how did hermann goering find cyanide

Hermann Göring, the high-ranking Nazi official convicted at the Nuremberg Trials, took his own life with a cyanide capsule on October 15, 1946, just hours before his scheduled hanging. The exact source of the poison remains one of history's enduring mysteries, despite intense investigations under heavy guard surveillance.

Historical Context

Göring was under constant watch in Nuremberg prison after his 1945 capture, with strict security ramped up following another prisoner's suicide. He had begged for death by firing squad instead of hanging, viewing it as less humiliating, but was denied. That night, he bit into the capsule, leaving glass particles on his lips and dying swiftly.

Main Theories

Historians and investigators have debated how he obtained it for decades, with no definitive proof. Key ideas include:

• Hidden in personal items : A second capsule was later found in his hair cream jar, suggesting he smuggled one from home or hid it during body searches—possible since capsules were tiny, like a pencil eraser.

• Guard manipulation : Göring's charisma reportedly won over guards like Lt. Jack Wheelis after his morphine withdrawal; he may have convinced one to fetch the cream.

• Smuggled by a guard : In 2005, 78-year-old U.S. guard Herbert Lee Stivers claimed he delivered it, charmed by a German woman named Mona who begged him to help Göring. Hidden in a fountain pen barrel, it came from ex-SS contacts.

• Fellow prisoner's aid : SS General Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, a witness nearby, allegedly passed it during a handshake, hidden in soap.

Theory| Supporting Evidence| Challenges
---|---|---
Hair cream capsule 1| Second vial found post-death| How did he access it undetected?
Guard Herbert Stivers 36| His 2005 confession to LA Times| No corroboration; others deceased
SS General handover 10| TIME magazine account| Witness status meant less scrutiny
Pre-capture smuggling 7| SS officers carried cyanide| Multiple strip searches failed to find it

Forum and Modern Views

Online discussions, like Reddit's AskHistorians, lean toward the guard or cream theories, citing prison psychologist Gustave Gilbert's Nuremberg Diary for Göring's manipulative charm. Recent 2025 YouTube docs (e.g., Nazi Murder Mysteries) revisit Stivers' story as compelling but unresolved, blending trial records with eyewitness tales. Scholars note five+ theories persist 80 years later, fueled by U.S. Army reports.

"Göring managed to have the last laugh even in death." – Reddit historian summary

TL;DR : Likely via a smuggled capsule from a guard or hidden item, but unproven—Göring outsmarted his captors.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.