Johann Pauls

Johann Pauls (born 9 February 1908 in Danzig – died 4 July 1946 in Gdańsk) was a German SS-Oberscharführer in Stutthof concentration camp. He was executed for war crimes.

Johann Pauls
Gerda Steinhoff (left) and Johann Pauls after their executions on 4 July 1946
Born(1908-02-09)February 9, 1908
Danzig, Free City of Danzig
DiedJuly 4, 1946(1946-07-04) (aged 38)
Biskupia Górka, Gdańsk, Poland
Cause of deathHanging
OccupationOberscharführer in Stutthof concentration camp.
OrganizationNazi
Criminal statusExecuted
Criminal penaltySentenced to death

Career

Pauls was the third child of Johann August Pauls and Minna Steingräber. He joined the NSDAP, along with the SS, in the Free State of Danzig on 1 April 1931. From 21 July 1939 to 31 October 1941, he served in the reserve police force. From 1 November 1941 to 11 March 1943, he served in the Waffen-SS infantry and SS-Schutze reserve.

Pauls was transferred to SS-Totenkopfsturmbann of Sachsenhausen concentration camp in April 1943. Thereafter, as an SS-Oberscharführer, he was commandant of the guards in Stutthof concentration camp until the end of the war in 1945.

After the war

Trial
Execution of Pauls and others

He was tried in the first Stutthof Trial by the Soviet/Polish Special Criminal Court, which was held in Gdańsk (Danzig) from 25 April 1946 to 31 May 1946. In the company of 12 other guards and kapos, he was convicted of war crimes, along with 10 other accused, and sentenced to death.

Execution

Pauls was executed by short-drop hanging on 4 July 1946 at Biskupia Górka. He was brought to the place of execution along with 10 other prisoners, five men and five women. The convicts were on the backs of 11 trucks, bound hand and foot. Pauls was collared with a noose at the centre of the gallows and pushed out of the truck. On one side of him was Gerda Steinhoff; on his other side, an unknown kapo.[1][2]

It is generally believed that the execution was filmed.[3]

References
  1. This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia
  2. This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia
  3. Death on the Gallows
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.