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War Criminals Hanged at
Hameln |
The Belsen Trial held at No. 30 Lindentrasse, Lünburg,
Germany from September 17, through November 17, 1945. The appalling
crimes that were committed by the Nazi SS in Bergen-Belsen are amply
described in:
The Trial of Josef Kramer and
Forty-Four Others
Edited by Raymond Phillips, M.C., M.A. B.C.L. (Oxon)
1949, William Hodge and Company (London)
Death sentences were handed down to eight male war criminals on the
fifty-fourth day of the trial:
The PRESIDENT No. 1 Kramer, 2
Klein, 3 Weingartner, 5 Hoessler, 16 Francioh, 22 Pichen, 25 Stofel,
27 Dorr. The sentences of this Court on each one of you whom I have
just named is that you suffer death by being hanged.
Similarly three female war criminals received the maximum penalty:
The PRESIDENT No. 6 Bormann, 7
Volkenrath, 9 Grese. The sentence of this court is that you suffer
death by being hanged. Holocaust
deniers, who liken themselves to "Revisionists," have often
made bizarre and unfounded statements about many of the perpetrators
named above; but none more incredible than the fallacious statements
made about Irma Grese and her British executioner Albert Pierrepoint.
Quite apart from an attempt to sanctify the woman otherwise known as "The
Beautiful Beast," Holocaust deniers assure their readers that Irma
Grese showed exceptional bravery at the moment of her death, made
statements about her innocence before being hanged, put up a struggle,
and a host of other allegations based on nothing else than their fevered
minds.
One extraordinary claim is that Albert Pierrepoint, a
professional executioner who hanged many hundreds of men and women
throughout his career, was in love with, attracted by, or even terribly
fond of Irma Grese. To substantiate their absurd claims, Holocaust
deniers consistently (mis)quote from his obscure autobiography. The book
is rare enough that many historians have never seen it. By taking bits
and pieces out of context from Pierrepoint's dry (and very British)
description of his unusual occupation, Holocaust deniers attempt to
hoodwink the innocent.
The truth is that Pierrepoint, who spoke no German,
never talked to Irma Grese except through a translator (in the presence
of many British and German witnesses); crossed no more than a few words
to ascertain her height, weight and age; was only present for 32 hours
in the prison where Grese was held; and had no other opportunity to see
her except on the 12th of December when he weighed her, and on the 13th
when he pinioned her, guided her to the scaffold and proceeded to hang
her.
To put an end to some of the falsehoods spewed by Holocaust deniers,
eight pages of Pierrepoint's book are presented both as text files and
as scanned pages of the original book. These pages cover his activities
immediately previous to and throughout the execution process of the SS
criminals in the prison at Hameln.
To view the original scanned pages, simply click on the
small book icon at the top of each page.
Ref:
Executioner: Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint
1974, George C. Harrap & Co.Ltd. |