1944: Eight July 20 plotters
August 8th, 2008 Headsman
On this date in 1944, Nazi Germany’s juridical vengeance against Hitler’s near-assassins commenced.
Barely two weeks after Col. Stauffenberg’s bomb had barely missed slaying the Fuhrer, eight of his principal co-conspirators stood show trials at the Volksgerichtshof (People’s Court) before hectoring prig Roland Freisler.
The outcome, of course, was foreordained.
Apparently orders had come down from on high to make the deaths as degrading as possible; this batch, convicted August 7-8, was hanged naked this day at Berlin’s Plotzensee Prison on thin cord (piano wire, say some sources, although it’s not clear to me whether this is literally true) suspended from meathooks while cameras rolled. Video and stills from the ghastly scene were shipped back to Hitler’s bomb-damaged Polish outpost for the edification of the powers that be.
The eight fitted for those nooses were:
-
Robert Bernardis (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Albrecht von Hagen (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Paul von Hase (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Erich Hoepner (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Friedrich Karl Klausing (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Helmuth Stieff (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Erwin von Witzleben (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg (English Wikipedia entry | German)
Many hundreds more would follow, both at Plotzensee and throughout the Reich where persons distantly connected to the plotters and various miscellaneous resistance figures were swept up in the purge.
Also On This Date
Possibly Related Executions
- 1950: Milada Horáková, democrat and feminist
- 1944: Col. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, for the plot to kill Hitler
- 1871: The Paris Commune falls
Entry Filed under: 20th Century, Assassins, Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Execution, Germany, Hanged, History, Martyrs, Mass Executions, Notable Jurisprudence, Notable Participants, Notable for their Victims, Politicians, Soldiers, Torture, Treason, Wartime Executions
Tags: 1944, adolf hitler, albrecht von hagen, august 8, conspiracy, coup d'etat, erich hoepner, erwin von witzleben, Fascism, horrible, july 20, paul von hase, peter graf yorck von wartenburg, plot to kill hitler, robert bernardis, roland freisler, volksgerichtshof
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10 Comments Add your own
1. ExecutedToday.com »&hellip | November 8th, 2008 at 1:33 am
[...] that Fromm saw which way the wind was blowing, he acted with alacrity: many executions in the days to come were the product of Hitler’s vengeance, but this night, Claus von [...]
2. Fiz (UK) | January 21st, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Raving lunatic!
3. Major Lemon | February 1st, 2009 at 8:15 pm
The vast majority of the July plotters acted only because they knew the Germany was about to loose the war, very few of them were motivated concerning the Holocaust perpetrated against the Jews which was Hitlers sole everlasting historical achievement and his most ghastly crime.
4. Ravensdottir | February 2nd, 2009 at 9:46 am
MajorLemon: I respectfully wish to correct your comment. There were many attempts to remove Hitler from power for many reasons, from the fact he was Austrian to his final solution to his bungling attempts at military genius. These individuals acted to protect their country, not out of a 21st century, post-war, information-soaked outrage about the Holocaust. Remember: neither the Internet, nor mass media, nor the Autobahn existed in Hitler’s time. Travel & communication were quite limited; not everyone was aware of the extent of the killings. As for the Holocaust itself, the Jews suffered most in the sheer number, 6 to 8 millions slaughtered. However, they seem to ignore the remaining non-Jewish 6 to 8 millions slaughtered and in fact object, sometimes violently, if reminded of the non-Jewish portion of the Holocaust. I believe it was Auschwitz that hosted a Jewish-led altercation started because a number of Jews, praying for their dead, were outraged at a number of Catholics there praying for THEIR dead. And thus the violence. Hitler slaughtered those he did not want cluttering his perfect world: Gypsies, homosexuals, political dissidents, the mentally impaired, non-Germans, jazz lovers.
5. Fiz (UK) | February 5th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Excuse me, but the autobahns certainly were built by Hitler as his “gettiing people back to work” drive.
6. Ravensdottir | February 5th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Built by Hitler, certainly. To the extent they are today, no. And vehicle ownership (thanks to Volkswagen) was on the rise but by no means universal in the greater body of Germany. However, and this is my point: Individual villages, towns, provinces, etc. were still isolated by today’s standards. Rail and horse were the most common modes of transport. The population of East Prussia, for example, was over 90% peasant/farmer (Bauer) in a pre-war census. Cities were a world unto themselves. Information was not quickly disseminated and was often treated with suspicion until verified. Therefore we cannot accurately judge the actions of any of the plotters by today’s standards or in light of evidence we have now that was not publicly available in 1944.
7. Blk Army Vet | March 6th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
These men were brave. There feared Hitler more than they feared the Allies but they still with against all odds like Davy Crockett to bring him down. It takes a special person to fight and die for something that they believe (excluding muslims who blow themselves up like fanatics) I’m a true American but I have the upmost respect for all of those Germans who risked their lives to fight adn stand against Hitler.
8. ravensdottir | March 7th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Thank you, Blk Army Vet! Few recognize or accept that there WERE Germans who fought against Hitler. Most today judge all Germans of that time to be as evil as Hitler. From 1939 (and even before) onward, many tried to stop the Nazis. Because they were too few and too scattered, they had no hope of success. Yet they persisted, and the majority died.
9. Fiz (UK) | March 7th, 2009 at 10:55 am
I think there are more and more books being written/translated about Germans that did help - like the non -Jewish wives whose husbands were due to be sent to Auschwitz, held a street protest for over a week in 1944 and they were not sent there. I do hope people do know better now about Germans. The sad thing is like Stauffenburg and the White Rose leaders, they usually died
10. ExecutedToday.com »&hellip | October 31st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
[...] post about a possible wrongful execution that’s been front-page news for the past two months. 13. August 8, 1944: Eight July 20 plotters - A second beneficiary of Valkyrie search traffic. 14. July 8, 1999: Allen Lee “Tiny” [...]
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