HIMMLER’S VANITY
There is a fascinating story that comes from the days following World War II. Once Hitler was known to be dead, no architect of Nazism was hunted more doggedly by Allied Intelligence than Gestapo chief Heinrich Himmler. After the fall of Germany, he and two of his adjutants did their best to melt away, disguising themselves as members of the Secret Field Police. Himmler’s disguise was a good one… he shaved off his mustache and wore a black eyepatch… but Herr Himmler’s vanity proved his undoing. He could not bear to dress himself in the uniform of a mere private and chose instead that of a sergeant. Allied Forces had instructions to arrest all members of the Secret Field Police, beginning with the rank of sergeant! But for his vanity, Himmler might have escaped but he could not bear being only a private! From Life Magazine, special issue commemorating the year 1945 & World War II, pg. 82
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