The Hague, 18 October 1907. They were all properly dressed in the field uniform of the U.S. Army and carried no civilian clothes. In his defense he maintained that he had not issued the order but had only passed it along to Colonel Almers from Field Marshal Kesselring, and that the execution of the OSS men was a lawful order. In the first Allied war trial after the war, Dostler was found guilty of war crimes and executed by firing squad. This order was an implementation of Hitler's secret Commando Order of 1942 which required the immediate execution without trial of commandos and saboteurs. It’s the only instance where a German general officer was tried and executed for war crimes on the sole authority of the United States. May 10, 1891-d. Dec. 1, 1945), a German infantry general, was commander of the 75th German Army Corps in the Italian theater. - NARA - 531326.gif 600 × 496; 74 KB General of the Infantry who was … He ordered and oversaw the unlawful execution of fifteen captured U.S. soldiers. Anton Dostler (10 May 1891 – 1 December 1945) was a General of the Infantry who was executed after the end of World War II for war crimes. The case of Anton Dostler is unique in American History. Dostler's plea of Superior Orders failed because ordering the execution, he had acted on his own outside the Fuhrer's order. On Dec. 1, 1945, General Anton Dostler, his head shrouded in a black hood as required by military regulations, died instantly. They were captured and upon learning of their mission, Dostler ordered their execution without trial. The execution was photographed on black and white still and movie cameras.[11]. He was a general during World War Two. 51 relations. From the start of World War II to 1940, he served as chief of staff of the 7th Army. Anton Dostler (10 May 1891 – 1 December 1945) was a General of the Infantry who was executed after the end of World War II for war crimes. Their bodies were buried in a mass grave that was afterwards camouflaged. In his defense, he maintained that he had not issued the order, but had only passed along an order to Colonel Almers from supreme command, and that the execution of the OSS men was a lawful reprisal. From the start of World War II to 1940, he served as Chief of Staff of the 7th Army. He was sentenced to death by firing squad. Their bodies were buried in a mass grave that was then camouflaged. His execution by firing squad in Italy was the final page in the story of a horrific war crime ordered by Dostler some 21 months earlier—the murder of 15 American soldiers who had been captured behind enemy lines. Annemieke Van Verseveld (November 5, 2012). He was shot by a United States Army firing squad after being found guilty of ordering the execution of American prisoners of war during the Italian Campaign in March 1944. General Anton Dostler was a general of the infantry in the regular German Army during World War II. His military career was not particularly noteworthy and until June 1943, he never commanded anything larger than an infantry division. In the first allied war trial after the war, Dostler was tried and found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death by firing squad. In the first allied war trial after the war, Dostler was tried and found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death by firing squad. His next higher headquarters was that of the 75 th German Army Corps then commanded by the accused, Anton Dostler. [3], Dostler became a prisoner of the Americans on 8 May 1945 and was put before a military tribunal at the seat of the Supreme Allied Commander, the Royal Palace in Caserta, on 8 October 1945. In the first Allied war trial after the war, Dostler was found guilty of war crimes and executed by firing squad. Two days later, the group was captured by a party of Italian Fascist soldiers and members of the German Wehrmacht. Anton Dostler was a general of the infantry in the regular German Army during World War II. The Hague, 18 October 1907", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anton_Dostler&oldid=1000894745, People executed by the United States military by firing squad, Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class, 20th-century executions by the United States military, Germans convicted of war crimes committed in Italy during World War II, Perpetrators of World War II prisoners of war massacres, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 January 2021, at 07:09. General Anton Dostler was a general of the infantry in the regular German Army during World War II. Anton Dostler (Munich, May 10, 1891 – Aversa, December 1, 1945) was a General of the Infantry in the regular German army during World War II. Anton Dostler (10 May 1891 – 1 December 1945) was a German general during World War II. In the first Allied war trial after the war, Dostler was found guilty of war crimes and executed by firing squad. [1][2] Their objective was to demolish a tunnel at Framura on the important railroad line between La Spezia and Genoa. The following day (March 25), Dostler informed his superior, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, commanding general of all German forces in Italy, about the captured U.S. commandos and what to do with them. Anton Dostler (Munich, May 10, 1891 – Aversa, December 1, 1945) was a general of the infantry in the regular German Army during World War II. Anton Dostler (10 May 1891 – 1 December 1945) was a General of the Infantry who was executed after the end of World War II for war crimes.He was shot by a United States Army firing squad after being found guilty of ordering the execution of American prisoners of war during the Italian Campaign in March 1944.