Wilhelm Keitel, the Chief of the High Command of the German Armed Forces during World War II, was one of the prominent Nazi officials tried at the Nuremberg Trials for war crimes. His execution on October 16, 1946, after being found guilty of crimes against humanity, went horribly wrong due to a tragic combination of poor execution procedures and technical issues.
Keitel was sentenced to death along with other high-ranking Nazi leaders, including Hermann Göring and Joseph Goebbels. The execution was to be carried out by hanging, a method chosen for its perceived quick and efficient nature. However, things did not go as planned. At the time, the Nuremberg Trials had set up a small execution chamber specifically for this purpose. The hangman, who had been trained for the task, made a critical error in his measurements of Keitel’s drop.
The drop length, which is essential for ensuring a quick and clean death, was calculated incorrectly. Keitel’s body was not dropped from the correct height, meaning that the force of the fall was insufficient to break his neck instantly. This caused him to die slowly, as the hanging failed to produce an immediate loss of consciousness. This resulted in a prolonged and gruesome death, making his execution far more painful than it should have been.
The execution of Keitel was not the only one affected by issues. Similar mistakes occurred with the other hangings at Nuremberg, with some of the condemned individuals dying slowly due to improper preparation of the gallows.
In summary, Wilhelm Keitel’s execution went horribly wrong because of the technical failures of the hanging procedure. What should have been a quick and dignified end turned into a painful and botched event, reflecting the tragic nature of the Nuremberg Trials themselves, as they marked the end of a brutal chapter in history.