At the end of the Second World War, a number of war crimes trials took place to bring the
perpetrators of the German war crimes to trial. The most high profile trials were those that
took place in Nuremberg, and brought forward to face the judges were the remaining members
of Hitler’s Inner Circle and government. Following the verdicts, a number of executions
took place to serve as some form of reprisal for the crimes of the Germans that occured
during World War 2. One of those who faced the hangman’s noose was Wilhelm Keitel,
a incredibly senior military leader who was the chief of the Oberkommando Der Wehrmacht,
the high command of the Nazis armed forces. He was accused of a number of different war
crimes and because of this was sentenced to death. So join us today as we look at ‘The
VENGEFUL Execution Of Wilhelm Keither, the Chief Of The Wehrmacht.’ Remember to support
our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
Wilhelm Keitel was born to rather humble beginnings, his father was a middle class landowner and
farmer who owned a significant amount of land within the Duchy of Brunswick. After completing
his education, Keitel wished to take over his family’s land however his father refused
to retire and hand over control, and because of this Wilhelm began to seek a career inside
of the military. He began this in 1901 and entered as a cadet officer inside of the Prussian
Army.
He was refused permission to join the cavalry as he was seen as a commoner, and he then
joined a field artillery regiment. Now as the First World War broke out, he was pressed
into service fighting in the depths of Flanders on the Western Front inside of the trenches.
However in September 1914 he was seriously injured in the arm by a shell fragment and
was forced to stay in hospital to recover. After this he was promoted to the rank of
a captain, and after the war he was kept inside of the Reichswehr, the limited German Army
of 100,000 soldiers as stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles.
Keitel was a significant member of the Freikorps too, a right wing paramilitary group made
up of many First World War veterans. This group was seen as a rather dangerous one within
the new Weimar Republic, and Keitel helped to organise the units, alongside continuing
to rise within the Reichswehr’s ranks. He became a Leftenant colonel, and was placed
into the Ministry of War in 1929, and was then promoted yet again. When Hitler seized
control in 1933, he was acting as the Head of the Organisational Department of the military.
He was instrumental in Hitler’s plans to rearm the Germany and to build up the German
Army to the point where it could launch invasions into different lands. He helped to organise
the building of tanks, building up of numbers in the army and much more, which violated
the treaty of Versailles. In 1935 he ws recommended to the rank of a major general and became
the chief of the Reich’s ministry of war’s armed forces office. Here this body oversaw
the army, Air Force and the navy and more promotions began. Hitler in 1938 did take
command of the Wehrmacht, and placed Keitel as the Chief of the oberkommando Der Wehrmacht.
This in a sense made Keitel responsible as a War Minister, and he was always present
in cabinet meetings with Hitler.
Inside of Hitler’s Nazi cabinet, Keitel was seen as a yes man, and a man who whenever
Hitler wanted something Keitel would do this without any questions asked. Whenever Hitler
snapped his fingers, Keitel was there, and he was seen as a stupid follower of Hitler
and rather inept in his job. When Hitler became the Commander in Chief of the armed forces,
and Keitel became the Chief of Staff practically the number 2, Hitler’s inner circle were
rather shocked. He became known as Lakeitel, calling him a lacky, and was even referred
asa popular nodding donkey toy in Germany at the time who just nodded and had no opinion.
He was a man who had much abuse directed at him from Hitler and the dictator of Germany
once said of him, ‘he has the brains of a movie usher, but was made the highest ranking
officer in the army, because the man is as loyal as a dog.’ He could be seen as a nervous
man, and when the Second World War broke out it was Keitel who was placed in the forefront
of the German Army’s attempts to conquer the majority of Europe.
When Germany took Poland and then subsequently France, Keitel said that Hitler was the greatest
warlord of all time, and he himself helped to negotiate the French Armistice. After this,
Hitler turned his attention to the East and the Soviet Union and planning began to Operation
Barbarossa and he did not object to this invasion despite the fact it would push the German
Army to the limits. Keitel dismissed the problems of the invasion, and he remained in his position
even despite the failure of the operation. Hitler still maintained all overall decisions
over the German military, and as the conflict went on Keitel’s influence was still rather
small with the fact he had no overall control or say.
He was involved in the punishments and reprisals after the 20th July Plot in which Adolf Hitler
was injured inside the Wolf’s Lair, and he helped to organise the arrest of 7000 people,
and the executions of 5000. During the Battle of Berlin, Wilhelm Keitel remained close to
Hitler even u til the very end. He remained close in the bunker, however as the German
forces quickly became overwhelmed he fled the city after Hitler’s death and remained
a member of the Flensburg Government, headed up by the New President Karl Donitz. Keitel
quickly tried to establish himself as a lackey for Flensburg, however he also signed the
German unconditional surrender to the Soviet Union and then days later was arrested.
Now was brought to Nuremberg to face justice in the Nuremberg Trials, however he was known
to have been involved in a number of war crimes. He had full understanding of the invasion
of Poland, and with this also knew of Nazi plans to mass murder, arrest and deport the
population and he did not oppose the Einsatzgruppen’s activities murdering innocent civilians. He
also issued a number of criminal orders which allowed the executions of Jews and civilians
and these were personally signed by Keitel, and he argued that Soviet prisoner’s of
war should not be dealt with properly abiding by the Geneva Convention.
He believed they should have been treated terribly as he believed it was his job to
suppress bolshevism and the soviet way of life, and with this ordered executions of
communists. He was also a signatory to the Night and Fog Decree which allowed foreign
citizens to be taken to Germany for trial and then subsequent deportation to a concentration
camp. He also was part of signing the commando order that allowed the killing of enemy special
troops when they were captured in their uniform.
Whilst at trial, he was indicted on all four counts and most of the prosecution against
him was based on the fact he had issued these orders and signed them. He stated that he
knew Hitler’s ideas were illegal however he could not oppose this and was merely following
orders which was not accepted. It was found that Keitel’s crimes were so significant
that the excuse of following orders could not be taken forward. The Commando Order was
used against him, and it was said that Keitel knew that the execution of Commando’s to
be shot dead on the spot without trial was illegal but he still issued the order. At
trial he said, ‘As these atrocities developed one from the other, step by step, without
any knowledge of the consequences, destiny took its tragic course with fateful consequences.
Keitel knew he was going to be executed for his crimes, and was found guilty of the charges.
He requested to be shot by a firing squad as a member of the military, however this
was dismissed and he was ruled to be sentenced to death by hanging like a common criminal.
The executions of those found guilty at the Nuremberg Trials occured on the 16th October
1946, and 10 executions occured in the early morning of that day. Carrying out the executions
was John C Woods, a rather controversial executioner who did not perform his office as he possibly
should have done that day. The method was to standard drop method, and this often did
not work as well as it should have done. It often took a lot longer for the defendants
to be killed, and many strangled to death and even smashed their heads on the trapdoor
as they fell. Keitel’s execution was one that did not go as smoothly as it could have.
The executions were performed in the gymnasium of Nuremberg Prison, and Keitel was the second
man executed that morning.
He entered the room after von Ribbentrop, and was the first military leader to be executed
under the concept of international law, bringing professional soldiers to justice for their
crimes. Keitel entered the chamber two minutes after von Ribbentrop had gone through the
trapdoor, and his body was still in the room hidden behind a curtain on the first scaffold,
but the tight rope could be seen. Keitel when he came in did not seem too tense, he held
his head high whilst his hands were being tied and walked straight to the gallows. He
replied to confirm his identity loudly and then walked up to the fallows as if he was
expecting to receive a salute. He did not need any help from the guards, and he then
turn onto of the platform to look at the crowd and he stood their proudly.
He was asked for any final words and stated, ‘I call on god almighty to have mercy on
the German people. More than 2 million German soldiers went to their death for the fatherland
before me. I now follow my sons, all for Germany.’ Then a hood was placed over his head, along
with the noose and he was then placed over the trapdoor. Keitel’s uniformed body then
plunged through the trapdoor, and it was said he showed a huge degree of courage facing
his death, however Keitel’s execution did not go well. It allegedly took 24 minutes
for Keitel to be killed, as he fell through the trapdoor the drop did not snap his neck,
and instead he slowly strangled to death and convulsed behind the curtain, but also he
hit his head on the trapdoor as he fell. This left Keitel bleeding profusely from his head.
So Wilhelm Keitel despite being instrumental in the German military’s high command, followed
in the footsteps of millions of German soldiers dying because of their involvement in Hitler’s
conflicts. He was one of the most senior figures at the Nuremberg Trials, and the nail in his
coffin was the fact he signed many orders and rules that violated international laws,
and resulted in the suffering and deaths of thousands.
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