People often believe that the hanging of Nazi criminals took place without any problems. However, when the executions were held on October 16, 1946, something went badly wrong in the prison.
The American executioner used the wrong method and the size of the trapdoor was incorrect. For that reason, the prisoners were not killed instantly but hit their heads against the wood and took a long time to die.
Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel faced the worst suffering. The calculations for the length of the rope and the drop were made incorrectly; therefore, Keitel lived for about 28 minutes. Some other prisoners were hanging for almost 15 minutes. There was one prisoner who hit his head so badly that it was bleeding before the choking began.
Julius Streicher, the writer of Nazi propaganda materials, created a terrible scene. While all the other prisoners stayed silent, guards had to bring Streicher to the place of execution by pulling him up the stairs. Before putting the hood on his head, he shouted "Heil Hitler!" and spoke to the audience saying: "The Bolsheviks will hang you one day!"
According to historians, there was no torture but only poor preparation. However, what was expected to be an honorable death became a frightening experience for the witnesses.
Comments
Post a Comment