Angels of Death: Goering's Luftwaffe

Hoyt's telling biography of Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering (1893-1947) brings into clearer focus the methods by which this flamboyant Nazi built the German air force into a formidable military arm even before the outbreak of WW II. He describes how Goering boasted that the Luftwaffe would win the war for Hitler, then saw it lose the Battle of Britain. Similarly, Goering bragged that the Luftwaffe could supply the encircled Sixth Army at Stalingrad, another disasterous failure for Germany. By 1943, caught up in his responsibilities as Germany's economic czar and his own luxurious lifestyle, Goering paid little attention to the air war and, as Hoyt reveals, was content to be one of the Fuhrer's yes-men (Goering once said, ``Please show me a `no man' in Germany who is not six feet under the ground today''). Hoyt reviews Goering's testimony at the Nuremberg war-crimes trials when, unlike the other defendants, he emphasized that his role during the Nazi era was significant. Though the title is ill-chosen, this is a succinct, involving biography of one of the most interesting figures of WW II. Hoyt is the author of 199 Days: The Battle for Stalingrad. Photos. (Apr.)