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{{Short description|German soldier and prisoner of war (1920–1944)}} |
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'''Horst Günther''' (23 September 1920 |
'''Horst Günther''' (23 September 1920 – 6 April 1944) was a German [[World War II]] [[prisoner of war]]. An [[Afrika Korps]] ''[[Gefreiter]]'', he was "captured on 9 May 1943 in Tunisia [and] murdered in Camp Aiken prisoner-of-war camp, South Carolina" United States, by fellow prisoners.<ref>[http://home.arcor.de/kriegsgefangen/deutsch/cemetery/fort_gordon.html Original German text: "Gefangennahme am 09.05.1943 in Tunesien. Er wurde im Kriegsgefangenenlager Aiken, South Carolina, ermordet."]</ref> |
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He was suspected of collaborating with the American authorities and strangled by two fellow prisoners-of-war, '''Erich Gauss''' and '''Rudolf Straub''' |
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| ⚫ | He was suspected of collaborating with the American authorities and was strangled by two fellow prisoners-of-war, '''Erich Gauss''' and '''Rudolf Straub''', who hung his body from a tree in order to make it seem that Günther had killed himself.<ref>''Newsweek''; "Death and Treason", 5 February 1945.</ref> Gauss, 32, and Staub, 39, were hanged on 14 July 1945 at [[United States Disciplinary Barracks|Fort Leavenworth, Kansas]]. They were buried in the prison cemetery.<ref>[http://www.interment.net/data/us/ks/leavenworth/ftleav_prison/index.htm Fort Leavenworth Military Prison cemetery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418104827/http://www.interment.net/data/us/ks/leavenworth/ftleav_prison/index.htm |date=2007-04-18 }}</ref> 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."<ref>[http://venus.soci.niu.edu/~archives/ABOLISH/mar98/0037.html "Abolish" Death penalty news, 1 March 1998] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060913065759/http://venus.soci.niu.edu/~archives/ABOLISH/mar98/0037.html |date=September 13, 2006 }}</ref> |
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== See also == |
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==Notes and references== |
==Notes and references== |
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[[Category:1920 births]] |
[[Category:1920 births]] |
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[[Category:1944 deaths]] |
[[Category:1944 deaths]] |
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[[Category:German |
[[Category:German Army personnel killed in World War II]] |
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| ⚫ | [[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States]] |
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[[Category:Murdered military personnel]] |
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[[Category: |
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[[Category:German people who died in prison custody]] |
[[Category:German people who died in prison custody]] |
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[[Category:Prisoners who died in United States military detention]] |
[[Category:Prisoners who died in United States military detention]] |
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[[Category:German people murdered abroad]] |
[[Category:German people murdered abroad]] |
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[[Category:People murdered in South Carolina]] |
[[Category:People murdered in South Carolina]] |
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[[Category:Events that led to courts-martial]] |
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Horst Günther (23 September 1920 – 6 April 1944) was a German World War II prisoner of war. An Afrika Korps Gefreiter, he was "captured on 9 May 1943 in Tunisia [and] murdered in Camp Aiken prisoner-of-war camp, South Carolina" United States, by fellow prisoners.[1]
He was suspected of collaborating with the American authorities and was strangled by two fellow prisoners-of-war, Erich Gauss and Rudolf Straub, who hung his body from a tree in order to make it seem that Günther had killed himself.[2] Gauss, 32, and Staub, 39, were hanged on 14 July 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They were buried in the prison cemetery.[3] 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."[4]
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