1. Overview
Johann Reichhart (April 29, 1893 - April 26, 1972) was a German state-appointed judicial executioner who served from 1924 to 1946, spanning the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, and the post-war Allied occupation. He is historically significant as Germany's last official executioner and is recorded as the most prolific executioner in history, having carried out 3,165 executions. His career critically highlights the ethical dimensions of state-sanctioned violence and the complex human rights implications of his role, particularly during the Nazi era when he executed numerous individuals, including members of the German resistance. After World War II, he continued his work under the U.S. Military Government, executing Nazi war criminals.
2. Life
Johann Reichhart's life was deeply intertwined with his family's long-standing profession as executioners, a role that brought him both professional prominence and profound personal challenges.
2.1. Early Life and Education
Johann Reichhart was born on April 29, 1893, in Wichenbach, a village near Wörth an der Donau in Bavaria. He hailed from a family with a long and unusual lineage of executioners and knackers, tracing back eight generations to the mid-eighteenth century. His uncle, Franz Xaver Reichhart, and his brother, Michael, were also executioners. His father, who passed away in 1902, maintained a small farm in Wichenbach near Tiefenthal and supplemented his income as a master knacker. Johann attended the VolksschuleVolks-schoolGerman and a vocational school in Wörth an der Donau, successfully completing both. Following his schooling, he undertook an apprenticeship as a butcher before serving as a soldier during World War I.
2.2. Career Beginnings in the Weimar Republic
In April 1924, Johann Reichhart formally assumed the position of state judicial executioner for the Free State of Bavaria, taking over from his uncle, Franz Xaver Reichhart, who retired at the age of 70. For each execution, Reichhart received 150 Goldmark plus 10 Goldmark for daily expenses, in addition to a third-class railway ticket. When dispatched for executions in the Palatinate, he traveled by express train.
However, the period between 1924 and 1928 saw a significant decrease in executions, with Reichhart carrying out only 23 death sentences, including just one in 1928. This scarcity of work made it difficult for him to provide for his family. To cope, he negotiated the right to pursue other employment both domestically and abroad, and was released from the requirement of local residence. Despite this, his attempts at other ventures were largely unsuccessful; he abandoned his wagon transport business in 1925 and his inn at Mariahilfplatz in 1926. He then worked as a traveling salesman, selling Catholic treatises in Upper Bavaria. In 1928, he tried unsuccessfully to terminate his contract with the Bavarian Ministry of Justice. Seeking better prospects, he relocated to The Hague in the Netherlands, where he established a successful independent greengrocer business.
Reichhart returned to Munich temporarily in the spring of 1931 and again in July 1932 to perform executions at Stadelheim Prison. During his July 1932 visit, several Dutch newspapers exposed his identity and "other activities," which were normally kept secret. This public revelation led to a decline in his greengrocer business, prompting his return to Munich in the spring of 1933, where he considered abandoning his career as an executioner altogether.
3. Major Activities and Achievements
Reichhart's career as an executioner spanned significant political shifts in Germany, leading to a dramatic increase in his activities and a notable impact on the execution process itself.
3.1. Activities during the Nazi Era
Following the Nazi seizure of power on June 22, 1933, Reichhart signed a new contract with the Bavarian Ministry of Justice. This agreement provided him with a significantly higher, fixed annual salary, paid monthly, alleviating his previous financial struggles. On July 18, 1933, upon the request of the Ministry of Justice for Saxony, Reichhart was also authorized to carry out executions in Saxony, receiving a flat fee for each instance. The guillotine (FallschwertmaschineFallschwertmaschine (guillotine)German) and assistants were provided by the Free State of Saxony at the execution sites in Dresden and Weimar. By January 1934, the Bavarian judiciary further increased his annual income to 3,720 Reichsmark, ensuring his financial security.
Reichhart also became affiliated with several Nazi organizations. From September 1, 1933, he joined the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK), the National Socialist War Victim's Care (NSKOV), the National Socialist People's Welfare (NSV), and the German Labour Front (DAF). In April 1937, he officially joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
The Reich Ministry of Justice (ReichsjustizministeriumReich Ministry of JusticeGerman), through a decree issued on August 25, 1937, reorganized its responsibilities and designated three primary executioners. Ernst ReindelErnst ReindelGerman was assigned to central execution sites in Berlin, Breslau, and Königsberg; Friedrich HehrFriedrich HehrGerman was responsible for executions in Butzbach, Hamburg, Hanover, and Cologne; and Reichhart was assigned to Munich, Dresden, Stuttgart, and Weimar. Following the Anschluss on February 19, 1939, the Reich Minister of Justice revised the territories: Reichhart transferred Weimar to Friedrich Hehr and added Vienna and Frankfurt (replacing Butzbach) to his areas of responsibility. This period of intense activity and responsibility reportedly led Reichhart to suffer from temporary depression.
3.1.1. Mass Executions and Resistance Figures
During his service under the Nazi regime, Reichhart actively sought to accelerate the execution process, aiming to make it "less stressful" for the condemned. Around 1939, he implemented a significant modification to the guillotine, replacing the traditional tipping board (basculetipping boardGerman) with a fixed bench. The condemned individual was then held by his assistants without the use of restraint devices until the blade was dropped. He also abolished the use of a black blindfold, instead having one of his assistants hold the convict's eyes closed. These measures drastically shortened the actual execution time to approximately 3-4 seconds, as stated by Reichhart himself.
Reichhart's operational territory expanded significantly during this period. He carried out executions in central sites such as Cologne, Frankfurt-Preungesheim, Berlin-Plötzensee, Brandenburg-Görden, and Breslau. From 1938 to 1944, he also served as the executioner for central execution sites in Vienna and Graz. Throughout his career, from 1924 during the Weimar Republic and extending through the Nazi era, he executed a total of 2,951 people by guillotine, of whom 250 were women, and 59 by hanging. Among the notable individuals he executed were Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl, prominent members of the anti-Nazi resistance group White Rose, who were executed on February 22, 1943. Reichhart later remarked that he had never witnessed anyone die as bravely as Sophie Scholl.
Following the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944, the number of executions surged dramatically. In December 1944, within the administrative divisions of the central execution centers, Reichhart was specifically designated as the executioner for the "execution center for the execution district VIII," which encompassed Stadelheim Prison in Munich-Stadelheim, the Remand Prison in Stuttgart, and the Penitentiary in Bruchsal.
3.2. Post-War Service with the US Military Government
After World War II, Reichhart, despite his membership in the Nazi Party, was arrested by the United States Army in May 1945 and held for one week in Stadelheim Prison as part of the denazification process. Crucially, he was not prosecuted for carrying out his official duties as a judicial executioner.
Subsequently, he was employed by the U.S. Office of Military Government until the end of May 1946. In this capacity, he played a role in executing dozens of Nazi war criminals, with some sources indicating he executed 156 individuals, on the gallows at Landsberg am Lech. His familiarity with hanging techniques likely stemmed from as early as 1942, when he had submitted a design proposal for British-style gallows featuring a trapdoor (a long drop method), though this proposal had been rejected by the Reich Ministry of Justice. Hanging had been introduced in Germany as an additional form of execution on March 29, 1933, by President Hindenburg after the Reichstag Fire, with the method typically being the Austro-Hungarian short drop pole method of strangulation hanging.
In August 1945, Reichhart faced a denunciation to the Munich city administration, alleging that he was living comfortably in a villa and owned multiple cars, while formally still holding the title of judicial executioner for the Free State of Bavaria without actively serving in that capacity.
He later retired from active executioner duties, transitioning into a consulting role. According to some accounts, he assisted American Master Sergeant John C. Woods in managing the gallows and was commissioned by the United States Military Government to oversee the construction of the gallows in Nuremberg. This would place him in a unique historical position, executing former figures of power, much like Charles-Henri Sanson during the French Revolution. However, other sources dispute his involvement in the construction of the Nuremberg gallows. On October 16, 1946, Woods, assisted by Joseph Malta, carried out the hangings of the war criminals convicted in the Nuremberg trials. Reichhart's primary assistance to the U.S. military involved the executions of Nazi war criminals at Landsberg Prison.
4. Execution Methods and Professionalism
Johann Reichhart was known for his meticulous approach and modifications to the execution process, aiming for efficiency and what he perceived as a "less stressful" experience for the condemned. His professionalism extended to his adherence to traditional executioner attire and procedures.
Reichhart made significant modifications to the guillotine, notably replacing the traditional tipping board (basculetipping boardGerman) with a fixed bench. This change was part of his effort to streamline the execution process. Instead of restraining the condemned on a board that would then be tipped into position, his assistants would hold the individual directly on the fixed bench until the blade was dropped. Furthermore, Reichhart abolished the use of a black blindfold, opting instead for one of his assistants to hold the convict's eyes closed. These procedural changes drastically reduced the time of the actual execution to a mere 3-4 seconds, a speed he himself emphasized.
Despite these modernizations to the apparatus and procedure, Reichhart maintained a strict adherence to the traditional German executioner's dress code. He always wore a black jacket over a white shirt, white gloves, and a black bow tie. This formal attire, combined with his swift and precise actions, reflected his commitment to the professional standards of his grim occupation. His work extended across a wide geographical area, including occupied territories like Poland and Austria, where he applied these consistent methods.
5. Personal Life and Family Impact
Reichhart's profession as an executioner took a severe personal toll, leading to social isolation and profound family tragedy.
In May 1947, Reichhart was imprisoned for a second time. Following a denazification trial in Munich in December 1948, he was deemed "incriminated" and sentenced to two years in a labour camp, along with the confiscation of half of his assets. During his trial, Reichhart articulated his conviction: "I have carried out death sentences in the firm conviction that I should serve the state with my work, and to comply with lawfully enacted laws. I never doubted the legality of what I was doing." An appeal subsequently reduced his sentence to one and a half years and the confiscation of 30% of his property. As his time already spent in custody exceeded the reduced sentence, Reichhart was released.
The nature of his profession made Reichhart a solitary figure, largely despised by society. His marriage ultimately failed. The most tragic consequence of his occupation was the suicide of his son, Hans, in 1950. Hans was reportedly disheartened by the stigma associated with his father's profession and the pressures of the denazification trial, leading to a failed marriage and ultimately his death.
Impoverished and ostracized, Reichhart lived on a meager military pension from World War I. He was also temporarily confined in the Algasing psychiatric hospital.
6. Personal Beliefs and Later Stance
Throughout his career, Johann Reichhart consistently stated his belief in serving the state and upholding the law, even when carrying out death sentences. He maintained that he never questioned the legality of his actions, viewing himself as an obedient servant of the state's judicial system.
However, in his later years, Reichhart's perspective on capital punishment underwent a significant shift. In 1963, amidst public calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty in West Germany following a series of murders of taxi drivers, Reichhart, then 71 years old and having performed 3,010 executions, publicly spoke out against it. Despite his opposition to capital punishment itself, he also argued that, should it be reintroduced, the guillotine remained the most efficient and least cruel method of execution.
7. Evaluation and Controversy
Johann Reichhart's career as an executioner remains a subject of critical assessment, particularly concerning his complicity in state-sanctioned violence and the ethical implications of his work across different political regimes.
7.1. Responsibility during the Nazi Regime
Reichhart's participation in the Nazi regime's judicial system raises significant questions about his responsibility and complicity. While he maintained that he was merely carrying out lawful orders and serving the state, his actions directly contributed to the system of terror and persecution under Hitler. The dramatic increase in executions during the Nazi era, particularly after 1939, and his role in executing political opponents, resistance members like the White Rose (Hans and Sophie Scholl), and victims of Nazi persecution, places him firmly within the apparatus that enabled the regime's atrocities. His acceptance of a significantly higher, fixed salary and his affiliation with Nazi organizations further underscore his integration into and benefit from the system. Critics argue that his professional efficiency and modifications to the execution process, while perhaps intended to reduce suffering, also served to normalize and accelerate state-sanctioned killings during a period of immense human rights abuses.
7.2. Criticism of Post-War Activities
The ethical and social debates surrounding Reichhart's post-war employment by the Allied powers are complex. His re-employment by the U.S. Office of Military Government to execute dozens of Nazi war criminals at Landsberg Prison, and his alleged involvement in the construction of the gallows for the Nuremberg trials, placed him in a morally ambiguous position. While he was executing individuals deemed responsible for horrific crimes, his continued role as an executioner, after serving a regime that committed such atrocities, sparked controversy. For some, his continued employment represented a pragmatic necessity for the Allies to swiftly dispense justice to war criminals. For others, it highlighted the uncomfortable reality of using an individual who had been a part of the Nazi machinery to enforce justice, raising questions about accountability and the nature of justice itself. His denazification trial and subsequent sentencing, despite his claims of merely fulfilling his duty, reflect the societal struggle to reconcile his actions with the demands of post-war justice.
8. Legacy and Impact
Johann Reichhart holds a unique and somber place in history as Germany's last official executioner. With a documented total of 3,165 executions throughout his career, he is recorded as the executioner with the highest number of executions in history, surpassing even figures like Charles-Henri Sanson of the French Revolution, who executed approximately 2,700 people.
His career provides a stark historical lens through which to examine the evolution of capital punishment in Germany, from the Weimar Republic's relative restraint to the Nazi regime's unprecedented scale of state-sanctioned killings, and finally to the post-war efforts to prosecute war criminals. His personal story, marked by social isolation, a failed marriage, and the tragic suicide of his son due to the stigma of his profession, underscores the profound societal impact and personal toll associated with the role of an executioner. The discovery in early 2014 of a guillotine at the Bavarian National Museum, believed to be the one Reichhart used to execute the Scholls, serves as a tangible reminder of his grim legacy and the brutal efficiency of the machinery he operated. His later advocacy against the death penalty, despite his lifelong profession, adds another layer of complexity to his controversial historical figure.
9. Death
Johann Reichhart died on April 26, 1972, at the age of 78, in a hospital located in Dorfen, a town in the Erding district northeast of Munich, Bavaria.