The German POWs got me to searching the WWW.
I found 1 book on the subject, written by Richard Whittingham who evidently is huge football fan writing another book on the Washington Redskin's and has been on ESPN. Wow, what a tangled web this author has weaved. His bio is at the end of the email.
Having said that, here is my latest bit of info, the inmates were executed here at Ft. Leavenworth. BUT, are you ready for this BUT, USDB (Ft Leavenworth Prison) does not use the gallows. That is how these prisoners were to be executed. Why, maybe that is the method the German POWs were to be executed, indeed that is the form they had to be executed by and here is the well shocking update on my photo's, they were hung in the Ft Leavenworth elevator shaft. YES, you read that correctly, they had to be hung, there were no GALLOWS and they were executed through the hanging by the elevator shaft.
WOW, knock me over with a feather. I verified through the historian and I am still speechless. More so, because in all I have read, nothing gave this is the method.
Anyway, it is very fascinating and I plan to pick up the book. I plan to return and take a few better photo's and I do look forward to your thoughts on this bit of history.
The elevator shaft. That's wild. I never would have imagined that either. In too big a hurry to build a gallows, I guess.
Thanks, very interesting. I assume that hanging was still considered appropriate punishment for enemy crimes, while shooting was the norm for our own soldiers who were to be executed.
I'm suprised they weren't given the electric chair. I know there were several Nazi spies who were executed using that method, which was typical for that day.