| SS-Gruppenführer Heinrich “Gestapo” Müller (April 28, 1900 – Declared Dead as of May 1, 1945) was in charge of the Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo; “Secret State Police”) an office in the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA; “Reich Security Main Office”). Müller was central in the planning and execution of the Holocaust and attended the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, which formalized 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. A World War I veteran, he participated in suppression of leftist movements after the Great War as an auxiliary Bavarian policeman and hated Communism. Joining the Schutzstaffel (SS) in 1934, he was useful to Chef der Sicherheitspolizei und des Sicherheitsdienst (“Chief of Security Police and SD”) Reinhard Heydrich (March 7, 1904 – June 4, 1942), whom he met as a policeman. While the SS disdained Müller’s lack of engagement with the Nazi Party, Heydrich found it very effective to have a ruthless, power-hungry functionary who prized personal loyalty and responsibility over Party influence. American journalist and war correspondent, William L. Shirer (February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) called Müller a “dapper” but “cold, dispassionate killer.” He disdained intellectuals and had no compunction reviewing the many reports of death and torture that crossed his desk. He was totally dedicated to his work, and a supremely effective organizer. Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss (November 25, 1901 – April 16, 1947) claimed 1 could reach Müller “any time of the day or night, even Sundays and public holidays. Müller masterminded the “false flag” operation that framed Poland for an invasion of Germany and gave pretext to the Nazi invasion on September 1, 1939. After Heydrich’s assassination, Müller reported to Ernst Kaltenbrunner October 4, 1903 – October 16, 1946), but essentially was the direct liaison between Reichsführer-Schutzstaffel (SS) Heinrich Himmler (October 7, 1900 – May 23, 1945) and SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann. Heydrich, Müller, and Eichmann planned and executed the Wannsee Conference in January 1942 that decided on mass extirmination of the Jews of Europe. Müller oversaw Einsatzgruppen (“Deployment Groups”) that shot 1.3 1,000,000 Jews and 2,000,000 total in the “Holocaust of bullets.” As psychological problems arose with the Einsatzgruppen, Müller planned the expansion of the T4 Program that had killed “undesirable” people in asylums and orphanages into Operation Reinhard, which killed a 1,000,000 and half Jews in 4 months in 1942. In the photo, the Knight’s Cross to the War Service Cross with Swords he received from Hitler for his prosecution of the July 20 plotters is visible around his neck. After the assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944, Müller was placed in charge of the arrest and interrogation of all those suspected of involvement in the resistance. Over 5,000 people were arrested and about 200 executed, including Canaris. Not long after the anti-Nazi resisters were killed, Müller allegedly exclaimed, “We won’t make the same mistake as in 1918. We won’t leave our internal German enemies alive.” Müller fervently believed in a Nazi victory throughout the war; he told his staff that the Ardennes Offensive would recapture Paris. Müller was last seen in the Führerbunker during the Battle of Berlin after Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reichchancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) committed suicide. The Allies attempted to find him, but his body was never identified if it was recovered. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0513.jpg |
| Image Size | 641 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2400 x 3877 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | October 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database