Horst Günther

Horst Günther (September 23, 1920 – April 6, 1944) was a German World War II prisoner of war. An Afrika Korps Gefreiter, he was captured on May 9, 1943, in Tunisia and murdered at the Camp Aiken prisoner-of-war camp in South Carolina, by fellow prisoners.[1]

Günther was suspected of collaborating with the American authorities and was strangled by two fellow prisoners-of-war, Erich Gauss and Rudolf Straub, who hanged his body from a tree in order to make it seem that he had killed himself.[2] Gauss and Straub were both court-martialed for premeditated murder in June 1944. At their court-martial, Gauss and Straub both told the court that they did not believe their actions were morally wrong. Straus described them "as a complete, absolute German matter," and that he had no intention of doing "anything against the American State." Gauss described the murder as justified.

"I am no murderer. I merely fought for the honor of my Fatherland and for the respect as a soldier, and I believe that every decent German soldier would do likewise if fate had demanded it."[3]

Gauss and Straub were both found guilty and sentenced to death. Gauss, 32, and Staub, 39, were hanged at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on July 14, 1945. They were buried in the prison cemetery.[4] 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."[5]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Original German text: "Gefangennahme am 09.05.1943 in Tunesien. Er wurde im Kriegsgefangenenlager Aiken, South Carolina, ermordet."". Archived from the original on 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  2. ^ Newsweek; "Death and Treason", 5 February 1945.
  3. ^ "Board of Review; Holdings, Opinions and Reviews, Volume 50, Supplementing Vols. 27-48" (PDF). Library of Congress. 1945. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Fort Leavenworth Military Prison cemetery Archived 2007-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Abolish" Death penalty news, 1 March 1998 Archived September 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
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