Emmy Sonnemann

Emmy Sonnemann Emmy Sonnemann (6 December 1893 – 8 June 1973) was a German stage and film actress and the second wife of Hermann Göring. She achieved recognition in Weimar Republic theatrical circles and later became a prominent figure in the social milieu of the Third Reich, drawing attention from figures across the Nazi Party, Wehrmacht, Reichstag, and international diplomatic corps.

Early life and career

Born in Hamburg during the German Empire, Sonnemann trained and performed in venues linked to the Weimar Republic cultural scene, including stages associated with the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, touring companies that appeared in cities such as Berlin, Munich, and Leipzig, and theatrical networks tied to impresarios who worked with performers appearing at houses near the Elbe River. Her career intersected with actors and directors from the silent and early sound film era connected to studios like UFA (company) and producers whose casts included names from Bertolt Brecht circles, Max Reinhardt ensembles, and contemporaries who performed at festivals later associated with the Bauhaus-era artistic milieu. She appeared in film productions and stage plays that brought her into contact with press outlets based in Hamburg, Vienna, and Prague, and with managers who arranged performances for audiences that included members of the House of Hohenzollern social set and patrons linked to cultural salons frequented by those connected to the Weimar Republic parliamentary and aristocratic networks.

Marriage to Hermann Göring

Sonnemann married Hermann Göring in 1935 in a ceremony that attracted guests from the leadership of the Nazi Party, including senior figures from the SA (Sturmabteilung), associates from the SS (Schutzstaffel), ministers from cabinets that reported to Adolf Hitler, and diplomats from the Italian Fascist Party and other aligned regimes. The wedding, held in Obersalzberg and later celebrated in locations associated with the Nazi regime leadership social calendar, was covered by newspapers connected to major press syndicates in Berlin and by photographers who worked with agencies that later documented state ceremonies involving institutions such as the Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery. As spouse of Göring, she entered households and residences including the Carinhall estate and properties linked to art collections that drew attention from collectors and officials associated with cultural acquisitions during the 1930s, alongside aristocrats and industrialists who maintained ties to families such as the Thyssen and the Krupp dynasties.

Role and activities during the Nazi era

During the Third Reich, Sonnemann performed public duties that brought her into contact with organizations and individuals within the regime’s elite networks, including appearances at social functions attended by members of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, delegation receptions with ambassadors accredited from countries like Italy, Japan, and Spain, and charity events that were publicized by outlets sympathetic to the leadership. She maintained relationships with figures from cultural institutions such as the Deutsche Oper Berlin and personalities from the film community including actors formerly contracted to UFA (company) and directors with ties to propaganda offices. Sonnemann’s public profile intersected with episodes involving art collections, restitution controversies, and procurement practices that later drew scrutiny from tribunals and commissions established by the Allied occupation of Germany and successor bodies concerned with cultural property. Her social role connected her to household management at residences frequented by officials from the Luftwaffe high command and to events where foreign envoys and industrial leaders from corporations linked to German rearmament were present.

Post-war life and legacy

After the collapse of the Nazi Germany state in 1945 and the subsequent Nuremberg trials, Sonnemann’s circumstances changed as Allied authorities, military governments, and denazification panels processed individuals connected to senior officials. She lived in postwar West Germany, including time in Munich, where she dealt with legal, financial, and reputational consequences that paralleled cases involving other spouses of high-ranking figures tried or investigated by the International Military Tribunal and subsequent German courts. Her postwar years involved interactions with journalists from outlets in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, administrators from municipal authorities, and interlocutors associated with restitution efforts overseen by commissions established under occupation zones administered by the United States occupation zone in Germany and the British occupation zone in Germany. Debates over property, art holdings, and legacy placed Sonnemann in the broader discourse intersecting with historians, archivists, and legal scholars studying the Third Reich leadership’s private lives.

Cultural portrayals and public perception

Sonnemann has been depicted or referenced in biographies, documentary films, and historical studies about Nazi leadership, appearing alongside portrayals of figures such as Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, and Rudolf Hess. Her image and role have been analyzed in works produced by historians linked to institutions like the Institute of Contemporary History (Munich), filmmakers who consulted archives from the Bundesarchiv, and authors writing for presses in London, New York City, and Paris. Public perception of Sonnemann has evolved through exhibitions, museum catalogs, and academic articles that compare her life to those of other prominent spouses of the era, including spouses associated with Albert Speer and social figures connected to the German Resistance controversies, with attention from commentators at venues such as the Deutsches Historisches Museum and media outlets reporting on postwar memory and restitution debates.

Category:1893 births Category:1973 deaths Category:German actresses Category:People from Hamburg