All roads leading to the Landsberg prison were barricaded today as preparations were completed for the hanging of seven top Nazi war criminals charged with ordering the mass execution of tens of thousands of Jews and others during the Nazi occupation of Poland and the Ukraine.
The seven condemned Germans were moved into the death cells yesterday following the announcement by American High Commissioner John J. McCloy that he had received a message from the State Department saying that all existing stays of execution have been removed. The wives of the seven criminals arrived in Landsberg prison today for final death cell visits with their husbands.
The first to arrive was the wife of former Gestapo General Oswald Pohl who was convicted of personal responsibility in the annihilation or deportation of 56,000 Jews. The second wife to arrive was Frau Blodel whose husband ordered the execution of 60,000 Jews in Kiev in September, 1941.
The Justice Minister of West Germany, Thomas Dehler, has confirmed reports that the West German Government has spent $12,000 in defense of the seven Nazi war criminals.
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