Heinrich Himmler killed himself in British custody on 23 May 1945 after his identity had been confirmed.

Germany had surrendered earlier that month, but the end of the war in Europe did not bring an orderly end to Nazi power. Allied forces were dealing with prisoners, fugitives, displaced people and the remains of a collapsed regime. Himmler was caught in that confusion.

He was travelling under a false identity. That disguise mattered. Himmler had been head of the SS and one of the main figures behind Nazi terror and genocide. By late May 1945, he was no longer issuing orders. He was trying to pass as someone else in defeated Germany.

British soldiers arrested him on 22 May. At first, he was one prisoner among many. Once his identity was confirmed, the case changed. Himmler became one of the most senior Nazi figures in Allied hands.

Before he could be moved into the formal process of post-war justice, he killed himself with a hidden cyanide capsule. The act ended his custody almost as soon as his real identity had been established.

His death left a gap in the public reckoning that followed. Himmler did not stand trial at Nuremberg. He was captured, identified and then gone, leaving one of the senior figures of the Nazi regime outside the courtroom.