Friday, June 22, 2001 - UK
NORTHUMBRIA — "Ok lady, hand over the Nazi cup, or the pooch gets it." It's not exactly a phrase you hear in polite society these days, is it? Come to think of it, it's not exactly a phrase you hear. But unless we somehow got our newswire crossed with the WWII History Channel and the Home Shopping Network, here's the story:
News broke this morning of a bizarre dog-napping that has its roots in the sordid history of the Third Reich at the end of WWII. A metal chalice once belonging to Nazi leader Hermann Goering is being demanded as ransom in exchange for a woman's beloved Boxer pooch.
When the Allies raided the Nazi lair in 1945, the chalice was allegedly wrapped in curtains and smuggled into England by a Sunderland soldier George Armstrong. Later fearing the stigma of owning such a controversial piece, the soldier decided to hide it in the attic where it stayed until his death, reported the Sunderland Echo in 1999 when the chalice resurfaced.
The item next passed on to family friend Derick Smith and eventually on to the woman (whose identity has not yet been released).
The woman's dog was stolen late this week from her residence while she was on a hospital visit.
Although this crook's scheme is not exactly worthy of a James Bond plot (Austin Powers, maybe), such a relic could perhaps fetch a pretty penny if a buyer were to be found. But apparently, that's a big "if". A spokesperson for a major metropolitan museum told Scoop reporters, "With the recent publicity surrounding this piece—the distinctive markings and singularity—a thief may be lucky to fetch a few hundred bucks from some sucker on EBay."
With any luck it won't come to that. The Northumbria Police have already made one arrest and are questioning the suspect with regard to the dog-napping. The chalice remains for the time being in police custody.
Source: http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0106/articles/010622b.htm
When the Nazis came to power, Goering was made Minister of the Interior for Prussia, the largest German "State". This office controlled most of the police forces in Germany, and of the Geheime Staats Polizei (GESTAPO), in particular. In 1934, Goering gave control of the Gestapo to Himmler, as a payment for his assistance in the Night of the Long Knives coup that eliminated Ernst Roehm, leader of the SA and Goering's arch rival in the Nazi Party. Himmler combined the Gestapo with the Bavarian Political Police, (Germany's other secret police, which he already controlled) and with his SS, thus becoming an even bigger rival to Goering, but that is another story... .
In 1933, Goering also became the head of the Air Force, or Luftwaffe, the role for which he is most often remembered. He supervised its tremendous expansion, from a handful of prototype and trainers to the most powerful and modern air force in the world. He also supervised the reorganization of the German economy, which both prepared it for war and created the prosperity that the Nazis needed to satisfy most of the German public. Recognizing these achievements Hitler named Goering to be his successor (1939) and appointed him Reichsmarschall (Marshal of the Empire), in 1940.
Source: http://www.euronet.nl/users/wilfried/ww2/goering.htm