Following the Second World War, a number of war crimes trials took place in which the
perpetrators of the horrors of the conflict were brought to justice. The most high profile
trials took place at Nuremberg, with the remaining members of the Nazi Inner Circle being presented
with evidence of genocide and evil. At Nuremberg, the terrible crimes committed at camps such
as Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and Ravensbruck were Brough to justice, but the trials also
sought to punish the main aggressors of the conflict. Those men who were responsible for
World War 2 beginning, and those who were involved in the planning and initiating of
the war of aggression that resulted in the deaths of millions of civilians and members
of the armed forces.
These high up members of the military in particular also had blood on their hands for the war
crimes committed by the Einsatzgruppen, and other atrocities conducted by the Wehrmacht.
Alfred Jodl was one such man place on trial at Nuremberg, and he was very high up in the
Wehrmacht, being the Chief of Operations Staff of the German Armed Forces High Command. Throughout
the whole of the conflict he remains in this post, and in the final days of the Third Reich
even became the Chief of the Armed Forces High Command. He was a plan who was deeply
involved in the planning of the war, and was involved in signing orders which were death
sentences for thousands of soldiers. At Nuremberg, he was sentenced to death and faced the hangman’s
noose. So join us today as we look at ‘The VENGEFUL Execution Of Alfred Jodl, Hitler’s
Chief of Wehrmacht Operations.’ Remember as always to support, please make sure to
subscribe.
Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl was born on the 10th May 1890 in Bavaria. As a child it’s
assumed he had a rather normal family life, and he attended a school in which was linked
to the military, and it was clear that Jodl would have a career from this in the army.
He was from a rather affluent family, with his uncle being a psychologist at the prestigious
University of Vienna, and his younger brother would also go on to become a general in the
army. As the First World War broke out, he was pressed into service on the Western Front
serving in a battery unit. He was there at the very start of the conflict, and despite
being wounded in action was rewarded with the Iron Cross second class.
Jodl then returned to the front lines, but was transferred in 1917 across to the Eastern
Front, and served here but then returned west. He won the Iron Cross 1st class, and following
the end of the First World War, he remained within the military. After the Treaty of Versailles
was signed, Germany was allowed an army of no more than 100,000 soldiers, greatly minimising
the strength and numbers in the army. Alfred Jodl was one of the lucky ones remaining as
a soldier in the then labelled Reichswehr, and within this he was greatly respected and
was well thought of.
Alfred Jodl first saw Adolf Hitler in 1923 when his power was virtually nothing. Hitler
3 years earlier had become the party’s leading public speaker and propagandist, and as time
went on he increased his stranglehold over the then Nazi Party, becoming the leader.
It was in 1923 when Hitler attempted to take control of Munich and subsequently be declared
the President of Germany in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. Jodl met hitler before, and he
became attracted to the Nazi ideologies and became a staunch supporter. As the 1920s continued
and Hitler was released from Prison, Jodl continued to help the group gain support,
but he also continued to rise throughout the ranks of the military.
By 1935, he had risen to the rank of Major General. He met with Hitler before the Second
World War broke out and he must have impressed Hitler with his experience in the battlefield.
Because of this he was initially assigned as a commander of the 344th Division after
the Anschluss of Austria, in which Austria was absorbed into the German empire. After
this, Jodl was then picked by Hitler to serve as the Chief of Operation Staff for the Oberkommando
Der Wehrmacht, the OKW. The OKW was the high command of the armed forces, and oversaw the
Army, Navy and Air Force.
As the conflict continued it had responsibility for the Second World War on all theatres except
the fight against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. Alfred Jodl found himself as
the deputy to the Chief of the OKW Wilhelm Keitel, a man regarded by many as a Yes man
for hitler, and also found himself as the Chief of Operations Staff. He gained this
job shortly before the Invasion of Poland took place, and he was integral to the planning
of the war and different invasions and operations, with Hitler seeing him as competent and effective.
The OKW ran military operations on the Western Front, in Italy and in North Africa, but there
was a degree of fragmentation between other groups, such as the Luftwaffe who established
their own command. The OKW would be led by Keitel who reported to Hitler himself throughout
the whole of World War 2. Alfred Jodl himself acted as a leader and chief of staff during
the Invasions of Norway and Denmark, making key strategic decisions in regards to these
specific operations. Throughout the War Jodl was confident about the the German Army, and
was convinced that the Germans would defeat Britain during the Battle for Britain, and
believed an invasion would take place.
One of the biggest elements facing Jodl at the Nuremberg Trials after the war was the
fact he signed two military orders which were against the rules of war, were unjust and
were criminal. Firstly Jodl signed the Comissar Order on the 6th June 1941, just before the
outbreak of Operation Barbarossa. This order stated that any Soviet political commissar
identified amongst captured enemy soldiers would be executed instantly. The order stated
that all of the prisoners Bolshevised, or influenced by Bolshevism should also be killed.
Hitler who issued the order wished to rid Europe of Communism and Bolshevism, the key
enemies of Nazism.
He knew when he issued it that it was illegal, but said that any soldier who carried out
an execution or killing would be absolved by Hitler’s Nazi party, and would not be
held accountable. It stated that, ‘immediate and severe measures must be taken, they are
therefore when captured in battle as a matter of routine to be dispatched by firearms,’
indicating that they should be shot. The commissar order also stated that anyone with a red star
with a golden woven hammer and sickle on the sleeves should be executed, showing the German
army how to identify these specific people. Because of the commissar order, thousands
of soviet soldiers who should be listed as Prisoners of War and treated with certain
allowances, were shot dead when they should have been placed under custody.
The other order Jodl signed was the Commando Order signed on the 28th October 1942. This
order stated that the German armed forces should execute and kill all allied commandos
found in Europe and Africa without trial, if they are in uniform or not, and even if
they attempt to surrender. This was allegedly issued by the OKW to combat the fact the allies
were allegedly violating the Geneva convention, and that commando’s had been ordered to
kill German prisoners. The secret order was carried out, and said any commander or officer
who refused to carry it out would be punishable under German military law. It resulted in
dozens of illegal executions and war crimes. Jodl signing these orders virtually signed
his death sentence after the war was over, with both the illegal documents resulting
in war crimes.
As the conflict continued, he spent time at Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s rastenberg head
quarters in East Prussia, and continued to be promoted. During the 20th July plot to
assassinate Hitler when Claus von Stauffenberg bombed the Wolf’s Lair, Jodl was present
in the room when the briefcase bomb went off, and was injured suffering a concussion. As
the war turned against the Germans following the Normandy Invasion and the Battle of Stalingrad,
the enemies of the Nazis pushed the Germans back, and defeat was inevitable for Germany.
Hitler whilst Berlin was crumbling around him shot himself, but instructions were then
carried out appointing Grand Admiral Karl Donitz as his successor as the President of
Germany.
It’s clear Donitz must have respected Jodl, as when he formed his government in Flensburg,
Jodl was there and was awarded the Knights cross by Donitz. Jodl probably thought that
he had a role in restoring Germany after World War 2, and he signed the German surrender
on the 7th May 1945 as a representative of Donitz, and then a week later when Wilhelm
Keitel his superior was arrested, Jodl became the Chief of the OKW, which was basically
pointless with the curtains closing on world War 2. Jodl was arrested with the rest of
the Flensburg government by the British, and was taken to a POW camp before he was brought
to Nuremberg to face war crimes trials.
Alfred Jodl was accused of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, planning initiating
and waging wars of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, all four charges.
He was seen as a high ranking member of the military, and the charges brought before him
specifically related to the two illegal orders, the Comissar and the Commando orders that
Jodl signed saying that those who would be regarded as prisoners of war, should be just
shot when captured. He was also accused of being complicit in other atrocities, and was
presented with evidence about mass shootings of Soviet POWs. He said that the only prisoner
shot were those that did not want to walk.’
More evidence emerged with him being accused of being involved in the unlawful deportations
of Jews and others, and also in ordering executions and being complicit in these. His signature
was found on an order that sent Danish citizens and jews to the concentration camps, and this
also was used against him. Jodl pleaded not guilty, however was found guilty of all four
of the charges put forward against him.
Because of this he was sentenced to death, and was to be executed in the gymnasium of
Nuremberg Prison by the botching executioner John C Woods. On the 16th October 1946, these
executions were carried out. The Nuremberg Executions were noted for not going as straightforwardly
as they could do, as the executioner performed his role poorly. Firstly the trapdoor was
too small, and many who fell through smashed their heads on the side, causing bleeding.
Also John C Woods did not used the same methods as other executioners, and during many executions
it took a number of minutes for the condemned to be killed, slowly strangling to death.
In some executions it took between 14 and 28 minutes for the condemned to die, and John
C Woods was noted for even pulling down on one body as the neck had not been broken,
strangling a nazi to death.
Alfred Jodl was executed 10th of 11 defendants, however was actually executed ninth as Herman
Goring had taken his life the evening before. He was led into the gymnasium and was flanked
by US Soldiers. Inside the gym was a gallows that had been made to perform the deaths,
and Jodl was brought in following Fritz Sauckel’s death. He was brought into the room shortly
before 10 to 3 am in the morning and as led up the stairs of the gallows. He was then
handed over to John C Woods, who then asked him for any last words and Jodl stated, ‘My
greetings to you, my Germany.’ The hood was then placed over his head, and he was
shuffled over the trapdoor before the door was released and Jodl plunged through it.
Judging by the fact that Arthur Seyss-Inquart was executed 9 minutes after Jodl, we can
consider that Jodl’s execution as one of the more straightforward ones performed that
day, with no bleeding being visible on his body, or wounds from the trapdoor.
Alfred Jodl was incredibly powerful during World War 2 and was known for being a prominent
member of the Nazi High Command. He was a respect military general and leader, and along
with Keitel wished to carry out Hitler’s demands to invade different lands, and to
build up a huge empire. It was Jodl who himself signed his own death warrant being complicit
in the signing of the Commando and Comissar orders, and this evidence could not be denied.
When he was brought to Nuremberg, the evidence against him was incredibly damning, and later
trials would prove that the Comissar order was carried out with brutality. A further
trial carried out the year later sentenced a number of Wehrmacht officers to prison time
for shooting dead Red Army soldiers and POWs. Alfred Jodl was a key instrument in the Nazi
War effort, and in Hitler’s plans to take different lands and inflict such misery and
suffering onto people living there.
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