Hitler's willing executioner - Carl Gröpler
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- Опубліковано 11 гру 2023
- For whoever does the alleged manual control at UA-cam. The community guidelines are here : support.google.com/youtube/an... I suggest you read them. If you decide that this video is in breach of any of them, I suggest you tell me precisely where.
Carl Gröpler is one of the most famous executioners in Germany, probably because of his role in dispatching notable serial murderers. He executed a number of people opposed to the National Socialist regime in the 1930s but when the Soviets got their hands on him, he no doubt had cause to regret his career decision many years earlier.
He was born in Magdeburg on 22 February 1868 as the child of the railway worker and porter Heinrich Gröpler and his wife Auguste, née Anton . He first became a musician, then worked as a postal worker for five years. Gröpler learned how to be a horse butcher and ran the Edelweiss steam laundry in Magdeburg . He was described as a broad-shouldered, strong figure with a reddish mustache and a short military haircut.
The laundry did not bring in enough money, so Gröpler looked for additional income. A part time job in assisting in chopping off peoples’ heads became available. However first Groepler had to study for the executioners exam and had to do the executioners course. On completion of his deadly studies, he was initially the main assistant to the Prussian executioner Lorenz Schwietz and then to the Prussian executioner Alwin Engelhardt. When the latter was dismissed without notice because of inconsistencies in his accounts in 1906, Gröpler took over his duties.
Prussian law stated that executions were to be carried out by beheading but it did not state how this beheading was to be done. There were two methods, either use of the guillotine or the hand axe. Carl Gröpler used both methods.
The German word for guillotine is Fallbeil ("falling hatchet") and sometimes this word is used also in English. The guillotine was introduced from France during Napoleonic times to various German states. The German version was built primarily of metal instead of wood, and used heavier blades than their French predecessors. Multiple executions could be conducted faster, thanks to a more efficient blade recovery system. Those deemed likely to struggle were backed slowly into the device from behind a curtain to prevent them from seeing it prior to the execution. A metal screen covered the blade as well in order to conceal it from the sight of the condemned.
Nazi Germany used the guillotine between 1933 and 1945 to execute at least 16,500 prisoners - 10,000 of them in 1944 and 1945 alone. The guillotine was last used in West Germany in 1949 in the execution of Richard Schuh and was last used in East Germany in 1966 in the execution of Horst Fischer.
I have looked at a number of executions that took place in Germany, particularly Nazi Germany, by beheading with an axe. There are a lot of stories of what can only be described as botched executions in early modern England where it was customary for the condemned to pay the executioner to do a good job. Whereas I have never heard of any refunds being made for doing a bad job, there are some pretty gruesome stories. Just to give one example of many, the Duke of Monmouth was beheaded by Jack Ketch on 15 July 1685, on Tower Hill, in London. Before laying his head on the block, Monmouth specifically bade Ketch finish him at one blow, saying he had mauled others before. Ketch was noted for not being very good at his job, and it took five, seven or eight blows to kill the Duke - sources differ and some even say that the executioner had to use a knife to sever the Duke’s head. All I can say is that I hope the Duke got his money back. I shall spare you the details of such cases, of which there are many, but I have found only one case where a second blow of the axe was required in Germany. I am unable to explain why this happened. Carl Gröpler, like Jack Ketch 250 years earlier, was a heavy drinker - not something likely to lead to a smooth execution.
The part time job initially paid Groepler well. In 1906 he earned 1075 marks, in 1907, 1800 marks, and in 1908, 2550 marks. In 1909 he earned 5350 marks because there were eleven executions, and the following year 4950 marks from ten executions in 1910.
In April 1924, Gröpler signed a contract that made him the de facto sole executioner in Prussia which was just about all of northern Germany. The death sentence was used sparingly in the Weimar Republic and as we shall see following one scandal it might have been abolished altogether. In addition to a monthly retainer of 136 gold marks per month, he received a flat rate of 60 gold marks for himself and 50 gold marks for each of his assistants for each execution. This form of payment for this part time job was common in other countries,
On 15 April 1925 Carl Gröpler executed serial killer Fritz Haarmann.
AN ALAN VIDEO + PIPE +COFFEE before work. Great routine methinks. Thank you again Alan.
Murray, that sounds great, and I already feel guilty for when I won't be able to do so many videos as I will have to return to the day job.
Another informative and wonderful historical coverage video about executioners in Germany before and during Nazism regime rules. Video shared by an excellent ( History on UA-cam) and respectful 🙏 Sir Alan .. video focused on executioner ( Carl Gropler )
Many thanks Mohammed!
Very interesting video. Thank you Alan
Very welcome Isa!
Thanks for a very interesting program. 😁👌👌👌
Thanks for watching Terry!
Interested that the Guillotine was such an "improvement".
As picturesque as these places shown are, I can't help but think that they contributed to the Medievalism of National Socialist Socialist mindset.
Eanst Hanfstaengl was very successful in his attempt to "Americanise" the movement.
In fact, It almost killed him.
Great video. 🙏🇦🇺
And after the war, Eanst Hanfstaengl got victim status!
@@HistoryonUA-cam OK! 🙏🇦🇺
„August….Ne, Anton“😂
?
Omg 😱 I did not know so many were executed by beheading in Germany.
Great video.Thanks.
Glad you liked it Paul!
Great video cheers 🎉
Thanks Declan!
Magdeburg looks a pretty city . Butchers and executioners go hand in hand . I once worked for a psychiatrist who noted that there was an association between slaughter house workers and sociopathy , of course not universal though an interesting observation nonetheless .
In a different video I give a description of how this came about but then I changed the order of publication so the description will be now in a later video. However, you are right!
Thank You 🫡
Thanks for watching Josh.
Hi Alan, great video as always! I have a question I've asked on another video, sorry if it's off topic: I've always thought of the Free City of Danzig as an independent country, though German politically influenced and Polish economically controlled. It still had its own identity from the times of the Hanseatic League, so it was neither Polish nor German. German states and cities have always had their own identity and traditions, and in Danzig's case also a different dialect: Danziger Platt. Do you think the Free City of Danzig had its own national identity, and does Gdansk now have something "more" than being a Polish city
Sorry, I saw your message earlier on my phone but I tend to write only from the computer! I think that Gdańsk does have something unique, I would say that under the PiS regime, Gdańsk was a city that still felt like Poland, so now we have got rid of them, hopefully the rest of the country will catch up. However, I don't think there was ever an identity during the period of the Free City which was less than 20 years. I hope that answers the question!
Thank you so much!
Why is the video's thumbnail a picture of Peter Kurten?
When you see the video then you will know why.
The most (in)famous person Gröpler executed must have been Fritz Haarmann, though.
@@francisdec1615 I think I took out the references to Fritz Haarmann although he was executed by Groepler. I can't remember now - I will see the video tonight when it premieres.
@@HistoryonUA-cam Great video as always. When I saw the thumbnail I thought it was supposed to be a picture of Gröpler.
Alan i couldn't help but notice the similarities in the headline to your video to Daniel goldhagens book ( Hitlers willing executioners ). Im very curious about what your opinion of his book is. It makes since to me but it has gotten a lot of bad reviews.
I’m not Alan, but I find the book to be quite shallow, considering the title. It mainly focusses on a single Polizei battalion and doesn’t go very deep into this fascinating part of history - it scratches the surface.
@@tsarbomba01 I think the gist of the book was what motivated the police battalion members to participate in mass murder. He argues that eliminating the jews completely from german society was an Idea that predates the nazi's.
I completely disagree with his idea, that this was something deep within German society. If that were the case, there would not have been so many prominent Jews in German society. I read the book some time ago. In Christopher Browning's new edition of Ordinary Men there is a rebuttal, stating that although they used the same documents, they came to completely different conclusions. There is a third voice in this debate now, Ursula (cant remember surname) although I have not read her opinion. I think that hatred to Jews is linked to traditional religion, in particular Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy - of course I accept that this has changed today.
@@HistoryonUA-cam thank you for your opinion. I put a high value on it. I have pretty much decided that the root of antisemitism is religious nonsense myself. I can't believe that Christopher browning was almost my neighbor for 25 years. He was at Pacific Lutheran university which is just south of tacoma.
@@johnwright291 their motivation was the order from above, more than anything else. “Befehl ist befehl”, Führerprinzip and all that b.s.
i heard he was paid well
I mentioned in the video how much he was on.
Is there anything any good that Germany has ever done in their yourney through Humanity?...
Germany is the only country in the world that has come to terms with its history.