Hermann Goring was one of the most phenomenal leaders of the Nazi party in Germany, and one of the closest aides of Hitler. Having keen interest in the military from childhood, he joined the military regiment and soon found fame as an ace fighter in the German Army. Disillusioned with the reigning politics, he joined the Nazi party and helped Hitler consolidate it into a major power. A trusted aide of Hitler, he soon became the second most powerful man after him, in Germany. He formed the Gestapo, the secret police force, and gave the command to one of his arch rivals, Heinrich Himmler. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, or German Air Force. He was the recipient of many awards for his bravery but had a weakness towards morphine and remained addicted to it till the end. He had confiscated much of property and art work from Jewish victims of the Holocaust to add to his collections. With the Luftwaffe succumbing to attacks from the Allied Forces in World War II, the Nazi party suffered defeat, forcing Goering to surrender. Accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, he was tried at Nuremburg. He was sentenced to death by hanging, but committed suicide by consuming a cyanide capsule on the night before the hanging had to be carried out.