2008: Amoudou Samassa, to quell a lynch mob 1911: Ah Q

1600: Hansel Pappenheimer, following his family

November 26th, 2009 Headsman

A few months ago, Executed Today detailed the dreadful fate of the Pappenheimers, a family of poor itinerants swept into a witch scare and horrifically executed.

10- or 11-year-old Hansel Pappenheimer was made to provide some of the testimony that condemned his parents and older siblings to a torturous public death. Then, he was made to watch.

This child was being monitored by the authorities for any sign of infernal possession himself, so his heartbreaking exclamations as the butchery unfolded — “Look how they’re thumping my father’s arms!” as the man was broken on the wheel; “My mother is squirming!” as she burned alive — were recorded.

That’s just about as horrible as the annals of execution get.

The only thing that would make it more horrible would be the coda the Bavarian duchy added this date in 1600, when it burned little Hansel Pappenheimer too.

On this day..

Entry Filed under: 16th Century,Burned,Capital Punishment,Children,Common Criminals,Death Penalty,Disfavored Minorities,Execution,Germany,God,History,Public Executions,Torture,Witchcraft

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Calendar

November 2009
M T W T F S S
« Oct   Dec »
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  

Archives

Categories

Execution Playing Cards

Exclusively available on this site: our one-of-a-kind custom playing card deck.

Every card features a historical execution from England, France, Germany, or Russia!