History Undercover

The Last Mass Execution

In August, 1945, seven German prisoners of war were hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The prisoners did not commit a crime against the United States--they murdered one of their own. German U-boat crewmember, Werner Drechsler, cooperated with U.S. Naval Intelligence. His fellow POWs demanded retribution for his betrayal to themselves and Germany. When transferred to Fort Leavenworth after his cooperation, authorities put Drechsler into the general population with his former comrades, his former comrades recognized him and passed judgement. They murdered Drechsler on his first night in Fort Leavenworth.

The Last Mass Execution would be useful for classes on American History, World History, Criminal Justice, Military History and Ethics. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

• affinity
• aggrieved
• bizarre
• casualty rate
• chaos
• claustrophobic
• clemency
• coerced
• conscripted
• conspiracy
• covert
• cultivate
• dubious
• embark
• eradicate
• exhaustive
• flamboyant
• incompetent
• interrogation
• intolerable
• jargon
• jurisdiction
• languish
• mitigate
• obsolete
• operative
• ostracized
• rafters
• reprimanded
• sequestered
• stonewalled
• surreptitiously
• tainted
• trauma
• treason
• unanimous

Discussion Questions

1. This story of espionage, betrayal and murder remained suppressed for over forty years. How did this story come to be known? Why is it still so relatively unknown?

2. What are POWs? How are they different from other prisoners? What are the guidelines for their treatment?

3. Steelworkers, pipe fitters and other industrial workers comprised the majority of the German U-boat crews. Why were men from these occupations ideal for the submarines?

4. During times of war, soldiers develop strong bonds with their fellow soldiers. U-boat crewmembers were no different. In fact, it could be argued that their bond was even stronger because of their living conditions. Discuss the bond between U-boat crewmembers and how it was influential in the murder of Werner Drechsler.

5. How did the German prisoners become POWs?

6. How did the United States extricate information from captured German U-boat crewmembers?

7. Werner Drechsler was different from his fellow crewmembers? How? How did this influence his decision to cooperate with U.S. Naval Intelligence?

8. In American slang, Drechsler was a "stool pigeon." What is slang? What are some examples?

9. Why did the POWs decide to kill Drechsler?

10. Drechsler's killers felt no remorse for their deed, even as they prepared to go to the gallows. Why did the killers feel that they had "merely done their duty?"

11. Should the United States have executed the seven POWs?

Extended Activities

1. Research the laws of the Geneva Convention that governs the treatment of POWs. Make a chart or list of these laws. How do these laws ensure the safety of POWs? Why do these laws exist?

2. Conduct a trial deciding the fate of Werner Drechsler.

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