The Russelheim Massacre
(August 25, 1944)
On the night of August
25, 1944,
elements of the Royal Canadian Air Force
bombed the Opelwerk in Russelheim, causing
tremendous damage to both the factory and
the neighboring town. Fires raged in the
wake of the air raid, terrorizing the townspeople
as they huddled in shelters during the early
morning hours of the 26th. Between 9:00 and
10:00 AM, a train arrived at Russelheim carrying
eight crewmembers of a U.S. Eighth Air Force
B-24 shot down near Hanover. As news of the
presence of the aviators spread, the citizens
of Russelheim left the shelters to quench
their thirst for revenge. They began throwing
pieces of the rubble created in the raid,
showering both the prisoners of war and their
two escorts. Under blows from the escorts,
the Americans were forced to run a gauntlet
of 200 citizens of Russelheim, who were wielding
sticks, boards, bricks, and a variety of
other weapons. The Germans viciously attacked
the defenseless prisoners as they attempted
to huddle with one another for protection.
Several civilians closed on the prisoners
and beat them until they no longer moved.
Around noon, the Chief of
Propaganda of Russelheim and members of the
local SA and Hitler
Youth collected the bodies
and took them to the town cemetery for burial.
During a subsequent air raid, two of the
American prisoners of war who had remained
motionless during the trip to the cemetery
climbed over a wall and managed to escape.
Although it is not known for certain, it
seems that three of the prisoners of war
were killed by the beatings and three were
shot sometime prior to burial in a common
grave. After the “Russelheim
Massacre,” German
authorities made a cursory investigation,
but the Terror Aviator Orders effectively
prohibited prosecution and the authorities
took no legal action.
Sources: C. Robert Bard, “Review, US
v. Hartgen, et al.,” 12-1497, August
23, 1945, Record Group 549, “Cases Tried” (National
Archives and Records Administration, College
Park, Maryland), 1-2. Dachau
Trials
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