Beheadings in the Third Reich

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Pete26
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Pankrac memorial

#5357

Post by Pete26 » 17 Aug 2014, 01:49




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Ponury
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Re: Beheadings in the Third Reich

#5359

Post by Ponury » 17 Aug 2014, 11:06

In the biography of Dr. Spanner (this soap from human fat) is a mention of the guillotine in German detention center in Gdansk / Danzig. Spanner also took thence a "fresh" delay after the guillotine for his anatomical studies, additionally staff for saving his laboratium smelting of them fat, soap and did the wrong floor in college or took home to wash. Well Spanner in 1943 or 1944 he participated in the opening of the new guillotine in custody. With the opening of her five prisoners were beheaded, and the guests drank vodka ... brrr

Pete26
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Cremated remains of beheaded victims

#5360

Post by Pete26 » 21 Aug 2014, 00:44

A memorial plaque in a courtyard of Strasnice Crematorium in Prague to 2154 victims of WWII(including 1075 beheaded Pankrac victims) who were executed and then cremated here. Their cremains (ashes) have been secretly saved by the former director of the crematorium Frantisek Suchy and later deposited in this location.

Image

http://www.mocr.army.cz/assets/informac ... i/42_6.jpg

Pete26
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Dortmund prison

#5361

Post by Pete26 » 22 Aug 2014, 15:26

Lübecker Hof in Dortmund, one of the Central execution sites of the Third Reich

Image

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8487/8209 ... 9e52_z.jpg

http://www.jva-dortmund.nrw.de/behoerde ... /index.php
Hinrichtungen in Dortmund

Das Dortmunder Gerichtsgefängnis, im Volksmund „Lübecker Hof“ genannt, war zeitweise eine der zentralen Hinrichtungsstätten des Dritten Reiches, nachdem dort 1943 eine Guillotine aufgestellt worden war, um die bis dato für Dortmund zuständige Hinrichtungsstätte in Köln zu entlasten.

Das Gerichtsgefängnis („Lübecker Hof”) gehörte von Mai 1943 bis Anfang 1945 zu den zentralen Hinrichtungsstätten des Reiches und war auch Wehrmachtsstandort von Großkampfverbänden mit eigenen Kriegsgerichten. Hier wurde eine erhebliche Anzahl von Todesurteilen der Militärjustiz vollstreckt. Zwischen dem 2. Juli 1943 und dem 5. Januar 1945 wurden dort mehr als 300 Frauen und Männer hingerichtet. Es handelte sich bei ihnen oft um ausländische oder deutsche Widerstandskämpfer.
Translated by google:
Executions in Dortmund

The Dortmund court prison, popularly called "Hof Lübeck", was at times one of the central places of execution of the Third Reich after 1943 there is a guillotine had been erected to relieve the hitherto responsible for Dortmund execution site in Cologne.

The court prison ("Hof Lübeck"), was from May 1943 to early 1945, the central execution sites of the empire and was also Wehrmacht location of major combat units with their own courts-martial. Here, a significant number of death sentences of military justice was enforced. Where more than 300 women and men were executed between July 2, 1943, and January 5, 1945. It was with them often foreign or German resistance fighter.


Model of the prison:

http://www.jva-dortmund.nrw.de/behoerde ... rtmund.jpg

Pete26
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Pankrac fallbeil replica

#5362

Post by Pete26 » 22 Aug 2014, 22:19

Image

http://www.novinyuspech.cz/wp-content/u ... lotina.jpg

Unfortunately, it is an exact replica of the incorrectly restored original. But the spring loaded blade release mechanism in the upper crosspiece appears to be authentic and you can see details quite well in this photo.

This photo also gives one a good idea how tall is the Tegel fallbeil compared to an average size man standing next to it.

Pete26
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Anton Reindl

#5363

Post by Pete26 » 23 Aug 2014, 15:32


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svenga
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Re: Beheadings in the Third Reich

#5364

Post by svenga » 24 Aug 2014, 02:24

Lovely full size replica, everything has been taken Into consideration and detailed well.

What I do find odd, is why somebody would go to extreme lengths and effort to reproduce the machine in its incorrect structure, little alteration and it could of been made to be an exact replica, as it should be!.

Perhaps as promised and noted to many I will make a full size replica one day, If I do I think it would be important and only acceptable to build it as per the lost designs. It has already Been done and can be done again at cost.

What I would do with it when complete I would have no idea.

I think full size replicas give us a clearer insight into how these machines operated and there characteristics. We can all learn more from them.

Pete26
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Re: Pankrac fallbeil replica

#5365

Post by Pete26 » 24 Aug 2014, 03:28

Here is another photo, this time from the other side. Note that they did change one thing - they finally mounted a more correct reduction gear winch on this replica. I say "more correct" because it is rectangular in shape, and has an offset crank due to reduction gearing. However, it is still different from the authentic Tegel winch, which has exposed gears. The original Pankrac fallbeil still has a totally incorrect winch with no reduction gearing and centered crank. This of course makes raising the blade more difficult.

I also noted that they added an upper lunette wooden knob used to raise the upper lunette - this knob is still not mounted on the Pankrac fallbeil.

Image

http://img5.rajce.idnes.cz/d0503/6/6461 ... .jpg?ver=2

Here is the incorrect winch still mounted on the Pankrac fallbeil:

Image

http://img.ct24.cz/cache/616x411/articl ... 115760.jpg

The correct Tegel fallbeil winch is a reduction gear winch with an offset crank and exposed gears, as can be seen on the Moabit prison Tegel fallbeil in this photo:

Image

http://ghb67.files.wordpress.com/2011/1 ... ine-24.jpg

And one of the most glaring faults of improper restoration of the Pankrac fallbeil is absence of massive front bench leg wooden block, which also serves as the vertical metal frame support and stabilizer. Without this massive support, with front of the bench simply attached to the vertical frame with two flimsy angled brackets, the entire bench would probably shear off the frame if such a machine were to be used in a real execution. Both Mannhardts and Tegels had very similar massive front support which included thick front bench legs. Tegel fallbeil designers apparently saw that this support was necessary for the machine to withstand repeated pounding of the heavy sledge/blade and to resist forces which push the body against the bench as the blade slices through the neck. Compare the photos of Pankrac replica and the Moabil fallbeil, which is a genuine unmodified Tegel.

And here is a photo of Pankrac fallbeil as installed in Pankrac prison in 1943. It is a genuine Tegel fallbeil, just like the Moabit fallbeil. Note that the original Pankrac fallbeil had a blade shield installed just like other Tegel fallbeils.

Image

http://boisdejustice.com/Germany/Pankrac1.JPG

In this photo of the original Pankrac Tegel fallbeil taken sometime between April 1943 and April 1945, one can see the vertical pull rod for the blade release. There is no protruding lever mounted at an angle low on the vertical frame as it is on the restored version.

Image

https://www.stsg.de/cms/sites/default/f ... 0170px.jpg

Here is a summary of improper restoration features noted by me on today's Pankrac fallbeil as compared to the original fallbeil installed in 1943:

1. Absence of massive vertical frame support and front bench legs. Instead, they provided a cross brace on the bottom of the vertical frame and this is supported by a wooden beam bolted to the floor. The bench front legs are absent and the front of the bench is attached tot he vertical frame with a couple of metal angle brackets.

2. The blade release lever is completely wrong, as the original Tegel had a vertical metal pull rod, stabilized by a bracket attached to the side of the vertical frame.

3. The bench is wrong, both top and rear legs. Tegel fallbeils had a flat narrow bench with massive wooden rear legs. The restored Pankrac fallbeil has a concave bench surface and thin wooden rear legs.

4. The vertical frame does not have side sheet metal covers, as on the original fallbeil.

5. The winch is wrong. It is a no reduction gear winch with a centered crank,and its body is round instead of square. The original Tegel winch was a reduction gear winch with an offset crank and exposed gears.

6. The lunette has a circular opening, which is wrong. The original Tegel lunette has an opening that was somewhat eliptical in shape. The upper lunette wooden knob is missing on the restored fallbeil. The lower lunette edge was not curved to conform to the bench top shape. Even though Tegel fallbeil bench tops had a V cutout near the lunette bottom to facilitate flow of blood, the lunette lower edge was straight, as can be seen on the Moabit fallbeil. If the lower lunette edge follows the contour of the bench top, as on the restored Pankrac fallbeil, then there is no opening provided for the flow of blood.

7. The head bucket is completely wrong. The original head bucket had the leather strap routed through notches in the sides of the bucket, the bucket was hung much higher, the bucket had no rear wall, and certainly did not have any holes drilled on the bottom to facilitate the flow of blood. It was never designed to hold blood, only head.

8. The blood chute is wrong. The original had raised edges, forming a shallow pan. It was not curved like the replica chute.

9. The original Pankrac Tegel had a blade shield installed to keep the condemned prisoners from panicking when led to the fallbeil. It hid the raised blade from the prisoner. This blade shield has not been installed on the restored Pankrac fallbeil.

10. The upper pulleys for the winch cable, hidden in the upper frame crosspiece, had a guard which protruded over the top of the frame. This guard has not been fabricated/installed on the restored fallbeil.

11. The sledge lower leg shock absorber tubes were filled with leather and felt material to absorb the impact of the sledge when the blade was released. The restored fallbeil has rubber filler in the shock absorber tubes, making for a rather bouncy blade when it hits the bottom.

12. The original fallbeil had a narrow splash shield for the executioner mounted below the vertical blade release rod. This splash shield is not installed on the restored fallbeil. Instead, wrong type release lever is mounted in that location.

It is not surprising that after the Pankrac fallbeil vertical frame and sledge/blade (wooden parts were burned by German guards) were retrieved from Vltava river, the people restoring the fallbeil most likely had no idea what the original looked like, so they did their best to make the fallbeil presentable to be exhibited in the execution room. The first bench top was ridiculously wide and later replaced with a narrower, but still incorrect bench top. What is surprising however, is that given authentic original Pankrac Tegel photos which show a typical Tegel fallbeil, nobody to this date has done much to restore the fallbeil to its original specs. Moreover, many appear to believe that this is the way the fallbeil looked when originally installed. And they continue mentioning the hook as the implement used to retrieve the severed heads from the head bucket and show the heads to the state representative sitting at the table in the adjacent room. That tale is simply not credible.
Last edited by Pete26 on 24 Aug 2014, 11:02, edited 4 times in total.

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fredric
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Re: Beheadings in the Third Reich

#5366

Post by fredric » 24 Aug 2014, 08:21

The replica in badly done.
Never seen an authentic replica except in small models and
those still have elements not in scale. With all the photos and
data, why can't an authentic, full-scale model be built?
This replica will probably be sold to a film company and some
day used in a movie, perpetuating the inaccurate. Standard
for fallbeils. Excellent analysis btw.

Pete26
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Wittelsbacher Palace

#5367

Post by Pete26 » 30 Aug 2014, 04:09

Munich Gestapo headquarters where the Scholls and Probst were interrogated after their arrest. The building was heavily damaged in an Allied bombing in 1944, and it was demolished in 1964.

Image

http://www.widerstand.musin.de/img/palais.gif

Pete26
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Assistants of executioner Alois Weiss

#5368

Post by Pete26 » 31 Aug 2014, 21:58

Antonín Nerad

Alfréd Engel

Robert Týfa

Jan Křížek (later changed his name to Kreutz)

Otto Schweiger
Alois Weiss (16.10.1906) – bývalý pomocný skladník z Mnichova a pomocník mnichovského kata Reichardta, od února 1943 mistr popravčí v pankrácké sekyrárně (do května 1945 zde bylo popraveno 1079 osob), jeho pomocníky byli Antonín Nerad, Alfréd Engel, Robert Týfa, Jan Křížek a Otto Schweiger. Po válce žil v SRN, zemřel v 80. letech ve Straubingu
http://forum.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/p/97634#97634

Pete26
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Dr. Tegel

#5369

Post by Pete26 » 02 Sep 2014, 04:00

A new book about Harald Poelchau, a prison chaplain who comforted hundreds of condemned prisoners on their last journey to the guillotine or gallows. The text is in English.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dr-Tegel-Miracl ... 1628544422

Piotr1
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Johann Reichhart in Landsberg

#5370

Post by Piotr1 » 04 Sep 2014, 16:42


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