Beheadings in the Third Reich

[marko10]

which executions took place in Berlin on February 16, 1943 as well as that of Mildred Harnack?

[Pete26]

which executions took place in Berlin on February 16, 1943 as well as that of Mildred Harnack?

I found 4 individuals executed on 16 February 1943 on my list of 1574 resistance fighters executed in Ploetzensee prison :


Mildred Harnack, age 40

Marie Rink, age 41

Johann Semerad, age 34

Jaroslav Sladecek, age 22

A total of 2891 people were executed in Ploetzensee prison between 1933 and 1945. I do not have a complete list of all executed there, only those classified as "resistance fighters". So it is possible that more people were executed on that day.

[Pete26]

A good article on mass executions in Ploetzensee prison by hanging carried out during nights of 7-13 September 1943. The article is written in Czech language and you can find it in the linked document, pages 81-89.


http://www.nacr.cz/wp-content/uploads/2 ... _cislo.pdf

Description of the executions (translated):

Executions were carried out by executioner Röttger from Hanover with his three assistants. Technically, each execution was carried out so that the executioner was standing on the stool, and the convict was brought to him by the helpers.The executioner placed a noose around his neck, the helpers raised the convict up, hung the rope on the hook and let the body hang. Most people executed immediately became unconscious and died quickly, but some lived for a few more minutes. Each body was left on the hook for twenty minutes, then removed and taken to the adjacent chamber (the so-called Sargkammer). While the executions were being carried out, the state prosecutor Hans Stolz, who was specially sent to Plötzense during these massive executions, was on the phone with the Justice Ministry of Justice. The ministry officials also spoke to him by phone about the names of the convicts who had rejected the request for mercy. Stolz himself then went to the prison house, where he read the names of those who were sentenced to be executed. Upon reading each name, the supervisors recorded them and transferred the persons concerned. The list was handed over to another prosecutor who was here. The sole basis for the execution of the detained prisoners was an execution order. Also, there was no control in the selection of the convicts, so there were some overtones that Stolz later apologized for the fact that the particular Czech names all look similar.

[marko10]

an interesting article:

http://www.lecturasdelholocausto.com/up ... 95_ftp.pdf

[Pete26]

an interesting article:

http://www.lecturasdelholocausto.com/up ... 95_ftp.pdf

Thanks, I have posted the list previously, but there is good info in the article.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=35191&p=2023968&hil ... e#p2023968

[Pete26]

The video shows some scenes from the movie "Klic". Also, there are some unique shots of the fallbeil, for example at 3:12 there is a shot of the bottom of the blade as it would appear to a person lying on his back on the guillotine bench looking straight up at the blade. You can see how thick the blade is and the blade edge bevel facing the head basket is clearly visible. The video is narrated in Czech language, but you can translate the text in the article itself which summarizes what was said. Click on the diagonal arrow line in the right lower corner to get full page playback. The video link is on the very bottom of this post.

At the very beginning of the video, the female reporter says the clemency rejection phrase which was recited to the condemned prisoners on the morning of the day of their execution:



https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/imag ... xwazjh30mT

Translated into English:

"In the name of the Führer and Reichsprotector your appeal for clemency has been rejected, and you are notified that the sentence is to be carried out today after 4 pm."

These words marked the beginning of the end for the condemned.


https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/432997-pa ... -dnes.html

[fredric]

Pete, you are our "resident expert" on Pancraz fallbeil.
When delivered, it had the formed metal covers over the uprights, etc. concealing the cable. Standard "Tegel".

Do you know if the covers were lost when the fallbeil was dumped in the Vlatava River?

Are the hooks in the execution room original?

Have you visited this execution room?

[Pete26]

Pete, you are our "resident expert" on Pancraz fallbeil.
When delivered, it had the formed metal covers over the uprights, etc. concealing the cable. Standard "Tegel".

Do you know if the covers were lost when the fallbeil was dumped in the Vlatava River?

Are the hooks in the execution room original?

Have you visited this execution room?

I have not had an opportunity to visit the execution room in Pankrac prison.

According to several articles I read, German guards took the fallbeil completely apart burned the wooden parts in the prison boiler room furnace. This would include the bench with its legs and the lunette. I suspect they also removed the sheet metal covers on the uprights and disposed of them and other small metal parts like bolts and the winch somewhere within prison. Perhaps they threw all small metal parts in the river and they were carried away by currents. It is safe to say that the side covers were never found, otherwise they would have been reattached to the outer frame. The fallbeil blade and the sledge were also removed from the outer frame and these parts were thrown from Karl's bridge into Vltava river. A while ago a posted an authentic video of parts of the fallbeil being retrieved by a diver from Vltava river. You can see them pulling the sledge without the blade out of the water. This means that German guards really disassembled the fallbeil into pieces prior to throwing the heavy metal parts into the river.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT3D6lDjpLA



The hanging hooks and the hanging beam are supposedly original, although their almost pristine condition suggests that perhaps they were sandblasted and refinished some time after the war, unless they are made of good grade stainless steel (high nickel and chrome content) which would not corrode over the years. The humidity in the execution chamber was certainly high with large quantity of water used to clean the fallbeil and the floor after each execution. When compared to rusty Ploetzensee hanging beam and hooks, I understand how one would suspect that these are not originals. According to one video I watched, the narrator mentioned that as many as 100 nooses were found in the prison, so they suspect that a lot of people were hanged in the execution room. Unfortunately the records of those executions, if kept, were destroyed or lost.

The wooden caskets in the "Sargkammer" are original, but they were coated with varnish after the war to preserve them better.

[Pete26]

Yet another short video showing Pankrac fallbeil and the execution room. Also, towards the end of the video you can see the primitive gallows that was used for official hanging in Pankrac prison starting with early 1960's. This gallows consisted of little more than a piece of scaffolding pipe inserted into the wall . The length of the hanging rope was adjusted by wrapping it as required around the pipe. The condemned stood on a small trap door which was operated by a lever from adjacent room. The depth of the "pit" under the trap door was only about 80 centimeters (2.5 ft), so not long enough fall to break the neck vertebrae. This primitive hanging contraption was used for judicial executions until 1989. The last execution took place in 1989. The last prisoner executed in Pankrac prison was Vladimir Lulek, a convicted multiple murderer who killed his wife and four children. He stabbed them all to death just before Christmas after having returned home drunk from the local pub. A total of 85 stab wounds were inflicted upon the victims.

Between the end of WWII and late 1950's a post type gallows was used in the prison courtyard for execution by hanging. Karl Frank and Kurt Daluege were hanged on this gallows type.

About 1600 people were executed in Pankrac prison throughout its existence (including 1075 fallbeil victims).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iasreEh61dc

[fredric]

Excellent information. Videos too.
Thanks. I wonder if anyone is still alive who worked at the prison or was a prisoner?
I asked this question at the Gedenstatte Plotzensee. The was a firm "nein" but I think that
is not true. However guards at prisons within the Reich were often old men, too old for military service but
having some police background, could find employment at the prisons. Guards might be military. At Plotzensee
I have a source saying they were SS troops. Doubtful. Could be SS in training perhaps. At Pancraz we have Rames' wonderful
documentary photos; nothing like that exists for Plotzensee.
I assume when the Soviet Shock Troops seized the prison in May, 1945, the prison staff had fled. The prison was made the hq of the
Soviet Shock Army which then took Berlin. After that, War criminals were held there.
The hooks, all five remaining, are very corroded. I was allowed to examine them. I am sure they are original.

[history1]

[...]
Description of the executions (translated):

[...]The executioner placed a noose around his neck, the helpers raised the convict up, hung the rope on the hook and let the body hang. Most people executed immediately became unconscious and died quickly, but some lived for a few more minutes. Each body was left on the hook for twenty minutes[...]

The bold text is very doubtful. According information from current standard works for forensic/legal medicine it can last from 6-15 sec. until a person gets unconscious during strangulations. And only after 5 minutes the first cases of cardiac arrest were recorded while the latest were documentated for 20 minutes. The latter answers the question why they were left hanging for 20 min. on the gallows when allegedly the death came quickly.

[Pete26]

[...]
Description of the executions (translated):

[...]The executioner placed a noose around his neck, the helpers raised the convict up, hung the rope on the hook and let the body hang. Most people executed immediately became unconscious and died quickly, but some lived for a few more minutes. Each body was left on the hook for twenty minutes[...]

The bold text is very doubtful. According information from current standard works for forensic/legal medicine it can last from 6-15 sec. until a person gets unconscious during strangulations. And only after 5 minutes the first cases of cardiac arrest were recorded while the latest were documentated for 20 minutes. The latter answers the question why they were left hanging for 20 min. on the gallows when allegedly the death came quickly.

Interestingly enough, the fact is that they used a thin cord to hang people at Ploetzensee, and this thin cord could actually induce very quick unconsciousness by sinking deeply into the neck and causing immediate constriction of carotid arteries. And tension on the ligature of only 4 to 5 kg is required to block carotid arteries, and 20 kg to block the vertebral arteries. Even the most emaciated male prisoner hanged in Ploetzensee prison would weigh at least 45 kg, plus the body was also dropped a small distance, so the constriction by a thin cord could indeed cause quick unconsciousness.

The following article corroborates this:

http://www.academia.edu/3003781/Post-Mo ... e_of_Death

Pressure on the large arteries on the neck produces cerebral anemia and immediate coma.
This occurs with ligature made of thin cord, which sinks deeply into tissues. A tension of
4 to 5kg on ligature blocks carotid arteries, and 20 kg the vertebral arteries.

In long drop judicial hanging, when properly performed, breaking of the neck vertebra, followed by complete separation of the spinal cord occurs, and the person becomes immediately unconscious. Of course, to break the neck, the rope must be correctly placed around the neck so that the slip knot ends up under the chin and throws the head violently backward when the condemned individual reaches the end of the fall and the rope tightens. If the slip knot ends up in the back of the head, the neck vertebra may not break and slow strangulation on the end of the rope will follow. I have read the autopsy report of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England, and in her case, complete separation of the spinal cord in the neck area occurred as a result of long drop hanging.

If the drop distance is excessive relative to the person's weight, partial or complete decapitation can occur. Hanging of Black Jack Ketchum in New Mexico and Eva Dugan in Arizona are well known examples of this. The old hanging drop tables are based on 1250 ft-lbs of energy required to break the neck. This number is divided by the person's weight in pounds to arrive at the drop distance in feet. For example, for a 250 lb man, a drop distance of 5 ft is sufficient. For a small light person weighing say 100 lbs, a drop distance of 12.5 ft would be required to cause the same effect on the neck.

[history1]

[...]
Interestingly enough, the fact is that they used a thin cord to hang people at Ploetzensee, and this thin cord could actually induce very quick unconsciousness by sinking deeply into the neck and causing immediate constriction of carotid arteries. [...]

In long drop judicial hanging, when properly performed, breaking of the neck vertebra, followed by complete separation of the spinal cord occurs, and the person becomes immediately unconscious. Of course, to break the neck, the rope must be correctly placed around the neck so that the slip knot ends up under the chin and throws the head violently backward when the condemned individual reaches the end of the fall and the rope tightens. [...]

I´ve never seen or read about an execution where the knot has been placed under the chin,this might be custom in India but where else? Eg: https://youtu.be/9rYZHTU9KOY
Anyway it´s not about long drop hangings. And even by the "short" drop hanging of Hermann Frank they used two men who did pull downwards on the rope fixed on his feets. Which does not appear in real Austrian short drop hangings of WWI and before.
As I doubt that the high of the executed persons in Plötzensee was similar of this used in Frank´s case I do not believe the immediate unconscious and fast death. But waht exactly is fast? For those who would like to see Nazi criminals suffering on the gallows and wished them "endless" pain a long drop was way too fast, others may consider 5 min. or even 20 min. of strangulation fast.

[Pete26]

[...]
Interestingly enough, the fact is that they used a thin cord to hang people at Ploetzensee, and this thin cord could actually induce very quick unconsciousness by sinking deeply into the neck and causing immediate constriction of carotid arteries. [...]

In long drop judicial hanging, when properly performed, breaking of the neck vertebra, followed by complete separation of the spinal cord occurs, and the person becomes immediately unconscious. Of course, to break the neck, the rope must be correctly placed around the neck so that the slip knot ends up under the chin and throws the head violently backward when the condemned individual reaches the end of the fall and the rope tightens. [...]

I´ve never seen or read about an execution where the knot has been placed under the chin,this might be custom in India but where else? Eg: https://youtu.be/9rYZHTU9KOY
Anyway it´s not about long drop hangings. And even by the "short" drop hanging of Hermann Frank they used two men who did pull downwards on the rope fixed on his feets. Which does not appear in real Austrian short drop hangings of WWI and before.
As I doubt that the high of the executed persons in Plötzensee was similar of this used in Frank´s case I do not believe the immediate unconscious and fast death. But waht exactly is fast? For those who would like to see Nazi criminals suffering on the gallows and wished them "endless" pain a long drop was way too fast, others may consider 5 min. or even 20 min. of strangulation fast.

The knot of the noose is not placed under the chin. It is typically placed just behind the left ear. As the prisoner falls through the trap door, the noose rotates so that the knot of the noose ends up under the chin and throws the head backwards or sideways violently enough to break the vertebrae and cause complete separation of the spinal cord. This is how I stated it originally. "Ends up" means "comes to final position".

This is where hangman's experience comes in. Improper initial placement of the noose around one's neck relative to the rope attachment point on the overhead beam in a long drop hanging can cause prolonged suffering on the end of the rope and slow strangulation. This is what happened during hanging of Nuremberg trial convicted Nazis - they were hanged by an American sergeant named Woods who was not a very skilled hangman. Those hanged later by the British executioner Albert Pierrepoint died a much quicker, more painless death on the end of the rope.


It is also of interest that modern British hangmen did not use a slip knot on their nooses. They use a metal eye protected with a leather cover instead. Again the noose had to be placed so that the rope, when tightened would throw the convict's head violently backward or sidways

Here is an example of a badly botched long drop hanging:

Frequently, however, the drop was inadequate and the prisoner strangled, as in this description of a hanging at San Quentin in California. Clinton Duffy who was the warden there from 1942 to 1954 described the execution of Major Raymond Lisenba (a.k.a. Robert "Rattlesnake" James) on May 2, 1942 as follows: "The man hit bottom and I observed that he was fighting by pulling on the straps, wheezing, whistling, trying to get air, that blood was oozing through the black cap. I observed also that he urinated, defecated, and droppings fell on the floor, and the stench was terrible". (This is not abnormal in death by slow hanging as the person slowly strangles). "I also saw witnesses pass out and have to be carried from the witness room. Some of them threw up." Lisenba was actually christened Major rather than it being an army rank. It took ten minutes for the condemned man to die. When he was taken down and the cap removed, "big hunks of flesh were torn off" the side of his face where the noose had been, "his eyes were popped," and his tongue was "swollen and hanging from his mouth." His face had turned purple. He was hanged for trying to murder his wife with a rattlesnake bite, but when this failed to work he drowned her. California executed 307 men by hanging between 1893 and 1942, 215 at San Quentin and 92 at Folsom prison.

http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hanging.html


I have no doubts that some prisoners hanged in Ploetzensee by the short drop method died slowly and painfully. In some cases quick unconsciousness was induced by Vagal reflex or rapid compression of carotid arteries, still some struggled for several minutes before falling unconscious and suffocating on the end of the rope.

[fredric]

Because I stood beneath the actual Plotzensee hooks, I can tell you I almost could touch the hooks if I got on my toes. I am 5' 11" so the "drop" was not far. The drop was certainly not adjustable by adjusting the hooks according to a drop chart, a feature of British gallows. I assume the length of the noose cords was similar, not customized for each victim. Some were "eased" down, thus left to
strangle for a while, then lifted for a short recovery and again lowered... at least this is what some sources claim. The cinematographer Karl Sasse,
who filmed the executions, said he thought most of the July 20 group died quickly. They probably quickly lost consciousness, as Pete states. I have
read that Hitler had told Friesler that certain of the condemned should be made to suffer, hence the "ease down, then lift, then drop" technique.