Werner Drechsler

Werner Drechsler (January 17, 1923, in Mühlberg, Germany – March 12, 1944 in Papago Park, Arizona) was a German U-boat crewman during World War II. He was stationed on Azores in 1943. When he was taken prisoner he enthusiastically cooperated with his captors, which was likely because his father had spent time in one of Hitler's Concentration Camps as a political prisoner.

Eventually, U.S. Navy intelligence officers recruited Drechsler as a spy and placed him in a POW camp near Fort Meade, Maryland with other U-Boat sailors. After arrival, Dreschsler worked undercover, befriending his fellow POWs in order to collect information regarding German submarine technology, operational procedures/tactics and any other intelligence which could be useful to the allies.

On March 12, 1944 Drechsler was transferred to a different POW camp in Arizona which was filled mainly with other submariners of the Kriegsmarine. This transfer took place despite the fact that Drechsler was supposed to be kept segregated from other naval prisoners, particularly his former crewmates on the U-118, who were aware of Drechsler's spying activities. The American authorities made a glaring error in transferring Drechsler to Arizona which quickly had fatal results: some members of the U-118 were confined at the camp and they immediately recognised their former crewmate. Word of Drechsler's undercover activities spread rapidly through the camp, and a Kangaroo Court Martial was convened while Drechsler was asleep. The other prisoners eventually decided that it was necessary to kill Drechsler to ensure he could no longer spy upon them, and also to act as a deterrent for any other POWs who might consider collaborating with the enemy. Next morning Drechsler was found hanging in the shower room. He had been murdered within hours of arrival at the camp.

Seven men (Helmut Fischer, Fritz Franke, Gunther Kuelsen, Heinrich Ludwig, Bernard Ryak, Otto Stenger and Rolf Wizuy) were executed for the beating and hanging of Werner Drechsler. In what was to ultimately become the last mass execution in the United States, the men were hanged on July 28, 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.^[1]

See also

• Prisoner of war
• Prisoner-of-war camp

External links

• A community college historical website which explains the Werner Drechsler story in detail
• website which follows history channel program about the mass execution
• A number of photographs taken around the time of Drechsler's capture

References

• Richard Whittingham, Martial Justice: The Last Mass Execution in the United States, Naval Institute Press, 1997 ISBN 1-55750-945-X

1. ^ "Death row and capital punishment in the army". deathrowspeaks.info. http://www.deathrowspeaks.info/military/militarydeathrow.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 

Persondata
Name	Drechsler, Werner
Alternative names
Short description	WWII German POW murdered by fellow POWs for informing
Date of birth	January 17, 1923
Place of birth	Mühlberg (Elbe), Germany
Date of death	March 12, 1944
Place of death	Papago Park, Arizona