Franz Strasser
| Franz Strasser | |
|---|---|
 Father Karl Morgenschweis prays for Franz Strasser seconds before his execution. | |
| Born |
1899 Germany |
| Died |
10 December 1945 (aged 46) Landsberg Prison, Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria, Germany |
| Occupation | Former NSDAP Kreisleiter and convict |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Criminal status | Executed by hanging |
| Spouse(s) | Unnamed wife |
| Children | 3 |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
Franz Strasser (unknown date and month in 1899[1] – 10 December 1945) was an Austrian-German former NSDAP Kreisleiter and convicted murderer.
Action
In December 1944, in Kaplitz in Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic), Franz Strasser killed two American airmen of the USAAF by shooting them with a Thompson submachine gun. They were members of a group of five airmen of the 20th Bomb Squadron[2] who stayed with pilot Warren Woodruff [3]:299 when he landed their plane in a field. They had voluntarily surrendered and were taken away in a truck. A Captain Lindemeyer, who later committed suicide, reportedly killed the other three, and the court verdict suggests that the killings were originally Lindemeyer's idea.[4][3]
Trial and execution
On 24 August 1945, Strasser was tried in an Allied military court, which had provided a translator for him during the trial.[5] He was found guilty and was sentenced to death by hanging at Landsberg Prison. On 10 December 1945, he was hanged and died as German Catholic priest and long-time hospital chaplain Karl Morgenschweis prayed for the convicted murderer.[6][7]
References
- ↑ "Franz Strasser (1899-1946) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com.
- ↑ "2Lt George Damon Mayott (1921-1944) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com.
- 1 2 Myers, Jack R. (1 February 2005). "Shot at and Missed: Recollections of a World War II Bombardier". University of Oklahoma Press. p. 299 – via Google Books.
In the rear with the five captured Americans were Franz Strasser, a local Nazi official, and Capt. Karl Lindemeyer, the chief of police of Kaplice. The group was driving toward Kaplice and was ten miles down the road when Strasser ordered the truck stopped ...
- ↑ United States v. Franz Strasser, an Austrian national, Case No. 8-27, 14 October 1945 at Jewish Virtual Library (pdf)
- ↑ "MILITARY TRIBUNAL: STRASSER". Archived from the original on 2014-03-16.
- ↑ "Nazi war criminal sentenced - Collections Search". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- ↑ "Pictorial History of the Second World War: A year of victory". W.H. Wise. 29 March 2018. p. 2152 – via Google Books.
December 10, 1945. ONE FOR TWO. A Nazi is hanged for killing American fliers. Franz Strasser, former Nazi official, is strung up for killing two American fliers who were forced down in Germany during the war.