On this day: Himmler commits suicide

By 1929 he was given the role of personal bodyguard to Hitler, and from there his rise in the ranks of the Nazi police organisations was rapid. He was a key figure in the creation of the first Nazi concentration camp, Dachau, in 1933.

In charge of the Gestapo from 1936, during the Holocaust Himmler was at the forefront of Nazi policy in occupied Poland and directed the efforts to eliminate the Jewish and other non-Aryan populations. His efforts lead directly to the deaths of millions of Jews, Poles, Roma and other "subhuman" groups.

What the JC said: Himmler, like other leading Nazis, continually tried to "justify" the "Final Solution" on the grounds that unless the Jews were eliminated, they would murder the entire German people and would destroy Western civilisation. Hence, Himmler perceived the "war against the Jews" as a "moral necessity" and as a self-defensive war.

See more from the JC archives here.