Heinrich Müller (Gestapo)
Heinrich Müller (28 April 1900; date of death unknown, but evidence points to May 1945) was a high-ranking German Schutzstaffel (SS) and police official during the Nazi era. For most of World War II in Europe, he was the chief of the Gestapo, the secret state police of Nazi Germany. Müller was central in the planning and execution of the Holocaust and attended the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, which formalised plans for deportation and genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe—The "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". He was known as "Gestapo Müller" to distinguish him from another SS general named Heinrich Müller.
Heinrich Müller | |
|---|---|
| Director of the Gestapo | |
| In office 27 September 1939 – 1 May 1945 | |
| Appointed by | Heinrich Himmler |
| Preceded by | Reinhard Heydrich |
| Succeeded by | none (Office abolished) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 April 1900 Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria German Empire |
| Died | May 1945 (aged 45) Berlin (assumed) |
| Civilian awards | Golden Party Badge |
| Nickname | "Gestapo Müller" |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | German Empire Nazi Germany |
| Service | German Army 1917–18 Munich Police 1919–33 Gestapo 1933–45 |
| Years of service | 1917–18 (military) 1933–45 (SS) |
| Rank | SS-Gruppenführer |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Military awards | Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords Iron Cross 1st Class with 1939 Clasp Bavarian Military Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 |
He was last seen in the Führerbunker in Berlin on 1 May 1945 and remains the most senior figure of the Nazi regime who was never captured or confirmed to have died.