Heinrich Himmler was a Nazi leader in Germany. He was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, appointed Commander of the Home Army by Adolf Hitler. Himmler is held highly responsible for the Holocaust. Himmler joined the Nazi party in 1923 and is credited for expanding the SS from a group of military men numbering 290 members, into a paramilitary group numbering one-million. Under Hitler's orders, he set up, organized, and controlled concentration camps and built extermination camps. He was responsible for overseeing all security forces, including the Gestapo, and directed the extermination of Jews. Towards the end of the war, realizing that defeat was near, Himmler attempted to instigate talks with the Western allies. When hearing of this, Hitler dismissed Himmler from his posts and sought his arrest. Himmler was instead arrested by British forces when attempting to flee. He committed suicide on May 23, 1945, while in British custody.
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