Nazi Reichsmarshall; Luftwaffe commander-in-chief. Biography of Göring's first wife, Carin, with choice World War II-dated inscription and signature by Göring, With the best Christmas wishes / Hermann Göring / 1944.
This small book, entitled simply Carin Göring, was published in Berlin in 1941, some ten years after Carin's death. Göring, who was second in power in Nazi Germany to only Adolf Hitler himself, has beautifully inscribed and signed it in blue fountain pen on the front flyleaf.
Göring never lost his love for Carin after falling in love with her at first sight. He named his hunting lodge in the Schorfheide Forest northwest of Berlin Carinhall, and for years after her death he maintained a shrine to her in a room in the lodge. His enduring love for her radiated from his inscription to his sister-in-law, in which he referred to “my unforgettable Carin,” in another book that we recently sold.
On February 21, 1920, Swedish Count Eric von Rosen persuaded Göring, who was then working for a Swedish air transport company, to fly him in a snowstorm from Stockholm to his estate at Rockelstad Castle, some 60 miles southwest. There Göring met Carin, who was visiting Rockelstad for the weekend. He immediately fell in love when he saw her come down the stairs. Although Carin was married and had a child, she and Göring carried on a relationship until she was divorced in 1922. They then were married on January 3, 1923.
Carin was a passionate Nazi. The infant Nazi party sought out Göring, whose fame as a World War I aviator and whose contacts with Germany industry made him a prize recruit. Carin encouraged Göring's deepening involvement with the party. When Göring was badly injured in the groin while marching alongside Hitler in the failed Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923, Carin transported him to Austria, then on to Italy, and nursed him back to health.
Carin later died of heart failure on October 17, 1931. Her death was a serious blow to Göring. After he built Carinhall, he reinterred her body nearby in an elaborate underground mausoleum on the shores of the Wuckersee. Hitler and other top Nazi officials attended the reinterment ceremony on June 20, 1934.
This book measures 5⅜" x 7½". It contains a number of photographs of Carin, her family, and, of course, Göring. It also includes what appears to be a fold-out facsimile letter by Göring written in Swedish.
The book is bound in blue cloth with silver printing on the cover and spine. The cover shows some staining and wear, and the corners are slightly bumped. The interior of the book shows a bit of foxing but is otherwise clean, and the binding is pretty tight. The inscription and signature are in extra fine condition, and overall the book itself is fine.
This book is desirable not only because Carin represented such a large part of Göring's life but also because Göring's inscription and signature are dated during the last stages of World War II, when Göring was busy rebuilding the Luftwaffe as Germany struggled to reassert its air power against the Allies. It belongs in the finest of Third Reich or World War II collections.
This item has been sold.
|
