Hermann Fegelein

Who was Hermann Fegelein?

Hans Georg Otto Hermann Fegelein was an SS-Gruppenführer of the Waffen-SS in Nazi Germany. He was a member of Adolf Hitler's entourage and brother-in-law to Eva Braun through his marriage to her sister, Gretl. Units under his command on the Eastern Front were responsible for the deaths of over 17,000 civilians during the Pripyat swamps punitive operation in the Byelorussian SSR in 1941. Fegelein was shot for desertion on 28 April 1945, two days before Hitler's suicide.

Historians William L. Shirer and Ian Kershaw characterise him as cynical and disreputable. Albert Speer called him "one of the most disgusting people in Hitler's circle". Fegelein was an opportunist who ingratiated himself with Himmler, who granted him the best assignments and rapid promotions.