Himmler fell through the basket by a stamp that had been used to it Entlassungsschein to make. The British military knew that it was used by SS men who tried to get away and had therefore been ordered to arrest everyone with such an A4.
Initially, the British did not yet realize that they had the architect of the Holocaust, the last high Nazi who was still at large. However, Himmler decided to play open card, perhaps hoping he could negotiate with the British. He had previously tried to get a white foot through at the last minute release prisoners from concentration camps.
Himmler was briefly questioned and had to undergo a medical examination. When the doctor noticed something suspicious in his cheek, Himmler bit the blocked cyanide capsule and died within minutes. His body was buried in a secret place in Northern Germany.
Heirloom
The piece of paper Himmler had used was preserved by Lt. Col. Noakes, who was probably present at the interrogation as an MI5 officer. It was passed down as an heirloom within his family, until a grandniece donated it to the Military Intelligence Museum in Shefford.
Once the UK lockdown is over it will be on display there. In any case, the document shows that the pseudonym that Himmler used for years has been wrongly written: it was reported that he called himself Heinrich Hitzinger. However, the document lacks the letter t.
“What appeals to me about the story is that the Germans themselves guaranteed that he was exposed,” says the curator of the museum against the BBC. “Without this document, Himmler might have slipped through the system unseen, as happened with so many wanted Nazis.”
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