The HORRORS Of WW2 Pole Hanging Execution JJ

At the end of World War II, and also during it, there was an execution method which was deployed and used inside of Czechoslovakia and also Hungary. It was a historic method linked to the age of empires, but pole hanging was often performed poorly, and it led to an execution which was lengthy and caused someone to suffer more than they probably should have.

Pole hanging was performed upon former German army soldiers, officers, Nazi politicians, and officials, and those men and women who collaborated and betrayed their nations to the Germans. This included women who had served the regime and had a role in handing people over for persecution, but also prime ministers who had a vital role in sending thousands of people to their deaths inside the concentration camps.

The executioners who performed pole hanging often commented saying that this was more efficient than using a traditional gallows, but often this went wrong, and it was rarely carried out successfully. But the image of seeing the remains of a war criminal secured to a post covered in a white sheet before they were cut down was harrowing.

So, why else was pole hanging a World War II execution method so terrible? For an executioner and his assistant to perform a pole hanging execution successfully, they needed to carry out a number of specific steps. The first step was to bring the condemned war criminal out to the 3-m post or pole, and this was usually found inside a town square or a prison courtyard.

Pole hanging was intended to be very public, and with this thousands of people would often come to watch the proceedings. The executioner and his assistant then got to work, and the next step saw them attach a rope around the condemned person’s feet, and this was then passed through a pulley at the bottom of the pole.

After this, the condemned was hoisted into the air and held in place using a chest sling under their and this would then obviously later be released. Then a narrow noose was looped around the condemned person’s neck and it was secured and locked off on a hook at the top of the pole. Now, when everything was ready, the executioner released the drop and the chest sling was then released.

The condemned person plunged down a short distance and the executioner’s assistant tried to guide the fall whilst the executioner attempted to push the head to one side to manually dislocate the neck. As mentioned, this was all carried out in front of the view of thousands of people and many were invited at the end of the war to see these proceedings take place.

Many people even brought their children and families to witness the scenes. The execution posts were usually placed specifically in the areas where spectators could gather around. Pankrác Prison within Prague was used at the end of World War II as was an area in Budapest close to the Academy of Music. After the execution was carried out, crowds were allowed to get remarkably close to the bodies and the corpses were all draped and covered in a white cloth which was incredibly eerie.

But despite the majority of pole hangings happening upon convicted Nazis and Nazi collaborators, there was one young woman from Yugoslavia who was subjected to this ordeal and was captured carrying a weapon and was said to have been a member of a resistance group. Lili Bern was a member of the Young Guard in Novi Sad in Yugoslavia and she was allegedly involved in sabotage operations.

After being captured for carrying a weapon, Hungarian soldiers executed her by using pole hanging in front of their military barracks. She wasn’t very old at all when she was executed in this manner and images captured the moments after show this. Her remains were then guarded by Hungarian soldiers and after some people even posed for photographs with her corpse, very much still on the pole.

Lilly Bern was different to the others who were pole hanged. She was a member of the resistance who opposed and did not collaborate or work for the regimes which occupied her lands. But now let’s look at some very different examples of pole hanging and look specifically at why they were so brutal.

In March 1946 inside of Budapest, a city which will feature significantly in this part of the video, Maria Nagy was condemned following a trial at the People’s Tribunal. Her exact crimes were not known, but it was said she was known for torturing young women who were being persecuted. So, she may have been a female concentration camp guard.

Inside the city whilst thousands looked on, she was led over to the execution post and was pole hanged. Next to her was the body of someone else who had gone in the exact same way. And despite looking relatively calm while she was paraded throughout the city, her hands were restrained in front of her and there was absolutely no escape for her.

Maria Nagy did appear rather frail when this execution was carried out and the sight of her being manhandled on the post was distressing for many, but people still witnessed the execution. Herta Kaesparova was also condemned to death after the war as she was a prominent Nazi collaborator. She worked for the Gestapo in the city of Trieste and translated for them.

Her work helped to condemn to death many resistance fighters and specifically she was involved in the murder of a number of young men who had allegedly mocked her for having a limp when she was younger at school. She told the Gestapo incorrectly that these men were members of the resistance and they were then quickly shot despite this not being the case.

On the 13th of September 1946 at 6:38 p.m. in the evening in front of a massive crowd of thousands on a pole which was 3 m high, Hertha Caspareva was executed. Now, her conduct that day made the ordeal worse for the witnesses. When led to Warsaw post, Caspareva couldn’t walk and she fell to her knees and had to be carried.

She screamed and continued to cry out. She was incredibly frightened and winced as she was shown the post as she struggled as the executioner and his assistants secured the ropes around her. As she was secured to the post and the chestling held her there, she continued to scream until the drop was released. The executioner then tried to dislocate her neck, but her body continued to twitch on the post after the drop was released showing that her death was not relatively instant.

Her coffin was also brought to her as well and this was placed at the bottom of her. And after death was confirmed, her body was then cut down. But eerily, Hertha Caspareva’s last request was for her brother to see her one final time. And he approached the body and then wept as he sat by her coffin. Kurt Daluege was also condemned by pole hanging at the end of World War II inside of Pankrac Prison.

Daluege was the chief of the order police and he was a man who was responsible for many Nazi police forces during the war. He was a prominent member of Hitler and Heinrich Himmler’s police state and was very high up and powerful. Daluege was also responsible for committing many crimes within Prague as he was a replacement for Reinhard Heydrich as deputy protector of Bohemia and Moravia and he organized large-scale massacres and deaths.

At the end of the war, Daluege was passed by the Allies to the Czechs to stand trial for his crimes. He was condemned to death and was brought to his execution post on the 24th of October 1946. Regarding his execution, the crowd were allowed into the courtyard to see the proceedings, and they looked on as one of their former overlords was secured to his execution post.

He appeared rather frail compared to how he previously looked due to the fact that Deluga had been recovering from a major heart attack he had years before, but despite this, he was hoisted onto the execution pole. The distance Deluga fell was only a meter or so. There was hardly any drop, but the executioners who performed the task were very skilled.

Instantly, as the drop was released, his arms went limp by his side, alluding to the fact that Deluga had been pole hanged successfully as his neck had been snapped, leading to the conclusion that this execution method was performed well and was relatively instant. His body was later then cut down, placed inside of a coffin, and was buried in a nearby cemetery.

Karl Hermann Frank was the assistant who worked alongside Deluga inside of Prague, and he was a man who brought Prague to its knees during the war. He was a very experienced Nazi administrator who also helped put the Czech people to the sword. On the same post as Deluga, Frank was executed in 1946. In the same manner, a large crowd was gathered, and this even included a number of women who wished to watch the demise of a man who had brought much suffering.

Frank was hoisted right to the top of the pole, and he plunged a longer distance than Deluga did. And the executioners secured the noose around his neck whilst he was at the very top of the execution pole. His execution was also filmed, and it was also very successful as as soon as he hit the drop and it was released, his whole body went limp.

Inside of Budapest on the 19th of September 1945, a Roman Catholic priest was executed by pole hanging for his actions during World War II, But, this wasn’t an ordinary priest. Andras Kun was a commander of a death squad whose men rampaged throughout the city. And, he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands.

And, his forces carried out massacres all over whilst Kun commanded them wearing his priest robes. He claimed he did this as he wanted to reduce human misery. But, his forces massacred inside hospitals and then shot people on the banks of the Danube River. He was captured at the end of the war and was executed inside the city of Budapest in front of a large crowd.

He was condemned alongside a number of other collaborators and traitors and many members of the former Arrow Cross Party who inflicted misery. More Arrow Cross politicians were executed en masse inside Budapest after the war, too. This included the former Prime Minister Ferenc Szálasi who was put to death in front of thousands.

Many people even hung out of windows to see his execution in the courtyard of the Academy of Music. He even was allowed to kiss a cross before the executioner secured the noose and released the drop. One by one, prominent Arrow Cross members, those politicians who collaborated with the Nazis, were executed by pole hanging.

So, pole hanging was a method of execution which was used during World War II to bring the lives of prominent Nazis and collaborators to an abrupt end. It was used during the conflict to also condemn members of resistance groups and their bodies were left on display for some time to send a clear message to others not to get involved in resistance.

But, the pole hanging execution method often did go wrong and it could lead to a death which was very much prolonged. Thanks for watching. If you found this video interesting, maybe click subscribe. Once again, thank you so much for giving me your time to watch one of these videos.