1900-1945. German Nazi leader, head of the SS
elite corps from 1929, the police and the
Gestapo secret police from 1936. During World
War II he replaced Goering as Hitler's
second-in-command. He was captured May 1945,
and committed suicide. Born in Munich, he
joined the Nazi Party in its early days, and
became chief of the Bavarian police 1933. His
accumulation of offices meant he had command
of all German police forces by 1936, which
made him one of the most powerful people in
Germany. In Apr 1945 he made a proposal to
the Allies that Germany should surrender to
Britain and the USA but not to the USSR,
which was rejected.