In the 1914-1918 war he fought on the Western Front, then transferred                  
        to the air force, and commanded the famous "Death Squadron". In 1922                   
        he joined the Nazi Party and was given command of the Hitlers storm                    
        troopers. He became president of the Reichstag in 1932, and joined the                 
        Nazi government in 1933. He founded the Gestapo, setting up the                        
        concentration camps for political, racial, and religious suspects. In                  
        1940 he became economic dictator of Germany, and was made Marshal of                   
        the Reich, the first and only holder of the rank. As the war went                      
        against Germany, his prestige waned. In 1944 he attempted a palace                     
        revolution, was condemned to death, but escaped, to be captured by US                  
        troops.In 1946 he was sentenced to death at the Nuremberg War Crimes                   
        Trial, but before his execution could take place he committed suicide.                 
 

Source: Leo van de Pas