Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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/ Friday, December 24, i»« THE NEWBERRY SUN BUY BONDS FOR CHRISTMAS .4 RIGHT HBRHY ch»is™ as To Our Loyal Friends And Customers W. H. DAVIS & SON May the Christmas Sea son find you blessed with all the riches of a joyful, happy and contented life —The Season's Best to Each of You. TOM. M. FELLERS, Sheriff German Child Killers Beg For Mercy But Get The Noose By M. S. Handler Kharkov, Dec. 19—Three German soldiers and a Russian traitor, con victed of atrocities against the Rus sian people, were hanged at 11:16 this morning in the market square of ruined and devastated Kharkov while some 50,000 Soviet men, women and children cheered. As four Ford trucks pulled away from the gallows leading the men dangling at the end of nooses, the crowd of workers and farmers broke through the line of guards and forc ed their way right up to the gal lows. Youngsters dotted the roofs and others watched from the windows of burned buildings surrouii(Tf»g the square. Thus died Capt. Wilhelm Lang- held, 52-year-old red-haired officer in the German counter-intelligence service: 24-year-old balding Lit. Hans Ritz, Storm Trooper com mander; bull-looking Police Cpl. Reinhardt Retzlaw, 39, and Mikhail Petrovich Bulanov, 26, Russian chauffeur for the Gestapo. They were convicted of atrocities against Russian civilians, war prisoners and Red army wounded in one of the ■most dramatic trials in recent times. The gallows on which the con victed died were built from large beams placed in rows. From a cross beam dangled short noosed ropes. When the closed truck carrying the condemned drove into the square just about 11 a. m., the crowd press ed a Red army cordon closer to the gallows. Guards led out the condemned four. Their hands were tied behind their backs. Pushed onto the four Ford trucks they were made to stand on stools. Their heads were placed in the dang ling nooses. Langheld and Ritz wore their uni forms, with their insignia and deco rations and overseas caps. Bulanov, the Russian, almost lost conscious ness as his head was placed in the noose. Guards supported him. The engines of the four Fords were started. Maj. Gen. A. N. Myasnikov, pre siding judge of the military tribunal of the Fourth Ukrainian front which convicted the four after their public trial, stepped to a platform to the right of the gallows. Slowly and solemnly as the con victed awaited their fate, Myasikov read into a microphone the sen tence ordering the death of the four war criminals. The Fords were driven out from under the condemned men and the crowd shouted and cheered. The legs of the hanged twitched for sveral minutes. Then the guards cut the ropes binding the dead men’s hands and legs, leaving the bodies dangling freely. Rapidly the crowd surged forward, shouting and waving their fists. But Red army men managed to keep a passage open to the gallows. The iron hand of Soviet justice clamped down on. the three Nazi butchers and their Russian con federate the moment the clock struck midnight last night. One thousand people in this un happy city, which has felt the piti less heel of the German occupation, burst into applause in the court room when Maj. Gen. Myasnikov, read the sentence after the dramatic three-day trial. The prosecutor, Col. N. K. Duna- yev, emphasized that the trial was being conducted according to the principles laid down by the decla ration regarding atrocities signed by Marshal Premier Josef Stalin, President Roosevelt, and Prime Min ister Winston Churchill. It was an indication that there will be further trials of a similar nature. The three Germans, apparently under the illusion that they would escape the death sentence, main tained their composure until they were called upon to say their last words. Then they broke down and begged for mercy. In the course of their last words, the three Germans fully confessed their crimes of the murder of wo men, children, old men, war prison ers, and wounded Red army men. They laid the responsibility for their crimes at the door of the Nazi government and the German high command. The trial was held on the prem ises of the theater of the Ukrainian Musical comedy, formerly the thea ter of the Russian opera, and later the Russian drama. Myasnikov sat with his assistants, Co. I. Kharchev and Maj. S. S. Zapolsky, at a long table covered with red velvet. The blue velvet stage curtain served as a background. To the left below the judges, the four defendants sat in the square dock guarded by tom my gunners. The prosecutor sat on the right of the judges, while three defense attorneys occupied a table in front of the prisoners’ dock. More than 1,000 women and girls, wearing the customary Russian ker chief around their heads, men and Red army officers followed the pro ceedings with intense interest. The faces of the elderly women showed signs of exhaustion. Tickets for the trial had been distributed to all or ganizations. The last day’s spectators brought the total number of visitors attend ing he proceedings to 6,000. The crowds intensively eyed the de fendants every time the prosecutor brought up a decisive fact or the lawyers made admissions incrimi nating their clients. The three Germans sat like sta tues until the time came for them to utter their last words. The courtroom was illuminated by arc lights and many newsreel and still cameramen constantly took shots of the procedings. The defense experienced the great est difficulty finding extenuating circumstances for the defendants who already had confessed their guilt in writing and through their testimony Two lawyers, N. V. Kommodov and S. K. Kaznacheyev, said the crimes could be charged only to the Nazi regime which had corrupted the minds of the Germans, converting i them into blind instruments of sadism. The third lawyer, N. P. Belov de livered a striking summation in de fense of the Russian traitor, Mik hail Buianov, driver for the Ges tapo, asking for leniency on the ground that Bulanov entered the German service only after witness ing many' months of torture and shooting of Russians. Belov pointed out that Bulanov remained at Kursk at the risk of his life, await ing the Russians after the Germans retreated. The traitor, dark-haired with a cropped mustache, bowed his head low when Belov spoke of him. In the course of their last words before the court brought in the fatal verdict, the three Germans again admitted their crimes. Lang held confessed to killing more than 100 persons, Rezlaw,- 120, while Ritz declared himself guilty of the deaths of many persons. All three Germans shifted the re sponsibility to the Nazi government and the German high command, claiming they acted under compulsion. Langheld was the ost composed of the trio and asked that his “ad vanced” age be taken into account, while Ritz pleaded for considera tion because of his “youth.” Retz law, who impressed observers as the most repulsive of all three, asfced r.n opportunity to make amends. Bulanov based his appeal for mercy on the grounds that he acted under compulsion. Langheld. who was captured at Stalingrad, frequently visited this theater in which he was tried for his life. Ritz was caught trying to swim across the Mius river in escaping from Taganrog. The judges were out for two hours to consider their verdict. When they returned, everyone present stood while Myasnikov read the sentence There was a sharp outburst of ap plause and when that died down, the guards entered the dock and led the condemned men away. Lang held staggered as he left the court room. m ''I, oh her office To oil our cua.omorp and frionda . .. a hoaity wiah Oval your Chriatmaa bo an anjoyabla ono, and a aincora piedga from all of ua at Saar* to aorvo you to tho boat of our ability during tba coming Now Year. SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO.. 1210 Caldwell, Phone 430 < Wiih the r f{etufin ej the JJeyem uu^uhuu^uul:^ sm jimik jiiiiik jiiiife jgiiiik ink We are afforded the pleasant opportunity of brushing aside for the moment the cores and bur dens of world affairs and business to greet you and wish you the happiness of the season. As we take mental inventory of our business activities, we realize no asset is more priceless, more conductive to success than the good-will and friendship of our many customer friends. And so we join with those who have a sincere interest in your happiness and prosperity to extend our best wishes to each of you • Farmers Ice & Fuel Co.