Erhard Milch was one of the most prominent figures in Nazi Germany. He held senior positions in the armed forces of the Third Reich.
He was personally acquainted with Hitler. He made a huge contribution to the development of the air force. He was deputy Goering, who patronized him. Facilitated the rise of the Nazis to power.
Biography
Born March 30, 1892 in the province of Hanover. His parents were quite wealthy pharmacists. At that time, the position of a pharmacist was considered quite honorable in society. Erhard's father was a Jew and his mother was German. After graduation, the young man decides to join the army. He wants to serve in the navy. However, he is not taken into the imperial troops due to the Jewish origin of his father. But Milh manages to enter the artillery regiment. A year later, in 1911, he received the rank of lieutenant.
First war
In the fourteenth year, the First World War begins. Erhard Milch begins his service in artillery. However, in the summer of the fifteenth year he was transferred to aviation. His talent revealed there. He quickly figured out the technical intricacies of the new aircraft and the tactical moments of warfare in the air. Three years later he receives the rank of captain. By the end of the war, he becomes the acting commander of the sixth air regiment. For four years on the battlefield was introduced to two Iron Crosses. And he retired to the reserve in 1920.
A year after returning from service, he decides to finally connect his life with aviation. Starts to work in a large company "Junkers". Hard times are coming in Germany at this time. Inflation destroys the Reichmark. In the midst of a severe economic crisis, the Weimar Republic is also forced to pay huge reparations to allied countries. And all production is under international control. Without a specialized education, Erhard Milch pretty quickly moves up the career ladder. He was unprincipled and cruel. To solve the issues of administrative appointments at work, he used various tricks and tricks. Intimidated and crushed competitors. Thanks to his intrigues, in the twenty-eighth year, Erhard Milch became the Executive Director of Lufthansa. At the same time, the company itself is in a huge decline.
Production boost
The collapse of the economy leads to the closure of many enterprises. Lufthansa was on the verge of bankruptcy. Moreover, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimar Republic did not have the right to manufacture combat aircraft. In addition, industry was the key to reparations. However, the Rapallo Treaties eased the situation a bit. German companies were allowed to open branches in Soviet Russia.
Milch had a tremendous effort to raise the company from the bottom. However, skillful leadership allowed him not only to maintain the concern, but also to bring him into the leaders of world aviation.
Occupying a key position in this area of German industry, Erhard put considerable pressure on his competitors. And he began with his former employer, Hugo Junkers. He owned one of the largest aviation companies in Europe. But Hugo himself firmly stood in anti-war positions, for which right-wing populists often criticized him. Milch began to report to Junkers. As a result, he managed to achieve his goal. A competitor was arrested. Junkers was offered freedom in exchange for the voluntary transfer of his concern to state ownership.
Connection with the Nazis
Future Field Marshal Erhard Milch was associated with the Nazis long before receiving his military post. In the twenties, he noticed a growing political force. Rich Milch began to sponsor the National Socialists and help them in every way.
Most likely, he proceeded from selfish interests, hoping to receive dividends after
Hitler came to power. After all, his father was a Jew, and anti-Semitism was the cornerstone of Nazi ideology. Erhard provided financial support to Goering. It was with him that he contacted the most. Every month he transferred a thousand marks to his account. Also provided transport services to the NSDAP. Among other things, gave Hitler a modern airplane.
Rise to power
Becoming Minister, Goering began to recruit a new team.
He knew that the Reich needed to restore aviation. But for this it was necessary to act quickly and deftly. Therefore, Goering turned to his old acquaintance Milch. He refused a political post because he did not want to work for those whom he had previously sponsored. To convince Erhard, Hitler had a personal meeting with him.
Milch accepted the agreement, but was not pleased with it. The bet on the Nazis was made solely out of a desire to defend the rights of the Lufthansa in the government. But the Führer was able to convince the entrepreneur, and Erhard Milch becomes the new Minister. A Jew of origin at least could not occupy any high government posts, but at most he could be exiled to a concentration camp. But Milch was of great benefit to the Reich. Therefore, Goering personally ordered the "correction" of Erhard's biography. For this, his mother was even called to Berlin. She wrote a document stating that Erhard’s father is a German with whom she had a secret relationship.
Career
The inspector general of the Luftwaffe continued the uncompromising struggle with opponents already in the government. For five years he rose to the rank of general. However, by the fortieth year, contradictions with Goering began to arise more and more often with him. Huge changes in the aviation industry occurred in the thirty-ninth year, when the Second World War began. Erhard briefly described this situation as "a unique chance to help the nation."
In fact, producing new aircraft, he himself received a huge income.
Because of the war, Germany was in international isolation. Deliveries of many resources have stopped, production has become complicated. After the attack on the Soviet Union, state orders for production only grew. Hitler also demanded to improve the available samples. Ernst Udet, who was responsible for this, could not cope. In the forty-first year, he commits suicide. Milch took his place. He refused to develop new projects and decided to rely on existing, time-tested models. In just a year, he was able to significantly improve the productivity of plants. For example, in the forty-fourth year, twenty-three thousand aircraft were produced. While in the Soviet Union over the same period released sixteen thousand.
Political intrigue
Actually being a key figure in the Luftwaffe, Milch tried to remove Goering.
Intrigues regularly flared up between them. Deputy Goering Milch even complained to Hitler about his boss. He motivated his dissatisfaction with the inept actions of Herman during the supply by air of the army of Paulus surrounded by Stalingrad. But Hitler believed that Goering was a more suitable figure for propaganda.
No matter how Milch improves his performance, World War II invariably absorbed all his planes. Briefly this is evidenced by the statistics of the losses of German aircraft on the Eastern Front for two weeks of the Soviet counteroffensive: 70 aircraft per day. Therefore, Hitler demanded to produce more and more cars, especially after the Allied landings in Normandy. And when the required number of bombers was not provided, Hitler removed Milch from his post. After that, Erhard had a plane crash in which he was seriously injured.
Imprisonment and death
Field Marshal Erhard Milch was arrested on May 4, forty-fifth.
The English corps detained him on the Baltic coast.
He was a participant in the Nuremberg trials. In the forty-seventh year he was sentenced to life imprisonment. But Milch managed to get out after eight years. He worked in various enterprises and died in the seventy-second year.