{"id":96422,"date":"2026-10-16T15:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T20:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=96422"},"modified":"2026-10-16T15:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T20:34:25","slug":"nuremberg-executions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/nuremberg-executions\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuremberg Executions"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER<\/p>\n

On October 16, 1946 \u2013 80 years ago today \u2013 ten Nazi war criminals were executed by hanging, following conviction by the international tribunal overseeing the Nuremburg trials. Aptly, that date coincided with Hoshana Rabbah, the final step in the \u201cDays of Judgement\u201d comprising the Fall holidays.<\/p>\n

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Upon approaching the gallows, Streicher called out, \u201cPurimfest 1946!\u201d Perhaps he was referring to the parallel between the ten executed Nazis and the ten sons of Haman, executed in the Book of Esther… or acknowledging the ultimate fate of tyrants and regimes persecuting the Jewish People… or defiantly maligning the Nuremburg tribunal as a mockery \u2013 just as parody, satire, and mockery are common elements of Purim celebrations!<\/p>\n

Hermann Wilhelm G\u04e7ring, President of the Reichstag and Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe (Nazi Air Force), was also convicted at Nuremburg, but escaped execution through his suicide by cyanide the preceding night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith promulgation of this decree, the evil plot they devised against the Jews recoiled on their own heads!\u201d (see Esther 9:25).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the editor of \u201cMasorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism.\u201d The latest edition of Masorti published in the summer of 2026 and honors the American Sestercentennial. A subscription is $18 per annum. Print copies are available from Ben Yehuda Press and Amazon.<\/em><\/p>\n

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