During the Second World War, the different armies involved in the conflict used spies
to provide information about the enemy.
It was believed this information would be very useful to the war effort, and the British
used spies to a huge extent in France with the organisation known as Special Operations
Executive or SOE linking up with the French Resistance.
But if spies were caught they were often subjected to horrific torture and also execution, and
there were accounts of a number of women, or female spies who were executed inside the
concentration camps being burned alive.
This was a harrowing thing for the other prisoners to recount, but German spies were executed
during the conflict and also for a short period following the end of hostilities in Europe.
But one of the most shocking executions occurred at the hands of the Americans or the US Army,
as a firing squad executed a 17 year old boy who had been accused of spying for Werewolf,
a secret German sabotage group.
But the story of Josef Schoner is one which is entrenched with brainwashing inside of
the Hitler Youth, but the Americans to teach the German population a lesson at the end
of the war executed a teenager.
Join us today as we look at the execution of the Teenager Hitler Youth Spy, and as always
to support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
The Hitler Youth was established by the Nazis and eventually all young boys were conscripted
and were forced to join.
It was used to brainwash young boys, and the members of the group would then become soldiers
and the Hitler youth served as an early military education for millions who it was hoped would
put their lives at risk for Hitler’s Third Reich.
What Hitler was doing was creating a mobilised force which could one day defend Germany,
and many German boys at the end of the war did take up arms.
But Hitler said of the group that, ‘‘These boys and girls enter our organizations with
their ten years of age, and often for the first time get a little fresh air; after four
years of the Young Folk they go on to the Hitler Youth, where we have them for another
four years...And even if they are still not complete National Socialists, they go to Labor
Service and are smoothed out there for another six, seven months...And whatever class consciousness
or social status might still be left...the Wehrmacht will take care of that.’
These boys were being trained to become soldiers, and discipline was strictly enforced and some
didn’t like it but then Hitler made it impossible for some to refuse to join as he said boys
could not go to university if they didn’t join.
The Hitler Youth comprised of boys who were between 14 and 18, and eventually 8 million
boys were part of the group, meaning that Hitler had at his disposal 8 million potential
soldiers who were entrenched with the Nazi ideology, and they were passionate about their
country.
This was very dangerous, and was a useful weapon for Hitler.
However the Hitler Youth as the Second World War broke out played a pivotal role in the
war effort.
Arthur Axmann transitioned the group to become an auxiliary force which would perform service
when it was required.
The boys became part of German fire brigades who would sort out problems following Allied
Bombing Raids, and they also kept Germany moving working on the railways and in other
civilian positions.
But then there were aspects who became trained to defend Germany, with anti aircraft batteries
that were staffed by members of the Hitler Youth.
But as the war effort continued and the Allies began to push the Germans back, young teenage
boys were being called upon in a military reserve to replace soldiers who had been killed
in deadly operations such as Barbarossa where many lost their lives.
Even SS divisions comprised of Hitler Youth members were planned, and this was staffed
by boys who had been born in 1925, and in 1944 the SS Panzer Division Hitler Youth saw
service during the Battle of Normandy.
20,000 German boys were on the battlefields of Normandy defending against the Normandy
D-Day landings.
They took out 28 Canadian tanks, however 3000 Hitler Youth members were killed during the
campaign, and these were boys who were completely devoted and were frenzied and ferocious enemies
who had been brainwashed.
But as the war turned against the Germans, even younger people were brought into the
war, as 12 year old boys were spotted as part of the Volksturm with Panzerfausts and other
weapons defending Berlin, the German capital during the Soviet onslaught of the city.
They were considered the last defenders of Hitler’s reich, and Hitler’s last appearance
above ground before he died in the bunker was to reward members of the Hitler Youth.
But with the war in it’s final stages, the Germans had dug in heavily, but many members
of the Hitler Youth had been drafted in to conduct espionage against the Allies for the
Wehrmacht and the German Army.
The boys were considered key assets as they would not attract as much attention in the
eyes of the enemy, and they would work undercover inside British, American and Soviet occupied
territory, keeping a close eye on the Allied bases where soldiers were settled.
They were to then report back to the SS or the German Army with what they saw, but near
to Braunschweig, in Germany there were a collection of Hitler Youth members spying on the allies
and in particular where the Americans were based.
They would keep an eye on positions and then report back, and the US Army had suspicions
that this was going on and because of this anyone who was not American fell under suspicion.
There had been further sabotage operations conducted against them such as Operation Greif
and because of this anyone fell under suspicion.
But on the 1st June 1945, there were two teenage boys who had been arrested and they were then
tied to a stake in an abandoned quarry and they were executed by an American firing squad.
But one of these was a senior figure in the Hitler Youth, despite the fact he was just
17.
Josef Schoner a 17 year old Hitler Youth leader had been captured along with Heinz Petry a
16 year old boy, and they were accused of being spies.
Schoner had been trained in how to use weapons and a rifle, and he was also given distinct
training in explosives and demolitions as part of the Werwolf secret organisation who’s
job it was to cause chaos and disruption with the Allies.
Schoner as mentioned was a Hitler youth leader, and he had been sent to Bergheim where he
linked up with Schoner and the pair were sent to spy on the strength of the US army on the
front line.
They reported back a number of times to the German military what they saw, and they were
living very dangerous.
However on the 22nd February 1945, the two boys were picked up by the Ninth US Army near
to Bergen, and they had been taking shelter in a foxhole, and had been recording American
movements.
The Americans noted that the boys were then found not in uniform.
This was hugely significant as they were wearing civilian clothing, and they were then dealt
with as spies.
It was clear what they boys were doing, and as the war was coming to an end there would
have been calls to imprison them and then release them showing them clemency as they
were just teenage boys, but this is not what would happen.
Heinz Petry, Schoner’s pal admitted being a spy inside of Aachen prison under interrogation,
and there was then a days court proceedings brought against the pair.
Members of the ninth army deliberated as to what to do with them, and despite their age
they were sentenced to death, to be executed on a firing range by an American firing squad
on the 30th May 1945.
The court ruling took place on the 29th March 1945 months before the executions took place,
and two thirds of the jury of the officers voted for the death sentence, and it was said
these were given out ‘to remove the poisonous breath of German militarist and nazi ideology
from the face of the earth completely.’
It was ruthless and for months the Boys were inside of the prison awaiting their fate,
and the Americans could have overturned their death sentence but this would never occur.
On the 30th May 1945, weeks after the Second World War had come to an end in Europe, the
teenagers were transferred to a detention centre, and they were informed that their
asks for clemency had been turned down.
This meant that their executions were to be carried out very soon, and with this Josef
Schoner spent his last evening in prison, and he was just 17 years old.
There had been calls within the army to pardon them, but this was not accepted.
Schoner was taken out to a gravel pit quarry, and he was executed second after Heinz Petry
who was younger.
With him was a priest who remained him in his final moments, and a number of American
guards who brought Josef out to a wooden stake, and they then tied the 17 year old German
spy to the stake and secured him so he could not move.
His arms were tied behind his back and his legs were also tied, and the firing squad
made up of 12 soldiers from the ninth army emerged with their rifles.
They were readied and then they fired straight, executing immediately Josef Schoner, the 17
year old Hitler Youth spy.
Following the execution, his body was placed into a coffin by employees of the German Red
Cross.
There were 4 other spies who were executed by soldiers of the 9th Army.
But as mentioned many believed that Schoner and Petry should have been spared because
they were teenagers.
Schoner was then buried inside of a Catholic cemetery nearby.
But the executions were considered heartless and ruthless as the Second World War in Europe
had come to an end, but the Americans wanted to send a clear message to the Germans following
occupation that elements of the Nazi party and those who had been spying on the Americans.
But ultimately Josef Schoner was a 17 year old teenage boy when he was executed, and
he is one of the youngest people to have been executed by the allies during World War 2.
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