From Kilimanjaro to Plötzensee: Tracing Germany’s Last Executions and the Long Road to Justice
By Ruben Storm
I am writing this from my bed in Tanzania, looking out of the window at the silhouette of Mount Kilimanjaro against the night sky. It’s one of those moments where the world feels both vast and deeply connected. Earlier today, I came across a graphic showing the last executions in Europe by country. Germany caught my eye.
Like many people, I had always believed that Germany’s last executions happened before 1945, and that after the fall of the Third Reich, the country became one of the strongest voices against the death penalty worldwide.
That belief turned out to be only half true.
So I started digging. What I found was a story that stretches far beyond the ruins of Nazi Germany — into the Cold War, the divided nation, and a final, secret execution carried out as late as 1981.
This blog post is both a historical journey and an invitation to a virtual and physical route of remembrance through Germany’s most important execution and memorial sites.
The Big Discovery: Two Germanys, Two Legal Systems
After 1945, Germany did not exist as one country.
West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany – FRG / BRD)
In 1949, the new constitution (the Basic Law) declared:
“The death penalty is abolished.”
From that moment on, capital punishment became unconstitutional in West Germany.
The last execution in the West took place on February 18, 1949, just months before the constitution came into force.
East Germany (German Democratic Republic – GDR / DDR)
- The socialist state kept the death penalty as part of its legal system.
- It was used for:
- Murder
- Espionage
- “State betrayal” and political crimes
- Executions were carried out in total secrecy, hidden even from families.
- The death penalty was only abolished in 1987.
- The last execution on German soil happened in 1981.
This is where the story becomes deeply personal — and deeply unsettling.
Germany’s Last Execution: Werner Teske (1981)
Name: Werner Teske
Born: April 24, 1942
Executed: June 26, 1981
Place: Leipzig, East Germany
Who He Was
Werner Teske was not a criminal in the traditional sense. He was an economist and officer in the Ministry for State Security — better known as the Stasi.
He worked in foreign intelligence and had access to classified documents.
Why He Was Condemned
Teske became disillusioned with the system and secretly planned to flee to West Germany. He collected documents that he believed could help him start a new life in the West.
He was arrested before he could escape.
The state charged him with:
- Attempted defection
- Espionage
- Betrayal of state secrets
His trial was closed, secret, and political. The death sentence was meant to send a message inside the Stasi itself: even one of our own is not safe if they try to leave.
How He Died
Teske was executed by a single gunshot to the back of the head — a so-called “neck shot.”
It happened in a sealed room inside a Leipzig prison.
His family was told only later, and his burial place was kept secret for years.
➡️ He remains the last person executed in all of Germany.
The Last Execution in West Germany: Berthold Wehmeyer (1949)
Name: Berthold Wehmeyer
Executed: February 18, 1949
Place: Berlin-Moabit Prison
Why He Was Executed
Wehmeyer was convicted of robbery and murder in the chaos of post-war Germany. The legal system at that time still operated under pre-war criminal law.
How He Died
He was executed by guillotine — the same method widely used during the Nazi period.
Just months later, West Germany abolished the death penalty entirely.
The Famous Faces of Resistance: The White Rose
Not all stories of execution in Germany are about the Cold War or state secrets. Some are about moral courage in the face of dictatorship.
Sophie Scholl
Born: May 9, 1921
Executed: February 22, 1943
Place: Munich-Stadelheim Prison
Hans Scholl
Born: September 22, 1918
Executed: February 22, 1943
Who They Were
Sophie and Hans Scholl were students and members of the White Rose, a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany.
They wrote and distributed leaflets calling for:
- An end to the war
- Resistance against Hitler
- Moral responsibility of the German people
Why They Were Executed
They were caught distributing leaflets at the University of Munich. After a show trial lasting only a few hours, they were sentenced to death for “treason.”
How They Died
They were executed by guillotine on the same day as their trial.
Today, they are remembered across Germany as symbols of civil courage and conscience.
A Virtual Journey Through Germany’s Execution and Memorial Sites
This research turned into something more than history. It became a route of remembrance — a journey through the physical places where law, power, resistance, and memory intersect.
Here is the detailed travel route I created, which can be done virtually or in person.
The Remembrance Route: Justice, Resistance & Memory
1. Berlin – Plötzensee Memorial
Theme: Nazi Justice and Political Executions
Historical Role: Central execution site of the Third Reich
What Happened Here
More than 2,800 people were executed here between 1933 and 1945. Victims included:
- Resistance fighters
- Foreign forced laborers
- Members of underground networks like the “Red Orchestra”
What You See Today
- The original execution chamber
- Memorial walls with names of the dead
- Exhibits explaining how the Nazi legal system became a tool of terror
2. Leipzig – GDR Execution Site
Theme: Cold War Justice and State Power
This is where Werner Teske was executed.
What You Learn
- How the Stasi operated internally
- How secret trials worked
- How the death penalty was used as a political weapon
Nearby, the Contemporary History Forum explains everyday life, surveillance, and opposition in East Germany.
3. Dresden – Münchner Platz Memorial
Theme: Two Dictatorships, One Courtroom
This site was used by:
- The Nazis
- Then later by the early GDR
What Makes It Unique
The same courtrooms and prison cells were used by two completely different regimes, both to sentence people to death.
4. Wolfenbüttel – Prison Memorial
Theme: Military Justice and Forced Labor
This lesser-known site reveals how:
- Foreign workers
- Deserters
- Political prisoners
were executed under Nazi law.
It is raw, quiet, and deeply personal.
5. Frankfurt – The Medieval High Court
Theme: Public Punishment and Power
Long before modern states, executions here were public events. This stop shows how justice once meant spectacle, fear, and control.
6. Munich – White Rose Memorial & Stadelheim Prison
Theme: Moral Resistance
This is where Sophie and Hans Scholl were executed. Today, the White Rose Memorial at the university honors their courage and words.
Why This Journey Matters
From medieval gallows fields, to Nazi guillotines, to a secret gunshot in a Cold War prison — Germany’s path shows how justice can be twisted, hidden, or transformed.
And it also shows how a society can choose to say:
This ends here.
Germany today is one of the strongest international voices against the death penalty. But that stance was shaped not just by 1945 — it was shaped by what happened after.
The Travel Guide (Coming with This Project)
This post is only the beginning.
I’ve created a detailed, modern travel PDF that includes:
- Step-by-step routes between each memorial
- QR codes linking directly to Google Maps
- Historical background for every site
- Biographies of famous victims
- Space for personal reflections and notes
🗺️ The guide will be available in:
- English
- German
For a small contribution, readers can download it and take this journey — virtually or physically — through Germany’s history of law, resistance, and remembrance.
Closing Thoughts from Kilimanjaro
Lying here in East Africa, thousands of kilometers away from Berlin, Leipzig, and Munich, I’m reminded that justice is never just local. What one country allows, hides, or abolishes sends a message far beyond its borders.
This journey began with a simple assumption:
“Germany ended executions in 1945.”
It ended with a much harder truth:
The last execution happened in 1981 — in silence, behind closed doors, in a divided nation.
And maybe that’s exactly why these places need to be remembered.
Images made by AI