The Murder of Five Captured RAF Officers. Warning: Graphic Images

Just an interesting point about Hoffmann.It was Hoffmann, who became Hitler's official and court photographer to the Nazi Party and who along with Hitler's Great War sergeant,Max Amann,in charge of Hitler's publishing,generated hugh amounts of wealth for Hitler.A constant companion to Hitler,Hoffman rose to be a millionaire on the back of his association with Hitler and his backing of the Nazi Party.His association with the Nazi Party led him to publish Nazi Party picture books which had large sales and a personal income stream However, his wealth was stripped from him in 1947 when he was deemed to be a profiteer from Nazism.He received a sentence of 10 years in 1947 which was reduced on appeal to 3 years,then raised to 5 years in 1950.He died in 1957.

It was Hoffman and Bormann who also generated another business plan by insisting that Hitler's photograph should appear on the Reich postage stamps.Having achieved that, it was insisted that Hitler should receive royalties and that followed.

It was Hoffman who employed a young girl in his photographic business who took Hitler's eye.The rest is history.

 

Just an interesting point about Hoffmann.It was Hoffmann, who became Hitler's official and court photographer to the Nazi Party and who along with Hitler's Great War sergeant,Max Amann,in charge of Hitler's publishing,generated hugh amounts of wealth for Hitler.A constant companion to Hitler,Hoffman rose to be a millionaire on the back of his association with Hitler and his backing of the Nazi Party.His association with the Nazi Party led him to publish Nazi Party picture books which had large sales and a personal income stream However, his wealth was stripped from him in 1947 when he was deemed to be a profiteer from Nazism.He received a sentence of 10 years in 1947 which was reduced on appeal to 3 years,then raised to 5 years in 1950.He died in 1957.

It was Hoffman and Bormann who also generated another business plan by insisting that Hitler's photograph should appear on the Reich postage stamps.Having achieved that, it was insisted that Hitler should receive royalties and that followed.

It was Hoffman who employed a young girl in his photographic business who took Hitler's eye.The rest is history.
As a stamp collector it intrigued me that Hitler's portrait did not appear on the definitive stamps (though it did appear on commemorative stamps before) until about 1941. Prior to that the portrait was of Hindenburg who had already died in around 1934, I think.

Vast quantities of Hitler portrait stamps were "liberated" and filled the stamp market in the UK for years afterwards - I remember being bought some in about 1958 for my collection. Many were overprinted for use in liberated areas after the war, but the portraits were often not obliterated, only printed over.

 

I have been reading "The Last escape" which makes clear the difference exhibited to those POW's who wore army uniform, to those of the RAF once they were outside the POW camps.

My father, on a POW work-party near Mansfeld in East Germany west of Leipzig, participated in a church service around February 1945 for 9 airmen shot down in a USA bomber raid, 8 Yanks and 1 Canadian. The Germans refused to do anything and tried to disrupt the service.

 

I am the administrator of the No. 214 Squadron website (No. 214 (FMS) Squadron RAF - Home). I am also an indirect relative of one of the murdered airman (Flt/Lt Sidney Clayden Matthews) and own the original documents and photographs that are used on our website.

I would like to compliment members on their research of the events in this thread, but I would also like to comment that a lot of data has been copied from our website without any acknowledgement. I also notice that drew5233 has included links to our website which is appreciated.

As administrator of the 214 website, I spend a lot of time researching and updating the website and would have hoped that it would be the policy of this forum to include a link to where the information was obtained from.

 

Thank you for your response Adam. You do not need to change the data to be links to our website, but it would be nice if we are recognised as the source of the information.

I am very happy if you add us as a link in the forum. Are you happy if we put a link to the forum on our website also?

The forum is very impressive. Keep up the good work.

Regards
John

 

I intended to follow on with a note on the documents displayed as I said to Drew.Yet to get round to it but I have the gist of it in my mind.

However while the discussion on the fate of the aircrew was progressing,my son rang me from South Australia and said "what do you know about B17s flying in the RAF"?It can only be No 90 Squadron out of Polebrook as regards bombing operations within Bomber Command.On the other hand,it could be Bomber Command No 100 Group ECM.I said.

Then my son told me that a colleague had said that his grandfather had flown as aircrew on B17s on RAF bombing aircraft and that he had his log book and wished to know more.Could I help?.My son is going to transmit the documentation to me.So it could be a case of revealing early operations on No 90 Squadron out of Polebrook or operations on No 214 Squadron out of Oulton.We shall see.

I am told the documentation is qiute large.

 

Hi John
Thanks for yout great site and your work.
I was transferred to your website by the german website pforzheim_sturm_1945 . I´m sorry that I didn´t link your website as source. It was with no ill intent and I didn´t want to "steal" your copyright or something. I just collected informations and posted it here. Maybe we can work together to bring some light into the murder of your relative?

And great news!
I got a really fantastic CD from an old friend with about 1500 pages and photographs of the war crime of Huchenfeld and Pforzheim. It is now possible to do a really good documentary about this case. It may last a while cause there is really a lot of stuff.

Well, before I start, I first want to know about ethic guidelines of the board. Some photos show peoples who did crimes and who are still alive, some photos show the exhumation of the pilots. Am I allowed to post them here?

 

I agree with Owen, this is one of the most
amazing threads I have seen on the forum.

Pollux5, I think you have a fascinating documentary waiting here.
It is one that is worthy of co-production money (BBC & German TV)
especially as some of those involved are still alive. It is simply not
good enough for some people to say "it was all so long ago, I dont
wish to talk about it now" when those same people very often used
the excuse at the time of "I was just following orders"...

Best of luck with your endeavors and I sincerely hope that you
do not receive any negative consequences of your research for
the truth from the people in the town.


Are there any further details of the pre-war life of James William Vinall?
Where he grew up etc? As a black member of the RAF he is interesting
on yet another level.


Very well done, Pollux and Drew, very well done indeed

 

Are there any further details of the pre-war life of James William Vinall?
Where he grew up etc? As a black member of the RAF he is interesting
on yet another level.


The evangelic priest of Dillweißenstein, where James Vinall was shot, told me that Vinall was from Malta and that he had contact to Vinalls relatives. Maybe the documents will give further informations. They are very detailled. As I see, there was a 17 day trial. Maybe we find somehow a possibility to host the files somewhere.

 

As I can see, there were 3 trials.
Pforzheim I,II and III cases.

Pforzheim case I is the organisation and shooting of the 4 airmen in Huchenfeld done by NSDAP authorities, S.A. and hitleryouth people.
Pforzheim case II is the organisation and shooting of James Vinall by Volkssturm and hitler youth people.
Pforzheim case III is the beating of James Vinall before the shooting by civilians from Dillweißenstein.

 

Can I just say that all of this came about because Brian (ADM199) sent me the original docs posted at the begining of this thread. Credit must go to him-If he never sent me them I would never have posted them.

Regarding the photographs I would post them. They show the true side of WW2 not seen in the movies in my opinion. I will edit the title and add a warning.

Regards
Andy

 

what are they, "crime scene" photographs?

>gulp<


And yes, a whole hearted "well done" to Brian
(sorry Andy, I thought you had taken the pics)

 

what are they, "crime scene" photographs?


Exhumation photos of the naked dead pilots after laid several months in grave. I start today with the documentation, i read the whole night the files.

 

I need a bit more time...I´m sorry.
It´s hard for me, a non native english, to read the court files. I only can manage to read 2-3 days of trial in a day, and there were 13 trial days.

 

*edit*

 

Well^^
I think tho photos are a bit to big.
Which size should they be?

 

Wow, an amazing thread, thank you.