Hermann Wilhelm Göring (1893-1946) was a prominent politician, military leader, and high-ranking member of the National Socialist Party, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, and for a long time Adolf Hitler's designated successor. A flying ace in World War I, decorated with the prestigious Pour le Mérite, he joined the Nazi Party in its early days. After the seizure of power, he founded the Gestapo and was made responsible for the Four-Year Plan, directing Germany's economic policy towards rearmament. His principal work was the creation of the Luftwaffe, the German air force. He authorized Reinhard Heydrich to coordinate the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" and was noted for the systematic looting of works of art in the occupied territories. He was the sole holder of the rank of Reichsmarschall and of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest military decoration of the Third Reich. Tried at Nuremberg for war crimes and crimes against humanity, he was sentenced to death but committed suicide in his cell shortly before his execution.