On 16 October 1946, some of the most notorious German war leaders were hanged in Nuremberg. Their executions came after a landmark trial in which 23 of the highest-ranking figures of the Third Reich faced charges of crimes against humanity. The final statements of the condemned were broadcast widely, drawing intense public attention and extensive media coverage.
Here are their last recorded words, as reported by prison officials, journalists, and eyewitnesses such as Kingsbury Smith of the International News Service:
1. Joachim von Ribbentrop (Foreign Minister)
“God protect Germany. God have mercy on my soul. My last wish is for peace and understanding among nations.”
2. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (Chief of the OKW)
“I call on the Almighty God to have mercy on the German people. More than two million German soldiers went to their deaths for the Fatherland before me. I now follow my sons — all for Germany.”
3. Ernst Kaltenbrunner (Head of the RSHA — Gestapo, SD, and criminal police)
“I have loved my German people and my fatherland with a warm heart. I have done my duty by the laws of my people and am sorry that my people were led this time by men who were not soldiers and that crimes were committed of which I had no knowledge.”
4. Alfred Rosenberg (Chief Nazi ideologue)
He reportedly said nothing.
5. Hans Frank (Governor-General of occupied Poland)
“I am thankful for the kind treatment which I have received in prison. I beg God to accept me with mercy.”
6. Wilhelm Frick (Minister of the Interior)
“Long live eternal Germany!”
7. Julius Streicher (Publisher of Der Stürmer, virulent antisemite)
Shouted as he mounted the gallows: “Heil Hitler!” After the trap was sprung, he reportedly shouted: “Purimfest 1946!” — referring to the Jewish festival celebrating deliverance from an ancient plot to destroy the Jews.
8. Fritz Sauckel (Labor deployment chief — responsible for slave labor)
“I die innocent. The sentence is wrong. God protect Germany and make Germany great again. Let Germany live, and God protect my family.”
9. Alfred Jodl (Chief of the Operations Staff of the Wehrmacht)
“I salute you, my Germany.”
10. Arthur Seyss-Inquart (Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands)
“I hope that this execution is the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War, and that the lesson taken from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between peoples. I believe in Germany.”
Göring was the highest-ranking Nazi official in Allied custody and had been sentenced to death by hanging. He committed suicide by swallowing a hidden cyanide capsule in his cell around 10:45 p.m.
Hermann Göring (Reichsmarschall, head of the Luftwaffe)
“I am not going to let them hang me. The public hanging of Reichsmarschall Göring would be a disgrace to Germany. I choose to die like the great men of history.”
He also left a written statement that expressed defiance and loyalty to Hitler:
“I am dying by my own hand, not as a coward but to escape the ignominy of hanging. I would have no objections to being shot. I die as a German, as a loyal follower of my Führer.”
After Göring’s suicide, the remaining 10 condemned men were executed between 1:00 and 2:45 a.m. on October 16, 1946, in the gymnasium of Nuremberg Prison.
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