Nazi Hermann Goering’s daughter Edda dies at 80, is buried in secret
Death of Hitler’s goddaughter in December was not publicized; she had spoken highly of her Luftwaffe-commander father, sought to get a portion of his looted assets
Edda Goering, daughter of top Nazi Hermann Goering, died this past December and was quietly buried in an unmarked grave in Munich, German media has reported.
Goering died on December 21, 2018 aged 80 of unspecified causes, but her death was not made public. Local officials confirmed her death to media in recent days.
A leading member of the Nazi party, Goering’s father was commander of the German Luftwaffe during World War II and Adolf Hitler’s designated successor. After the war Goering was captured and convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg trials. He committed suicide by taking cyanide the night before he was to be hanged.
Edda Goering was born on June 2, 1938 to Hermann Goering and his second wife, actress Emmy Sonnemann. Goering, who was Hitler’s goddaughter, is believed to have spent much of her childhood at the family estate of Carinhall, northeast of Berlin.
Goering has spoken well of her father. According to Munich-based newspaper Tz, in a 1986 interview with Swedish television Goering said: “Because of the love and care of my parents, I had a very nice early childhood.”
She also believed in his inherent goodness and downplayed his part in the “unbelievable thing that happened to the Jews,” saying “I am convinced that my father, when he joined Hitler, believed that he was doing the best for Germany.
“My father was extremely popular, even abroad. He had the background, personality and natural warmth,” she said.
After the war Goering lived with her mother until the latter’s death in 1973. She worked as a medical secretary.
In 2014 she unsuccessfully petitioned German authorities in Bavaria to receive part of her father’s assets, many of which he had looted during the war. Her request was rejected after only a few minutes of discussion by the local parliament.
