Heinrich Himmler: Man discovers architect of the Holocaust was his grandfather

Heinrich Himmler: Man discovers architect of the Holocaust was his grandfather Henrik Lenkeit uncovered his family connection to leading Nazi figure Heinrich Himmler. Image:Heinrich Himmler. Pic: AP Image:Henrik Lenkeit Image:Hedwig Potthast.. Pic: Courtesy of family Image:Love letters between Henrik Lenkeit and Hedwig Potthast dated between 1940-1942. Pic: Interfoto Image:Pic: Interfoto Image:Pic: Interfoto Image:Heinrich Himmler in 1938. Pic: AP Image:Hedwig Potthast. Pic: Courtesy of family Saturday 27 December 2025 04:29, UK "Evil monster, murderer, Nazi," - that's how Henrik Lenkeit describes his grandfather. It sounds extreme until you discover that the man he's referring to was the ruthless Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler. Hitler's righthand man, Himmler was a feared and fanatical man known for his leading role in the Final Solution and Holocaust. So, imagine how Henrik felt when aged 47 he discovered by chance that they were related. Carefully, he recounts the moment in 2024 which would change his life forever. He explains he'd been restless for most of the day so started watching a documentary about the Nazis online. Interested in what he had seen, he took to the internet to find out more. But when he opened one website, the face of his maternal grandmother, Hedwig Potthast, stared back. Beneath it a label said, "Himmler's mistress". Further research revealed Himmler was his mother's biological father and Henrik's grandfather. "How do you process that you're related to one of the biggest criminals in history?" I ask during our meeting in Berlin. "You don't," Henrik quickly replies. He says the discovery prompted him to ask a string of questions about everything he thought he knew. "Who am I? Who was I? Why wasn't I told the truth for 47 years?" he says. "After forty-seven years my life was like a lie," he adds. While he doesn't have a definitive answer, he believes his parents shielded him from the truth to protect him. He opens a photo album and shows me photos of Hedwig. It's 1935 and she's young at the time and smiling slightly. By 1938, Henrik says she and Himmler had confessed their love for each other. They had met through work at the notorious secret police headquarters in Berlin, where she was employed as his private secretary. It wasn't long before they began their affair. "She was a friendly person," Henrik says as he thinks about the woman he used to call "Mutti," an affectionate term meaning mother. "I've never thought she could be the mistress of a mass murderer. Knowing that, of course, was a shock," he adds. During research for the interview, I read that Potthast was a convinced by Nazi. One article even claimed she had had a copy of Adolf Hitler's notorious book "Mein Kampf" bound with human skin. I ask Henrik if he's heard about this? "She knew. I think she knew everything," he says, dispelling any idea she was a naive young woman somehow oblivious to her lover's horrors. "They were lovers. Monster lovers. I even heard that she encouraged Himmler to...

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