Heinrich Himmler was a street fighter who took control of one of Hitler's most feared terror machines - the "Einsatzgruppen" tasked with depopulating Eastern Europe and Russia so that "pure" Germans could take their place. Nazi Hunters had their sights on Himmler from early on in the war because of his systematic persecution of the Jews and non-Aryans. Allied forces were told to capture him - and this is what set the hunt off, even before the end of the war. On May 6, 1945, the SS leader decided to go south to his home in Bavaria, taking with him a few escorts. Disguising themselves and holding false papers, three men, including Himmler, were picked up by an alert British infantry patrol. The true identity of the second greatest German war criminal of them all did not come to light for another couple of days. Himmler was imprisoned and later found dead in captivity in Luneburg - through cyanide poisoning. Controversy rages about his death, particularly in view of Churchill's remarks (in cabinet) that the Allies were "quite entitled to bump him off."
