Execution of WH General by U.S. Troops

[ramon]

Dostler's final resting place in Italy.

[Ludwig]

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The victor as judge and historian...

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

I seem to recall a photo from LIFE magazine of three German spies about to be executed in 1944 entitlied (appropriately I think) "A Necessary Evil."

[ramon]

Here are the sentenced spies being readied for the firing squad.

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

Here are the sentenced spies being readied for the firing squad.

That is the one I was referring to. One can only imagine what they are thinking; thoughts of mom, dad, brother, sister, wife.... The posture of the soldier on the right with his head resting against the pole really conveys a lot of emotion.

[ramon]

Here is the fated moment..

[Ludwig]

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This (which IMO was OK) execution was in fact filmed.
Saw it on TV yesterday.

[ramon]

The aftermath.

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

This (which IMO was OK) execution was in fact filmed.
Saw it on TV yesterday.

Interesting, I didn't know that film footage was taken.

[Douglas Jr.]

Interesting, I didn't know that film footage was taken.

Hi,

those guy executed were part of the Otto Skorzeny´s team parachuted behind the American lines during the Bulge Battle. They wore GI´s uniforms and spoke English fluently. As they were under desguise, when captured they were shot as spies. I don´t remember the exact date but it sures place it between december 1944 - january, 1945.

Douglas.

[I Marotto]

The tall man pictured in the foreground in #19 is Gefreiter Manfered Pernass. He and the others being executed were captured and executed on Dec.18th '44. They were part of a larger plan of Skorzenys and were called the 'Greif' commandos the didnt parachute in rather the drove right behind the lines in jeeps they even had a couple of Shermans. There were 10, 4 man teams total.. the plan failed and the three that are shown were attached to Kampfgruppe Pieper and were caught posing as M.P.'s their uniforms were missmatched and that appearently gave them away not to mention they all carried their soldbuchs as well...

Ian

[Edward]

The victor as judge and historian...

Hello Ludwig,

In this case could you please explain why? Do you know why he ordered the execution of the 15 servicemen? Could you please also explain what purpose his order served?

Regards

[ramon]

The US Commandos were sentenced to death under the auspices of the Führerbefehl that had come into being as a direct result of the Dieppe Raid earlier. This Order stipulated that all enemy troops encountered involved in Commando operations were to be liquidated to the last man regardless if the men were armed or not.

The primary defense Dostler offered was that the copy of the Führerbefehl in his possession was studied very carefully wherein it was concluded the prompt execution of the prisoners was justifed and indeed, demanded. The ensuing drama of back and forth vacillation in interpretating the Order and the correctness of shooting these men is compelling. The Kriegsmarine was for a time involved as it was Naval personnel who conducted most of the interrogations of the prisoners.

I suggest you find a copy of the After the Battle issue number 94 as the entire incident including the trial and the subsequent execution are covered in great detail. This is the first case postwar that the defense of 'I was following orders' was offered by a defendant. In hopes of avoiding the death penalty, Dostler did offer up his services for the upcomng Nürnberg Trials as a witness.

As far as controversy, the guilty verdict was met with some trepidation by more than a few of Senior US military personnel. The central issue at the heart of this trial of committing a violation of the rules of war even if he is following an explicit order from on high was a vexing one for General officers. The moral question comes down to us to today and will likely last as long as there are combatants in the field of battle.

Ramon

[JuanS]

At least General Dostler was afforded the oportunity to a firing squad and to wear his General insignia. As you remember Goering, Keitel and Jodl asked for a firing squad and they were denied. The rational was that "they wanted to die like soldiers".
Very powerfull photos

Juan

[erichcraciun]

Here's the money shot.

Crass and Interesting use of words....

Erich