Goring, Hermann Wilhelm, GEHR ihng, HEHR mahn VIHL hehlm (1893-1946), was second to Adolf Hitler as a leader of Nazi Germany. He became reich marshal and commanded the German air force. He also directed the build-up of Germany's war industry before the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Goring, also spelled Goering, had earned a distinguished record in World War I (1914-1918). In that war, he served as the last commander of the famous squadron of fighter aircraft previously led by Baron Manfred von Richthofen.