THIRD REICH EXECUTES ELECTRICIAN FOR 'COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES'

THIRD REICH EXECUTES ELECTRICIAN FOR 'COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES'
Great content court file in German, 23pp. most 4to., ca. 1942, indicting 34-year-old Reichsbahn electrician Robert Hinterndorfer for treason and Communist activities. In part: '...in mid-1940, the accused opened an illegal organization with a communist aim in Amstetten...to carry out sabotage acts at public institutions...' The dossier is tremendously detailed, containing Hinterndorfer's particulars, his communist ties, his mugshot, and his record with underground communist organizations within Germany, mentioning his attendance at communist meetings and his distribution of communist propaganda. The court file additionally describes his execution on August 10, 1943, as '...the security of the state requires his elimination...'. His executioner was the infamous JOHANN REICHART (1893-1972), judicial executioner in Bavaria who executed thousands for resisting National Socialism, including many conspirators of the 20 July plot and the Scholl siblings of the resistance group White Rose. While the dossier does not mention a cause of death, Reichhart's efforts to streamline executions suggests a gruesome beheading via guillotine. The condemned were held by Reichhart's assistants, without restraint devices, until the hatchet blade was dropped. Reichhart abolished the black blindfold; instead, one of his assistants simply held the convict's eyes closed. These measures shortened the duration of the actual execution, and according to the court file, Hintendorfer's execution took just 10 seconds. Sold with original folder. Slight wear to the margins, commensurate with age, yet content still clear and largely unaffected. Very good.