Emma Johanna "Emmy"

Emmy Sonneman, born 24-03-193 in Hamburg, became a well known actress at the National Theatre in Weimar. She was the daughter of a successful chocolate factory owner, one of his five children. From her youth she was always interested in the show bussiness. She divorced her first husband, actor Karl Köstlin,  met Hermann Goering (see Hermann Goering) (did you know) for the first time early 1932 and she became Hermann Goering's second wife on 10-04-1935.   Hermann was first married with Carin Fock (see Carin Goering) who died in October 1931. Adolf Hitler acted as best man, in Munich. In 1937 she gave, already 44 years old, birth to a daughter and named her Edda, believed to be after Mussolini's daughter,(see Mussolini) who was married with Foreign Minister Ciano, he 

                 

            Karl Köstlin.                                                      Edda with Ciano.                              Edda with Emmy.

was executed age 40, on 11-01-1944,and who had spent some time at their home Carinhall. The birth of Edda was pretty unexspected as from Hermann was said that he was not a fertile man. Edda is still living quiet in Munich, suburb Lehel, but proud with the name Goering, she never married. Adolf Hitler was her godfather. The birth of her daughter was celebrated by her husband's ordering 500 planes to fly over Berlin, Goering stated he would have flown 1,000 planes as a salute had it been a boy.  Edda became active in the Neo-Nazi movement and attends many of their reunions.  Mrs. Goering liked to give big parties in the Carinhall and the most important people were invited for these occasions. Emmy served as Adolf Hitler's (see Adolf) (did you know) hostess at many state functions, which led to her claiming the title of "First Lady of the Third Reich".   This factor as well as her claim to be the "First Lady of the Third Reich", created much animosity between herself, Magda Goebbels (see Magda Goebbels) (did you know) and Hitler's (see Hitler Paula) mistress, Eva Braun, (see Eva Braun)(see Braun parents) whom Emmy Goering snubbed and openly despised. This led to Hitler issuing angry instructions to Hermann Goering to demand that Emmy treat Eva with more respect; one of the outcomes of Emmy's condescending attitude toward Eva was that she was no longer invited to Hitler's Bavarian retreat, the Berghof. As for Eva Braun, she allegedly never forgave Emmy for having assumed the role of "First Lady of the Reich". Hermann Goering named his country house "Carinhall" after his first wife, but his hunting lodge at Rominten, now Krasnolesye, the Reichsjägerhof, was known as "Emmyhall". By the time of her husband's death at Nuremberg she and her daughter had been reduced to living in a two-room cottage with no running water or electricity, and a woman whose gowns had once required multiple closets owned two dresses.

    In 1948, a German denazification court convicted her of being a Nazi and sentenced her to one year in jail. When she was released, thirty percent of her property was confiscated and she was banned from the stage for five years. She was unable to revive her acting career so she moved to Munich with her daughter Edda. Upon her release she was able to secure a small apartment in a new construction in the rebuilt city of Berlin. She remained there for the rest of her life. For most of her life she suffered from sciatica. Daughter Edda,  believing that her father was wrongly judged by the Allies. She is living in Munich now. Emmy died on June 08-06-1973, at the old age of 80. Emma Goering-Sonnemann is buried on the Waldfriedhof, new section, in Munich and her neighbours are Konteradmiral Karl-Jesko von Puttkammer,(see Puttkamer) marine-adjutant of Hitler and Paul "Papa" Hausser the SS General (see Hausser). On this cemetery are also buried the next personalities, Generals, Rudolf Bogatsch (see Bogatsch), Heinrich Curtze (see Curtze), Ernst Detleffesen (see Detleffsen), Franz Ritter von Epp (see von Epp), Gero von Gersdorf (see Gersdorf), Ernst Goth (see Goth), Bruno Hinz (see Hinz), Max Ibel (see Ibel), Hugo Junkers (see Junkers), Dietrich von Saucken (see Saucken), Ernst Weber (see Weber), the carrier of the Nazi blood flag Jacob Grimminger (see Grimminger), the scientist Werner Heissenberg (see Heissenberg) and the famous film maker Leni Riefenstahl (see Riefenstahl).