Inge Ley Information

Robert Ley's former secrtary Hildegard Brueninghoff wrote a biography of Ley and it includes some material on Inge Ley from her prespective.

  Some of the takeaways from the Brueninghoff file:
Robert Ley gave Brueninghoff poison to give to his children if the Russians captured them, as he felt the Russians would murder the children.
Brueninghoff stated that Robert Ley did drink but not as much as people seemed to think or say.
Brueninghoff began serving as Inge's secretary beginning in 1939. Brueninghoff stated that Inge was already a regular drug user by this time. She stated that Inge was a very regular user and could be quite difficult if she had to go without it. "Dope" and "narcotics" were the terms used, though no specific drug is mentioned. I think it was previously assumed on this thread that morphine was her addiction.
Robert Ley and Inge were married on August 20th, 1938. She was welcomed by the men in society as well as the NAZI party. Her beauty was noticed and commented upon by everyone everywhere she went. She attributed her slim figure to her many years of ballet. She was declared unofficially 'The most beautiful woman in Germany'.
Inge Ley suffered from gallstones and suffered the horse accident while pregnant with her 3rd child and subsequently started drinking heavily after her injury. Inge did volunteer work at local hospitals during the war and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. She did it for the soldiers and not for public acclaim. Robert had a serious fear of his wife and children falling into the hands of Soviets as the war turned against the Germans. He had Inge and Eva Braun trained in how to use a pistol and they practiced at a farm. Both became quite proficient in a short time and each was given her own personal weapon. Inge used hers when she killed herself one night as they were about to leave for a house away from Berlin and the constant bombings. Before going out the door she said she forgot her pistol in the bedroom upstairs but shortly afterward a gun shot was heard and her beautiful face became a part of rthe wall paper. There is only speculation as to why she killed herself. She displayed all the symptoms of post postpartum depression. She wanted nothing to do with her friends or society and seemed to always be upset. There was little Robert could do since he remained so busy but he tried by buying a small farm in the country for her and the children to be away from everything. It did little for her depression so she was prescribed anti-depressants on top of her morphine . It may be for that reason that in her quick suicide note she stated that she 'couldn't really handle life without drugs'. When Hitler heard of her death he was quite upset and wrote Ley a nice letter that survived the war.
Overall, not much additional information on Inge Ley. Below is the link to the National Archives Catalog for anyone wishing to do their own searching or to read more about Robert Ley.https://catalog.archives.gov

. In 1938 Paula Müller joined the office. Another was Kjadocus and another was Gerda Kruger who joined in 1936, there was also Margarete Schroeder. Charlotte Seewald replaced Kruger because of illness in 1941. Kruger rejoined the office as bookeeper in 1943. Müller was the private secretary (mistress?) of Ley in office. In june 1942 Hildegarde quarrelled with Inga, she is moved back in the office and presented her dismissal to Ley who refused it. In december 1943 she proposed again her dismissal, again refused by Ley.
She believed Ley was not rich, despite she believed he was paid 4000 RM a month as leader of German Front, +2000 as from the Party and +750 as a deputy. That makes 70.000 RM a year. Der Angriff magazine paid him 50.000 RM a year. Indeed he earned 4000 monthly fomr the party, 500 fro prussian state and 540 from Reichstag + 150.000 a year from Eher Verlag. It was taxed at 60%.
In 1940, Hitler gave him 1 million RM.
His farm was located in Rhineland near Waldbrül. It was 500 acres wide. When the farm was blown up, he moved the family and valuable things to Allgau.
In 1940/1, in occupied France, he bought jewels for 79.000 RM. The total jewels of his was estimated between 100.000 and 250.000$ at the end of the war. Hebegan collecting works of art. He had 4 valuable pictures in his ranch in Waldbröhl, one of them represented Frederik the Great by Pesne, one Kaulbach painting, 2 Menzel sketches, and 1 Korinth. All his daily costs were paid by the state. Although he had debst of 200.000 RM at the end. He spent all his personal money and even indebted because of his constant reconstruction of his personal ranch in Waldbröhl (despite the law forbade it). He had to pay on his own his farm's employees : 1 cook, 2 maids for children, 1 chambermaid, 1 inspector, 1 dairyman and 1 farm secretary. That should cost a lot. He arranged the thing by paying 1000 RM a month to DAF which in return paid all his employees (!).
In the end of march 1945, Ley gave H. Brüninghoff 50.000 RM and 2 letters (one for Madeleine Wanderer and the other for Rose Spileker, mother of Inga) and ordered her to bring it to the children (Lore born in late december 1938, Wolf born 14th may 1940, Gloria born 27th june 1941 and Rolf [baby of Madeleine] born in 1944), Madeleine Wanderer and the grandmother of the children (Mrs Spileker) who were in Ordensburg. He moved those pictures to Ordensburg before he burned the house. Hildegarde then moved to Münich and Innsbrück.
She took care the children of Ley, of Wanderer, of the grand mother, and of her own child. She was arrested the 11th june 1945.
The 4 children of Ley were from 3 different women : Renate born 29th july 1922 from his first spouse (name?) ; Lore, Wolf, Gloria born from Inga ; Rolf-Robert (born end of july 1944) from Madeleine Wanderer.
In autumn 1943, a fire happened in Bruninghoff's house. She lived near the Reichpalast. The dancers of the Reichpalast came to help her stopping the fire. Ley lived not far and he came too ; he invited the dancers in his house. This is how he met Madeleine Wanderer who was a dancer at the Reichspalast. Madeleine was 17 years old. She became his girlfriend few weeks after that. They eventually married as Ley saw her as the cure to his terrible loneliness. Madeleine Wanderer had a boy with Ley, born 28/29 july 1944.
Inga's mother was sad of this betrayal of Inge's memory. She was fed up with Ley but she took care of the 4 children of his, even the one born from Madeleine (!). Inge's mother was a christian and raised children in a christian way. Ley was not christian.
Ley married Inga Hansen-Spileker in 1938. Hitler loved Inga intensly, in 1940 he came to their house once or twice a week. In Brüninghoff's opinion, Ley knew many women before his marriage with Inga, but while engaged with Inga then Madeleine, he was a faithful husband she said.