Horst Günther (23 September 1920 – 6 April 1944) was a German World War II prisoner of war. An Afrika Korps Gefreiter, he was "captured on 9 May 1943 in Tunisia [and] murdered in Camp Aiken prisoner-of-war camp, South Carolina" United States, by fellow prisoners. [1]
He was suspected of collaborating with the American authorities and was strangled by two fellow prisoners-of-war, Erich Gauss and Rudolf Straub, who hung his body from a tree in order to make it seem that Günther had killed himself. [2] Gauss, 32, and Staub, 39, were hanged on 14 July 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They were buried in the prison cemetery. [3] Straub is alleged to have said just before his execution: "What I did was done as a German soldier under orders. If I had not done so, I would have been punished when I returned to Germany." [4]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ Original German text: "Gefangennahme am 09.05.1943 in Tunesien. Er wurde im Kriegsgefangenenlager Aiken, South Carolina, ermordet."
- ^ Newsweek; "Death and Treason", 5 February 1945.
- ^ Fort Leavenworth Military Prison cemetery Archived 2007-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Abolish" Death penalty news, 1 March 1998 Archived September 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
 | This biographical article related to the German Army is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1920 births
- 1944 deaths
- German Army personnel killed in World War II
- German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States
- German people who died in prison custody
- Prisoners who died in United States military detention
- Prisoners murdered in custody
- German people murdered abroad
- People murdered in South Carolina
- German Army soldiers of World War II
- German Army personnel stubs
- Events that led to courts-martial
Horst Günther (23 September 1920 – 6 April 1944) was a German World War II prisoner of war. An Afrika Korps Gefreiter, he was "captured on 9 May 1943 in Tunisia [and] murdered in Camp Aiken prisoner-of-war camp, South Carolina" United States, by fellow prisoners. [1]
He was suspected of collaborating with the American authorities and was strangled by two fellow prisoners-of-war, Erich Gauss and Rudolf Straub, who hung his body from a tree in order to make it seem that Günther had killed himself. [2] Gauss, 32, and Staub, 39, were hanged on 14 July 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They were buried in the prison cemetery. [3] Straub is alleged to have said just before his execution: "What I did was done as a German soldier under orders. If I had not done so, I would have been punished when I returned to Germany." [4]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ Original German text: "Gefangennahme am 09.05.1943 in Tunesien. Er wurde im Kriegsgefangenenlager Aiken, South Carolina, ermordet."
- ^ Newsweek; "Death and Treason", 5 February 1945.
- ^ Fort Leavenworth Military Prison cemetery Archived 2007-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Abolish" Death penalty news, 1 March 1998 Archived September 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
|
| This biographical article related to the German Army is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1920 births
- 1944 deaths
- German Army personnel killed in World War II
- German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States
- German people who died in prison custody
- Prisoners who died in United States military detention
- Prisoners murdered in custody
- German people murdered abroad
- People murdered in South Carolina
- German Army soldiers of World War II
- German Army personnel stubs
- Events that led to courts-martial