Nuremberg executions
The Nuremberg executions took place on October 16, 1946, shortly after the conclusion of the Nuremberg Trials. Ten prominent members of the political and military leadership of Nazi Germany were executed by hanging: Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and Julius Streicher. Hermann Göring was also scheduled to be hanged on that day, but committed suicide using a potassium cyanide capsule the night before. Martin Bormann was also sentenced to death in absentia, but he was killed or committed suicide while attempting to escape Berlin in 1945.
The sentences were carried out in the gymnasium of Nuremberg Prison by the United States Army using the standard drop method instead of long drop.[1] The executioners were Master Sergeant John C. Woods and his assistant, military policeman Joseph Malta. Woods may have miscalculated the lengths for the ropes used for the executions, such that some of the men did not die quickly of an intended broken neck but instead strangled to death slowly.[2][3][4] Some reports indicated some executions took between 14 minutes to 28 minutes.[5][6] The Army denied claims that the drop length was too short or that the condemned died from strangulation instead of a broken neck.[7] Additionally, the trapdoor was too small, such that several of the condemned suffered bleeding head injuries when they hit the sides of the trapdoor while dropping through.[8]
The bodies were rumored to have been taken to Dachau for cremation, but were instead incinerated in a crematorium in Munich and the ashes scattered over the river Isar.[9] Kingsbury Smith of the International News Service wrote an eyewitness account of a reporter watching the hangings. His historical press account of it appeared with photos in newspapers.[10]
-
Gallows.jpg
Master Sergeant Woods readying the gallows on October 6, 1946.
-
The body of Hans Frank.
-
The body of Wilhelm Frick.
-
The body of Alfred Jodl.
-
The body of Ernst Kaltenbrunner.
-
The body of Wilhelm Keitel.
-
The body of Joachim von Ribbentrop.
-
The body of Alfred Rosenberg.
-
The body of Fritz Sauckel.
-
Inquart.png
The body of Arthur Seyss-Inquart.
-
October 17, 1946 newsreel with an execution taking place at 4:39.
References
- ↑ "By The Neck Until Dead: The Gallows of Nuremberg" by Stanley Tilles with Jeffrey Denhart, Publisher: Jona Books, Box 336, Bedford Indiana, 47421
- ↑ TIME Magazine, October 28, 1946, p. 34
- ↑ Joseph Kingsbury-Smith: The Execution of Nazi War Criminals. Eyewitness Report.
- ↑ TURLEY, Mark. From Nuremberg to Nineveh
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ War Crimes: Night without Dawn. Time Magazine Monday, October 28, 1946
- ↑ Spiegel Online, Nürnberger Prozesse: Der Tod durch den Strick dauerte 15 Minuten (German), 16 January 2007
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., page 205
- ↑ http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Nazi-Execution-Smith16oct46.htm
