Robert Ritter von Greim
Robert Ritter von Greim or Robert Greim (June 22, 1892)- ([[May 24, 1945)
Son of a Bavarian police captain was an army cadet before World War I and initially served in the artillery before transferring to the German Air Service (Fliegertruppe) in 1915. First flying two seaters Greim then joined the Jasta 34b flyers and flew a Dr.1. 521/17 during 1918. By the end of World War I Greim had 28 victories and had received the Pour le Mérite, Prussia’s highest military award, the Bavarian Max-Joseph, and the Iron Cross. The Bavarian Max-Joseph award entitled Greim to a lifelong pension, knighthood, and the addition of "Ritter von" to his name.
Greim was invited by Göring in 1933 to help rebuilding the German Air Force and in 1934 was nominated for the command of the first school of fighter pilots. In 1938 he assumed command of the department of research techniques in the Luftwaffe. Greim would be involved in the Battle of Britian, and Operation Barbarossa. Hitler awarded Greim with the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, which made him the most highly decorated pilot in the two World Wars.
When the Soviet forces had reached Berlin and the Reich was all but doomed, Greim tried to convince Hitler to flee Berlin with him. Hitler refused but promoted Greim to Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) and made him head of the Luftwaffe, dismissing Göring for treason.
Wounded from his landing in Berlin, Greim was still able to leave the city and was later captured by American soldiers on the day of the surrender of the Third Reich. Greim, however was to be part of a Soviet-American prisoner exchange program and fearing execution, and torture at the hands of the Soviets committed suicide on May 24, 1945. His final words before taking potassium cyanide were: "I am the head of the Luftwaffe but I have no Luftwaffe."