Hermann Göring’s cyanide capsule remains a debated mystery, and there is no single, universally accepted answer to where he “got” the poison.

The Main Theories

1. He Had It Since His Capture

Several investigations after his suicide concluded that Göring had the cyanide with him from the day he was arrested in 1945 and managed to hide it throughout his imprisonment and trial.

  • Official reports suggested he might have concealed the vial in his body (such as the umbilical cavity or alimentary canal) or hidden it in places like the rim of his cell toilet.
  • Earlier rumors claimed it was hidden in a hollowed-out tooth or under a dental crown, though no hard physical evidence confirmed those specific hiding places.

2. A U.S. Guard Brought It In

Decades later, former U.S. Army private Herbert Lee Stivers stated that he believed he had unknowingly carried the cyanide to Göring.

  • Stivers served as a guard at Nuremberg and said he delivered what he was told was “medicine” to Göring, hidden in a pen or similar object.
  • He claimed he did this at the request of people who said Göring was very ill and needed the substance, and that he only realized later it must have been the cyanide used in the suicide.

3. Other Suspected Helpers

Over the years, various accounts have suggested that other figures might have provided or helped with the poison.

  • Some stories point to sympathetic U.S. officers or guards who could have been bribed or persuaded.
  • Others propose that Göring’s doctor or even fellow former Nazi officers were involved in smuggling in a cyanide capsule.
  • These alternatives remain speculative and are not backed by conclusive documentation.

What Most Historians Say Today

Modern discussions generally present two serious possibilities: either Göring managed to keep a cyanide capsule hidden on his person since his capture, or a sympathetic or deceived intermediary (like Stivers) brought it to him shortly before his execution.

Because the physical evidence is incomplete and memories are decades old, historians treat the case as an unresolved mystery rather than a fully closed question.

In short, we know how Göring died — cyanide in his cell — but exactly where he got the poison from, and who, if anyone, helped him, is still not definitively proven.

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