The HORRORS Of Lord Haw Haw’s Execution JJ

He was one of the most notorious man of the Second World War. The name Lord Haw-Haw became synonymous during the war with treason and attempts to subvert Britain from directly inside Germany. Lord Haw-Haw broadcasted defeatist propaganda for the Nazis and it was aimed that this would help the British to rebel and ultimately give up the fight.

William Joyce was Lord Haw-Haw and at the end of World War II he was captured and was ultimately tried for crimes against the British Crown. He was on the 3rd of January 1946 at the age of 39 taken into the execution chamber of Wandsworth Prison and he there met experienced executioner Albert Pierrepoint. Pierrepoint was very skilled at using the long drop method, a method of execution designed to expertly snap the neck of the condemned.

But what happened inside of the execution chamber has long sometimes been documented as a crime in itself. The execution of Lord Haw-Haw was ruthless and brutal. But should he really have been executed in the first place for his actions? William Joyce was always someone who ran against the crowd. He was born specifically in the United States and this later will become rather important.

His father was Irish and his mother was from an Anglo-Irish family. After a few years the family moved back to Ireland and at some point Joyce was allegedly even recruited to work as a courier for the enemies of the IRA. And he even at one point tried to take him out as he was on his way to school. He then moved to England and it was inside of the country where he began to get involved in right-wing politics and movements.

He later in 1932 joined the British Union of Fascists, the BUF, who were under the stewardship of Sir Oswald Mosley. By this time Joyce was already battle hardened in politics. Previously he even had gained a large scar on his face as he had been attacked by communists. But inside the BUF, Joyce really found his political feet.

It was said by someone who witnessed one of his speeches that, I quote, “Thin, pale, intense. He had not been speaking many minutes before we were electrified by this man.” So terrifying in its dynamic force, so vitriolic. He was incredibly inflammatory and became the BUF’s propaganda chief. And he also was a fighter who was not scared to get his hands dirty against his enemies.

Joyce spoke out in the same tones as the Nazis would in Germany against people they later persecuted. But at some point, he was actually fired from the BUF. And he then decided to look towards Nazi Germany and the Third Reich for inspiration and also for purpose. Just before the Second World War broke out, William Joyce and his wife Margaret left Britain and they fled to Germany.

At this point, it was soon with Nazi Germany. But in 1940, Joyce would become a naturalized German citizen and would gain Reich citizenship. This is also quite important. Hitler welcomed those who left their nations to arrive in Germany with the same political beliefs as the Nazis. And Joyce tried to find employment inside the government.

He gained work within the Reich Ministry of Propaganda and was to begin with given a contract as a news reader on German radio’s English service. He became the best known British radio broadcaster within Germany and regularly during his shows, he spoke out against the British in favor of the Nazis. His infamous show, Germany Calling, was broadcast back to Britain and many millions of people tuned in.

During these broadcasts, he would mock the British war effort and aim to demoralize the population and to get people to turn their backs on their troops, their government, and to turn towards the Nazis. It was for this that William Joyce gained the nickname Lord Haw-Haw. The effects of the broadcasts was to disrupt the British morale, but most people decided to actually laugh at the broadcasts and they saw it as rather humorous.

As well as broadcasting propaganda, Joyce also wrote books and further propaganda, which was distributed amongst prisoners of war, and he even tried to recruit British POWs into the Waffen SS division, known as the British Free Corps, which was being set up. Hitler even awarded him the War Merit Cross, but the pair never met.

At the end of World War II, William Joyce made one final broadcast on the 30th of April, 1945, the same day as Hitler died, and whilst Berlin was crumbling against the Soviet bombardment and the city being stormed. He was drunk at the time of this, but after, he then made a run for it. He knew inside of German cities and towns that he would possibly be easier caught, so he headed to the country and arrived at Flensburg, close to the German border with Denmark.

Flensburg was the last capital of the Third Reich, and Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz had established his government there after being appointed president following Hitler’s death. Joyce was being hunted by the British, though. They knew exactly who the infamous Lord Haw-Haw was. Rumors reached them that a British couple living in the village of Krummöhler, and British intelligence officers approached him.

Joyce had allegedly been walking alone in the woods after having an argument with his wife. But during his arrest, he was actually shot by the British as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his passport. This was mistaken for him getting a weapon. Taken back to Britain to stand trial for treason, William Joyce was accused of three counts.

He claimed he was not guilty and his defense argued he had never actually been a British citizen, so therefore could not be considered a traitor and therefore should never have been tried for treason. They claimed he had never acknowledged the authority of the king or crown over his life, so therefore could not be a traitor. More on this even later.

Nevertheless, William Joyce, Lord Haw Haw, was sentenced to death for treason and was transferred to Wandsworth Prison to await his execution. His appeals were rejected and whilst in prison, he remained completely unrepentant. He claimed that, I quote, “May the swastika be raised from the dust.” And believed he was being executed for being on the side who lost the war.

Some of his final words written before his execution were, I quote, “I defy the power of darkness which they represent. I warn the British people against the crushing imperialism of the Soviet Union. May Britain be great once again and in the hour of the greatest danger in the West, may the standard be raised from the dust crowned with these words, ‘You have conquered nevertheless.

‘ I am proud to die for my ideals and I am sorry for the sons of Britain who died without knowing why.” On the 3rd of January 1946, he was led from the condemned cell inside Wandsworth Prison into the adjoining execution chamber. Albert Pierrepoint, the British executioner, had met with him previously to calculate his height and weight and subsequently the drop required to snap his neck.

Joyce was then led into the execution chamber and was taken over the trapdoor. His arms had been secured behind his back and his legs had also been strapped together, so he didn’t struggle as he fell through the trapdoor. Pierrepoint then shuffled Joyce specifically over the trapdoor and then placed a white cap or black cap over his head.

Pierrepoint then secured the noose around his neck and when the final checks were given, he pushed the lever, opening the trapdoor, and William Joyce plunged through to his death. It was claimed that, I quote, “He died like an Anglican, like his mother, despite a long and friendly correspondence with a Roman Catholic priest who fought hard for William’s soul.

” But, the execution wasn’t actually that straightforward. The specific method of execution used for William Joyce was long drop hanging. This method had been perfected by Pierpoint, and it meant that the condemned fell a specifically calculated distance and drop, and then their neck would snap as they hit the bottom of the drop.

There was actually an official table of measurements drafted by the government for this, and Pierpoint was very adept at using it. However, he didn’t anticipate what the force of the drop would do to Joyce. As he hit the bottom of the drop, and his body jerked as the noose snapped taut, the huge scar on William Joyce’s face split wide open from the pressure that was applied to his head from the drop.

This led to blood pouring out onto the floor of the execution chamber, and his face when he was cut down was a bloody mess, as were the rest of his clothes, the noose, and also the execution chamber. This made the job of the doctor who confirmed death much more difficult. He was cut down and then placed inside of a coffin with blood still coming out from the scar which had burst open.

But, there was also a rather terrifying argument made by those who defended Joyce at the end of World War II. Many contested that he, Lord Haw Haw, was wrongly executed as he was in possession of a British passport illegally. He argued himself that possession of a passport did not entitle him to the protection of the Crown, and this therefore didn’t have a duty of allegiance to the Crown and country once he left.

It was argued that Joyce was Irish and even American and that his British citizenship was revoked once he was naturalized inside of the Reich, meaning that he could therefore not have been guilty of treason and technically could have been a prisoner of war. Without doubt, he had citizenship of America having been born there and also of Germany, but whether he was truly a citizen of Britain and therefore whether he could be executed for treason inside of Britain is still debatable today.

Today it is very possible that he would have escaped much punishment and famous historian A.J.P. Taylor remarked that, I quote, “Technically Joyce was hanged for making a false statement when applying for a passport, the usual penalty for which is a small fine.” But this wasn’t the end of Lord Haw-Haw’s story.

Following his execution, his body was placed inside of an unmarked grave within the walls of Wandsworth Prison and it was not immediately released to his family. But in 1976, 30 years after his death, his daughter campaigned for the release of the body and William Joyce’s remains were repatriated back to Ireland being dug up from his original grave and he was then interred inside of Galway Cemetery.

The execution of William Joyce, Lord Haw-Haw, is still debated today as many consider that he was wrongfully executed. Nevertheless, his execution was more bloody and brutal than it should have been as his scar burst open on his face and left the execution chamber a complete mess. He remains one of the most infamous figures of World War II and a man forever associated with treason and being a traitor.

Thanks for watching. If you found this video interesting, maybe click subscribe. Once again, thank you so much for giving up your time to watch one of these videos.