the Nazis hanged at Nuremburg...

)n 16 October, 1946, ten top Nazis were hanged at Nuremburg after being found guilty of various war crimes & atrocities. Here's a thumbnail look at them:

HANS FRANK(B.1900) He was an early Nazi, appointed Governor-general of the parts of Poland occupied by Germany, in 1939. He retained that post til driven out by the Russians in 1945. During that time, he instituted a reign of terror, overseeing 4 extermination camps. He was directly involved in the mass murders of Jews as well as the forced labor & enslavement of many Polish civilians.

After conviction, he was remorseful over his crimes & didn't deny responsibility, having apparently "found religion" before his death.

WILHELM FRICK(B. 1877) An early Nazi, he was Reich Minister of the Interior, responsible for the drafting of the racial laws of the Nazis, and many of the anit-Jew laws. He drafted the "Enabling Act" which gave Hitler almost-absolute authority, and was heavily involved in the creation of the concentration camps. He was a sinister, "behind-the scene" character. He showed no remorse & his last words were "Long Live Eternal Germany."

ALFRED JODL (B. 1890) was chief of the Wehrmacht's Operations Staff, & was responsible for signing twi criminal orders from Hitler: the Commissar Order of 1941 requiring the immediate execution of any Russian Political Commissar captured, & the Commando Order of 1942 authorizing the immediate execution without trial of any commandos, in or out of uniform, & any partisans or resistance fighters, spies, or supporters discovered in occupied territories. He also planned much of germany's aggressive warfare. He signed the surrender document in 1945 as Donitz' representative.

At his trial, he declared himself innocent "before God, before history, and my people", but he was convicted on overwhelming evidence against him. His last words were, "I greet you, my eternal Germany."

WILHELM KEITEL(B. 1882) was Chief of the German High Command, holding the rank of Field Marshal. He was called "Lakeitel" behind his back bu Goering & most other top military brass for being Hitler's toadie to the point of causing disgust.

At his trial, he played upon this reputation to use a "merely following orders" defense, but it was found that he'd issued some illegal orders on his own, including many "Night And Fog" orders against both German civilians & some in occupied territories. He admitted there were many atrocities committed & admitted culpability in many of them. His death took 24 minutes, as the drop from the hanging scaffold was too short to have snapped his neck.

ERNST KALTENBRUNNER(B. 1903)was an Austrian, as was Hitler, & an early Nazi who became a senior Austrian official after the 1938 anschluss of Germany & Austria, & also a high-ranking SS officer. He was both a fanatical Nazi & anti-Semite, becoming a major player in the "final solution" & the Holocaust, overseeing the Austrian concentration camps. At his trial, he denied any responsibility for the acts he was involved in, despite direct evidence of his guilt. He maintained his innocence to the end.

...CONTINUED NEXT POST

 

It's GOOD !

 

ULRICH FRIEDRICH WILHELM JOACHIM VON RIBBENTROP(B.1893) was Foreign Minister during most of the 3rd Reich. he made the non-aggression pact with Stalin in 1939 at Hitler's request. he remained opposed to Hitler's attack on Russia til it occurred, then tried to get Japan to join in on that attack.

Before & during the war, he had Jews deported from Germany, and later from occupied territories, sending them to concentration camps, being fully aware of what they were. He was deeply involved in the "final solution" with Himmler & heydrich, among others, as well as arranging deportations of Jews from occupied Denmark to extermination camps.

At his trial, he used the "following orders" defense, but the evidence of his involvement in the "final solution" & the Denmark deportations was overwhelming. His final words were, "God protect germany God have mercy on my soul. My final wish is that Germany should recover her unity and that, for the sake of peace, there should be understanding between East & West. I wish peace to the world." He then whispered to the Lutheran chaplain, "I'll see you again."

ALFRED ERNST ROSENBERG(B. 1892) was head of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories & the author of much of the Nazi "philosophy", especially its racial creeds. he was an early Nazi whose twisted racial theories attracted Hitler's attention. He kept publishing papers with his goofy racial theories, & soon Hitler began ignoring him, but for whatever reasons, Hitler was strangely supportive of him & left him at his post.

He was interviewed by an American psychologist at Nuremburg, who concluded he was a nut, strangely delusional, who completely denied the Holocaust & other anti-semitic despite overwhelming evidence against him. (He called the evidence "a pack of lies".) he went to the gallows unchanged.

ERNST FRIEDRICH CHRISTOF "FRITZ" SAUCKEL(B.1894) became Plenipotentiary for Labor deployment. He was responsible for the thousands of forced laborers from occupied countries, & from POWs, especially Russians & Polish. He was responsible for their starvation food allotments & lack of medical care, replacing them soon as they died.

he denied all complicity to the end, his last words being, "I die an innocent man, my sentence is unjust. May God protect Germany! may it live & one day become great again ! God protect my family."

ARTHUR SEISS-INQUART(B.1892) an Austrian lawyer who became spokesman for the Austrian National Socialists. he became Chancellor as Pres. Miklas was trying to avoid a German invasion. After the Anschluss, he became governor of the new territory of Ostmark, created from Austria. He then became administrative chief for southern Poland under hans Frank, helping Frank with his arrest & elimination of Jews.

After the Low Countries surrendered, he became Reichscommissar for the Netherlands, where he operated three concentration camps, executed political prisoners, & deported Jews for forced labor in Germany.

Before his execution, he remorsefully returned to the Catholic Church. His last words were""I hope that this execution is the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War and that the lesson taken from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between peoples. I believe in Germany."

JULIUS STREICHER(B.1885) was publisher of "Der Sturmer", a violently-anti-Semitic newsletter during most of the war. He was a fanatical Hitler supporter as well as a fanatic anti-Semite. While he didn't plan nor carry out any crimes himself against the Jews, he incited many others to do so. He was the man most-responsible for spreading anti-semitism throughout Germany & beyond.

As he mounted the scaffold steps to be hanged, he yelled "Heil Hitler!" one last time. his last words, to the witnesses were, "The Bolsheviks will hang YOU some day!", then, "Adele, my dear wife!"

HERMANN GOERING was scheduled to be hanged with the others, but he killed himself with a cyanide cap just hours earlier. However, his body was cremated with the others & their ashes were scattered into the isar River.

GOOD RIDDANCE !