Germany Reborn by Hermann Göring

I have read Germany Reborn by Hermann Göring and thought to compose a few thoughts regarding it. First and foremost the book is not very long and will thus not present any great obstacle for anyone who is not an avid reader. Moreover, it is more a personal story than a purely ideological work, which in my view makes it more interesting as the men of this epoch in history, to a large extent, have been unfairly portrayed by posterity. This particular edition of the book also includes a foreword which grants an oversight into Göring’s life.

I actually knew quite little about Göring prior to reading this. The image that probably has stuck with many people is that Göring was fat and gained his position due to being politically agile. On the contrary he was a decorated war hero from the First World War (as was others of his political endeavour). I have to mince my words here due to Sweden’s freedom of speech regulations, expressing positive opinions of certain individuals can be treated as HMF (Hets mot folkgrupp), which basically means “incite against minorities” and can in worst case scenario lead to prison. One thing that stood out for me whilst reading this book was how he describes Hitler, how he expresses his admiration. Most post-modern ironic individuals will probably not be able to relate to his words at all. After all, in a world where nothing is sacred and nothing is to be taken seriously it becomes hard to relate to things that have a deep and profound meaning, such as the epicness of a struggle, or the brotherhood and loyalty between men.

Moreover, an interesting aspect to discuss is the view of leadership. In today’s culture of hyper-individualism everyone wants to be their own leader, this is an immature mindset, at least when talking about things of a severe nature (such as a political quest – or military endeavours). Göring, a formidable leader in his own right, saw in another individual an even more formidable leader and decided to follow him. Simply put; it takes a truly great man to recognise when someone is more suited for leadership and support him accordingly. Important to stress here though is that even if a particular individual had the overall command of the nation, his truest men had great responsibilities and were thus still leaders in their own rights, just like the case was with Alexander and his truest men.

I will conclude this article with a good quote by the American General George S. Patton.