Nazi war criminals executed. Matthias Gierens, German war criminal, marches under U.S.

Nazi war criminals executed. Matthias Gierens, German war criminal, marches under U.S. Military guards to the gallows for his execution at the military prison at Rheibach, Germany, June 29, 1945. Gierens, a former railway worker, was one of three Germans hanged fot the murder of an American airman last August. They were convicted by a 15th U.S. Army military commission, and were the first German civilians to be tried in German as war criminals. The American airman who has safely parachuted to earth near Priest, Germany, was shot and beaten to death by the three Nazis on August 15, 1944.