,' DSIUTY JUJXE .• ovoc •..TE'S OFFI CE 7708 Yl."R CR!}.£5 CRotJI EUROfE.\N COJ.i:.L.ND hlO 178 {A)M'£pej Sbo 14 July 1947 U fl' I T E I) S T j, T E S ) ) v. ) Caae No . 12-581 ) ! :atthias Z I ~RHt.tT, e;t al. ) REVIS"! /.NO R't!:CO? ~ 'END •. TJONS I . TRI :.L o:.T;.: 'l'hc e.ccused '"er e tried at Oache.u, Germany, durinp- the roriod 22- 23 ;,rril 1947, b..:fOI'(J a C'..en..:r al Lili tary C-0verrun(;nt Court. II. CHnRCB ,,1~ r .. RTICUL".RS : Cll.~RGS: Vi ol ation of th.: Lt!ws and Us ages of , .. ar. Iarticukrs: I n t.hat i.iettins ZI 'SRHUT ~ rrl Johann CILCH , C.-r man nati onal s , did, e.t. or nti.:.i r U..'HLDORF, Germany, on or about 15 /,}:"ril 194 5, dc::lib,,r atvl y end wr on{?fully encourage, aid, abe: t and rarti ciF~ te: in co11unittinp asbaults uron ~ member of th1; Unit0d Statc.s •. n ny, Cartain Ev(.r&tt S . LII~DL1Y, i,C, ;.5N 0815726, who was then and thtire E. surr ender ed and unar med rrisonvr of w2r in the, custody of th0 thon r..er mnn Rc::ich. III. SU: .J.~~RY OF ~!DENCE : Captain Ever~tt S . Lindl e:y , en ,.m.;rican rilotinl e. fi ghtor i:l cne was shot down nGar liuhl dorf, ~rrneny , on 15 J.pril 1945· H...: was soon ccptuNd by members of Volkstrum ~nd t "ken to e vill ae'- v;herC; he was kickad and bentt:n by sever al civilia ns . The unar med, surrundcrcd rri saner of war v·c.s then turned over to tv·o uni- rormed Sj, m<:.n, the: e.ccused, Mn tthias ZI ERHUT nnd Johann r;UCH, •·ho drove him into the. country end storred . ,.. !ERHUT, the driver, dismount- od . r.JICH order ed the fly~r to dismount and vhen he did Zl ~rutUT shot ~t him l"ith ,i; ristol but missed . Ur to this time th-. flyer had not resistli:d or r: tt.... mrtcd to t.scf.fe but i rru1ie di~ t ~ ly t.fter bE:inr. unneces- snril3 f irud ur on jum1 cd a ditch i.lut tri.:d to surrender nr a.in by f eeing his e.ssail<!nts and r t.i:.iinr his hc.nds. Thuy fir.:d a_t him erain end one bullet hit hi m jn th0 loft should~r . He then turned and r~n n zirzag cours1:.1 while both <.ccusEid 1ursuod and fired m~ny ti.Jiles. The flye: r turm:d and e>. ttc.mrtcd to surrund.::r the st..cond time: but v·h <;n the firing at hitn continu'-d, fled age.in. In t,jmu he, buccmc 1,,xhi:usted e nd u ' - 1 - was ovortnkcn near a smnll river bank. There the ecc u&~d rushad him do~n t hu bcnk out of s ight of th~ surroundinp country so the flyer grabbud tpe pistol from ZfiRHUT end warded them off. They r en t o a barnyard by llhich the str enm flo"Wed. Th'3 fly.,r took up a rosition on r. smell bridge near tho f armhouse. By this time a groui: of i: eorle C(UOO out of th<> hom:1c·. The accused entered this grour. From the ,zroup cP.Jllll an elderly whito-hairod man, a luftvmffe rilot an..:i a v·~ hrCllllcht sergeant who indic::.tGd that. the flyer. should surrender t. .> thutn and thnt they llOuld rrotcct him. He did not do so until the old man rreventGd fire fror.l a Volkstrum riflcmnn who errroachod from th~ fly ~ r•s rear. I .. T~e so rf~a nt dressed th~ wound 'hile the old man k~rt tho accused and· others a~ay. HG handed the ristol to thJ sorr,eant. The luftwaffe rilot and tho ser; eant deli v<:rE;d tho J.merican to nearby :.rc ttenheim J.ir Field es a rrison..:r of wnr. I n time the ·r rison1.;r was liberated by the arrroachinp !.m~rican Forces end l ater th1; er.cused v•er e ~rr ested by Americnn authoriti0s. IV . EVJD"':NCZ 1.Nn n:::co? :::END:.TIONS: 1. h..'ITHJf,:J 'i.l :.RHUT (The Christien nrunE. nctunlly SJ.ellcd 1:..TrHI;1S , F-Ex 4.) N~ tiontli ty: Gt,;nnan I ' . ;-.ge: 53 Civilian 5 ta tus: Buorgerme;istE::r !arty Status: Hili tary S tF tus : Nona llt:e : NG Findings: G s ... ntenco: Lifei imrrisonme.nt, commE-ncing 23 .~p:·il 1947 Evidonce for Frosocution: . The lros ~ cution ~ntroducod into evidence tho oxtrajudicial stat ement of Cartain Everett S . Lindley, an i1 m~ ricnn fight~r rilot, vhich was taken in Il'ris, Fr:mcu, in .?.ff idavit form on 18 June 1945. This instrument showed the.t he; r •.s s hot dorn nE::a r JJuhldorf, rermany . Thr.t he. 'Y'F s c e-.rtured by the:. volkstrum, tr.k.;n to - 2 - Muhldorf and b~aten by unkno11n civilians and turn~d over to t•o Sh . ~ ~n, the accused ~a tthias ZI'3RHUT .11nd J ohaM · GILCH, Yho took him in ~ c~r in the: guneral direction of Uottenhoim but storrud in the country (J-J;x 3, H 1, 2, 3, 7). That h\l wo.s recuirud to dismount and v·h~n htJ Thr.t ho had offored no r~sistc nco did ZIBRHUT shot ~t h!~ but miss~d. • I nor o.ttt;m~te;d to fl~ c ur until tht1n but when shot at ho jwnFC;d the side ditch and raised his hands, wheruui;on, both ZIEaHUT ar,, GILCH couvntinced shooting et him. One bull~t struck his left shouldor. ic thE:n ran e. zif'zag courst.: '~ h!le:.. the::y both lcontinued to firtJ at him ,.. i th their ristols. HE: r cn until he became 1...xhausted and was overtaken. ,.hen 0•1tirtakon he; r eelizcd he ~ould be. killod soon unless something .,.as done so he managed to disann ~J 3RHUT and &c~uired his pistol to confront them. Both assailants r an t o a f Artl\Yard and j oined ~ number of reorl~ who suddenly rushed from the hou s ~ , Tho rilot took ur a rosition on a small bridfC over a stream v·hich r an throu,:'h the f cr cynrd. ThrC;e:.. ...icn from the c1· ov · d ~ m old m~n, n luftw!..ffo rilot nnrl an e.r my ser r E::ant, o.nroache:d him nnd by signs :md otherwise indicct -:: d to him· to surrender and hu would l.) t:; ~ ro:.c ctl3d. He did not do so ct once ::. c another r crson had ur r roacht;d L~om his r \:;~ r v·i th a rifle . On c1 or more of thu thr~1.. described r~rsons induc~d Ule rifleman to l eave: and rer uire::d tho two S .. mc.n and oth e r ~ t o desist from their efforts to lynch him. H1;: sur- r<::inderod and his \,Ound wa s bandaged. ""' h?indoJd zr::RHUT Is I istol to thE:: ser eet> !lt who !-:mdad it to the old mnn. The s E:r ( oant <!nd the luft- waff.: rilo·;;, e::;co:x·ted the frisont.r in thu diruction of l~ottenheim :.ir .. Field. On the wcy t.hl-Y m~ t a luftwaffe cnr:tain and rcrorted the aff:dr. The rrison~ r was t hen turned ov~ r to a luftwnff<::i master s6rgeant v1ho ar.penr ed, .:=- nd by him sr.foly dr,l i v <> r od t o thv air fic.ld v:hE;ro the rri- sonor was treated and rrop :: rl~ er r ed for. Carte.in Lindlvy v:as later libur nt.ed by thE: J,mericM Forces (f-Ex 3, Tr• ?, €, 13) .• , Testimony corroborating the statement of ev~ nts, ~ s set out above, occurrinf nccr the f armhouse was p.ivon by Joaof Kettn¥r, Jr. and Jose! Kettnc.r, Sr. (R 20, 21, 4li , 45, 46). - 3 - Conta Reindl testified that ~ t 1300 hours on the day in 1'rril 1'hile sht: was walking \•ith h.:: r husbt1nd, :>. child and ? Frenchman nc:nr the Kettner home c tlyor r !·n ur to thvm and yo ll~, 11 They ar t: tryin! to shoot mEJ." Th ct b uh ind, ZIERBUT v"ns runninf, caught ur nnd sku cd · tho flyvr' a f acv saying, 11 1··· --~m·· -----going to shoot· you, you dog." 'that ~ 'fight took r.laoc. b"'twc .... n the.. flyer and tIERl!UT as they fl\Jd but she looked b".Cl< nnd s-:w th ?.t tho flyc.r hed ZIERHUT I s risto, (R '52, 56) . ~vid(..nce; for .O<;fonsc : Thll eccuseid did not offc.r '-"v. to..:stimony but rostJd wh~n th~ rrosocution rosted. ' Sufficivncy of Evidonce: Tho findings of euilty ~ro ~r rrunt~d by t.hc c:videnco. Thu sE:nt<:nce: is not (.XC-ss:i vc. ' r'otitionf!: · wo f ;..titions for Rc.vicw nor Ictitions for Clome;ncy were · fikd. · · Recoamond~tjon: Thrt the. finrlinp.s ~nd sontoncc b ~ er r roved. Netion<!.ity: 0-.r man 59 Civilie.n Stl'tus: ::nchinist Jc:. rty Stetus: NSO .. F 1930: <) •• -s/set.