Beheadings in the Third Reich

[Locator]

Good evening everybody,
My late father-in-law landed in France on D+2 and fought his way across France and Germany with his Troop of 17pdr anti-tank guns. On 8 May 25 they found themselves just North of Bergen-Hohne where they rested for a week. After that, the guns were put into light care and preservation by REME and the men were split into police patrols, each with a member of the German Feld Gendarmerie as a guide/translator. James (my late father-in-law) was promoted to Major and posted to British Military HQ in Hamburg where he was employed as one of several SO2(Discipline). During his time in Hamburg, he attended a number of executions, 6 of which were by Fallbeil. Strictly speaking, this is outside the NS era but if anyone wants me to relate James' memories, I'd be pleased to do so.

[fredric]

James' memories of the fallbeil executions he witnessed are of great interest to me and probably others who read this Forum.
Please relate his memories either to this forum or via private message. I am very interested in this subject and will appreciate your
sharing it.

[fredric]

If you will please send us all what your father-in-law witnesses.
This is rare, interesting and you must write to me about it.
c

[DCMan]

Pete26,
On another AF board I saw a photo (I believe posted by you) that supposedly dates to 1928 and shows Johann Reichhart and two other men standing by a guillotine. A variation of that photo appeared in a June 2017 Daily Mirror article and is attributed to Alamy stockhouse. (That doesn't necessarily mean Alamy owns all rights to the image.) Do you by chance know who owns the rights to the photo you posted? Might it be in the public domain? I'm writing a nonfiction book about some members of the German resistance, which will be released in October. My editor and I are now gathering photos for the book. We'd like to use some kind of execution photo, but don't want anything too graphic. Reichhart is briefly mentioned in my book, so that 1928 photo (which I've seen elsewhere described as being from 1924 and possibly taken at Regensburg prison in Bavaria) might work. Can you offer any details? Thanks.

[DCMan]

The link below is to a photo of Johann Reichhart and two other German executioners that was posted on this board on Sept 24, 2019 by Pete 26. I'm working on a book about some members of the German resistance (to be published in October) and am trying to find out who owns the rights to that photo...or whether it might be a public domain image. Does anyone have information about it? Thanks in advance for any help forum members can offer.

viewtopic.php?t=35191&start=6855

[Lenz]

What matters is when and by which photographer the photos of that time were taken, the subjects do not matter.
Under German law, the Urheber, in this case the photographer at the time, or his descendants, these persons hold all rights to these photos, there is nothing to shake about that.

Urheber https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urheber

As the author of a book on the subject, I would be cautious about using these very well-known historical photos.
Of course, it also depends on the country in which this book is to be published, that would be another question?

German law is extremely complicated; a user's entry in a German-language Internet forum alone is subject to German
Urheberrecht, with every single word, every comma, and every dot, to take it to the extreme for once.

L.

[Lenz]

As a new author on this subject, I would be very cautious, the reasons are obvious, given the historical dimensions.
Indispensable are very certainly own, and private sources, and these will be hard to find.
Without going into details, apart from your presumably non-German language, and not writing skills, the few historical photos you want to use are a problem.

The well-known German archives and websites will be reluctant to tell you their sources, if any, about these photos.
This is normal here in Germany.
Many sources have been tacitly adopted as "public domain", the owners of the rights to these photos long deceased, or even too old to even react.

But I wish you much success for your book, hoping for some new insights.

L.

[marko10]

video fallbeil : 11:02.22

https://archiv-akh.de/filme?utf-8=%E2%9 ... illotine#1

[veeteetee]

At 11:02 onwards

[fredric]

Prison misidentified on film as "Moabit".
The prison is Plotzensee.
Fallbeil, familiar pictures, is the Mannhardt at Plotzensee.
Wire (?) nooses may have been props used by the Soviets to explain
purpose of the hooks?
This is the full post-Berlin documentation of Plotzensee's execution room.
Much visual information is on this film.

[fredric]

Pete26,
On another AF board I saw a photo (I believe posted by you) that supposedly dates to 1928 and shows Johann Reichhart and two other men standing by a guillotine. A variation of that photo appeared in a June 2017 Daily Mirror article and is attributed to Alamy stockhouse. (That doesn't necessarily mean Alamy owns all rights to the image.) Do you by chance know who owns the rights to the photo you posted? Might it be in the public domain? I'm writing a nonfiction book about some members of the German resistance, which will be released in October. My editor and I are now gathering photos for the book. We'd like to use some kind of execution photo, but don't want anything too graphic. Reichhart is briefly mentioned in my book, so that 1928 photo (which I've seen elsewhere described as being from 1924 and possibly taken at Regensburg prison in Bavaria) might work. Can you offer any details? Thanks.

The image you mention is a large format photo documenting J.R.s
taking over the State (Munchen) position. I have many details. I ask that you
write me on this forum.

[hmtk1964]

Hi all

From m.ostsee-zeitung.de regarding jva butzow and a foto of a fallbeil but with a gurney on rails

[fredric]

Fine contribution to the Forum. I had not seen this photo until sent to me by Mr. G. Anderson some
years ago. Those wheels are amazing! A little "rail-car" to the axe!
This is a modified Mannhardt.
The concave table is unusual but can be seen on other fallbelle.

[Pete26]

Fine contribution to the Forum. I had not seen this photo until sent to me by Mr. G. Anderson some
years ago. Those wheels are amazing! A little "rail-car" to the axe!
This is a modified Mannhardt.
The concave table is unusual but can be seen on other fallbelle.

I posted a link to this photo and also the photo of hanging hooks in Butzow prison on 14 July 2019.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=35191&p=2212452&hil ... w#p2212452

https://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/Mehr/Bild ... -Buetzow/2

Butzow hanging hooks.jpg

[Pete26]

Some time ago there was a discussion of any known cases of face up fallbeil beheadings performed by Nazis. This was obviously not a standard procedure and French did not do it either. However, supposedly the leader of the Jacobins Robespierre was guillotined face up because he was severely wounded in the jaw during his capture and placing him on the bascule face down would have caused him great pain.

There was a Frenchman by the name of Claude Buffet who received sentence of life in prison for murder in the late 1960s. He wanted to be guillotined and he specifically asked to be guillotined face up so he could see the blade rushing down toward him. He was so enraged when he received life in prison sentence instead that he promised to kill in prison. One year later, he masterminded hostage taking in prison and murdered a nurse and a guard.
For this crime he was sentenced to death and guillotined on 28 November 1972 in the courtyard of La Sante prison in Paris. it is not clear if his original wish to be guillotined face up was granted.