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 guard to the gallows for his execution at the military prison at Rheinbach, Germany, June 29, 1945. Gierens, a former railway worker, was one of three Germans hanged for 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 Germany 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.