Richard Schuh (2 October 1920 – 18 February 1949) was a German convicted murderer and the last criminal to be executed by the West German judiciary (excluding West Berlin).
Schuh was a trained mechanic who had served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was later detained by the Americans as a POW. After his release, he made a living by doing odd jobs. Since he was only able to make a living with difficulty in this way, he murdered Hans Eugen Roth, a truck driver, near Herrenberg on 28 January 1948, in order to get hold of the new tires on his vehicle and sell them on the black market.[1]
Schuh's crime was quickly solved. He was arrested, convicted of murder and aggravated robbery, and sentenced to death by the Tübingen Regional Court in May 1948. Schuh's mother killed herself shortly after her son's arrest.[2] Schuh's appeal, as well as pleas for clemency from close relatives and even from the director of the prison where Schuh was incarcerated, were ineffective: a commutation of the sentence to life imprisonment was in the hands of the President of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Gebhard Müller, a proponent of capital punishment. Müller declined to intervene.[3]
The execution was carried out with a guillotine on 18 February 1949, at six o'clock in the morning, in the courtyard of the prison at 18 Doblerstraße in Tübingen. During the execution, the small town hall bell was rung. Schuh himself had only learned of the scheduled date the night before. Schuh's body was handed over to the anatomical institute of the University of Tübingen. The guillotine is on display in the Ludwigsburg Prison Museum.[4]
Legacy
During the Nazi era, some 16,000 people had been executed. In the years between the end of the war and the entry into force of the Basic Law on 24 May 1949, German courts in the three western occupation zones imposed a total of 34 death sentences; 15 of these were carried out. Schuh's beheading was the last civilian execution on West German territory.[5]
In West Berlin, where the Basic Law applied only to a limited extent, capital punishment for civilian crimes was not abolished until 1951; the last person to be executed there was the robber-murderer Berthold Wehmeyer on 11 May 1949. In abolishing capital punishment, the Parliamentary Council drew a lesson from the Nazi era.[5]
On 7 June 1951, American soldiers hanged seven Nazi war criminals at Landsberg Prison.
^Germany, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Stuttgart. "Hinrichtung von Richard Schuh 1949: Er wurde in Tübingen geköpft". stuttgarter-nachrichten.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-10-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Todesstrafe für Richard Schuh 1949". Der Spiegel (in German). 2019-02-18. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
^Iken, Katja (2019-02-18). "Todesstrafe für Richard Schuh: Letzte Hinrichtung durch westdeutsche Justiz". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
^Raimund Weible (2009-02-18). "Zum letzten Mal fällt das Fallbeil". Schwäbisches Tagblatt. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
^ abRüdiger Soldt (2019-02-17). "Der letzte Gang des Richard Schuh". faz.net. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
Raimund Weible (2009-02-18). "Zum letzten Mal fällt das Fallbeil". Schwäbisches Tagblatt. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
Berthold Seewald (2018-02-16). "Todesstrafe in Deutschland: Um sechs Uhr starb der Raubmörder unter dem Fallbeil". welt.de. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
Katja Iken (2018-02-18). "Todesstrafe in Deutschland: "Gehen Sie mutig und gefasst Ihren letzten schweren Gang"". einestages auf Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
August 22, 2023
richard, schuh, october, 1920, february, 1949, german, convicted, murderer, last, criminal, executed, west, german, judiciary, excluding, west, berlin, born, 1920, october, 1920neustetten, württemberg, weimar, republicdied18, february, 1949, 1949, aged, tübing. Richard Schuh 2 October 1920 18 February 1949 was a German convicted murderer and the last criminal to be executed by the West German judiciary excluding West Berlin Richard SchuhBorn 1920 10 02 2 October 1920Neustetten Wurttemberg Weimar RepublicDied18 February 1949 1949 02 18 aged 28 Tubingen Prison Wurttemberg Hohenzollern Allied occupied GermanyCause of deathExecution by guillotineCriminal statusExecutedConviction s MurderAggravated robberyCriminal penaltyDeath May 1948 DetailsVictimsHans Eugen RothDate28 January 1948CountryAllied occupied Germany Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 SourcesBiography EditSchuh was a trained mechanic who had served in the Luftwaffe during World War II He was later detained by the Americans as a POW After his release he made a living by doing odd jobs Since he was only able to make a living with difficulty in this way he murdered Hans Eugen Roth a truck driver near Herrenberg on 28 January 1948 in order to get hold of the new tires on his vehicle and sell them on the black market 1 Schuh s crime was quickly solved He was arrested convicted of murder and aggravated robbery and sentenced to death by the Tubingen Regional Court in May 1948 Schuh s mother killed herself shortly after her son s arrest 2 Schuh s appeal as well as pleas for clemency from close relatives and even from the director of the prison where Schuh was incarcerated were ineffective a commutation of the sentence to life imprisonment was in the hands of the President of Wurttemberg Hohenzollern Gebhard Muller a proponent of capital punishment Muller declined to intervene 3 The execution was carried out with a guillotine on 18 February 1949 at six o clock in the morning in the courtyard of the prison at 18 Doblerstrasse in Tubingen During the execution the small town hall bell was rung Schuh himself had only learned of the scheduled date the night before Schuh s body was handed over to the anatomical institute of the University of Tubingen The guillotine is on display in the Ludwigsburg Prison Museum 4 Legacy EditDuring the Nazi era some 16 000 people had been executed In the years between the end of the war and the entry into force of the Basic Law on 24 May 1949 German courts in the three western occupation zones imposed a total of 34 death sentences 15 of these were carried out Schuh s beheading was the last civilian execution on West German territory 5 In West Berlin where the Basic Law applied only to a limited extent capital punishment for civilian crimes was not abolished until 1951 the last person to be executed there was the robber murderer Berthold Wehmeyer on 11 May 1949 In abolishing capital punishment the Parliamentary Council drew a lesson from the Nazi era 5 On 7 June 1951 American soldiers hanged seven Nazi war criminals at Landsberg Prison See also EditCapital punishment in Germany List of most recent executions by jurisdictionReferences Edit Germany Stuttgarter Nachrichten Stuttgart Hinrichtung von Richard Schuh 1949 Er wurde in Tubingen gekopft stuttgarter nachrichten de in German Retrieved 2022 10 10 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Todesstrafe fur Richard Schuh 1949 Der Spiegel in German 2019 02 18 ISSN 2195 1349 Retrieved 2022 10 10 Iken Katja 2019 02 18 Todesstrafe fur Richard Schuh Letzte Hinrichtung durch westdeutsche Justiz Der Spiegel in German ISSN 2195 1349 Retrieved 2022 10 10 Raimund Weible 2009 02 18 Zum letzten Mal fallt das Fallbeil Schwabisches Tagblatt Retrieved 2019 05 08 a b Rudiger Soldt 2019 02 17 Der letzte Gang des Richard Schuh faz net Retrieved 2019 05 08 Bibliography EditHans Joachim Lang 1999 Richard Schuh Ihr Leben ist verwirkt Die Zeit Sources EditRaimund Weible 2009 02 18 Zum letzten Mal fallt das Fallbeil Schwabisches Tagblatt Retrieved 2019 05 08 Berthold Seewald 2018 02 16 Todesstrafe in Deutschland Um sechs Uhr starb der Raubmorder unter dem Fallbeil welt de Retrieved 2019 05 08 Katja Iken 2018 02 18 Todesstrafe in Deutschland Gehen Sie mutig und gefasst Ihren letzten schweren Gang einestages auf Spiegel Online Retrieved 2019 05 08 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Richard Schuh amp oldid 1137892877, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
