On this day 4th November 1943, German POW, Johannes Kunze was murdered at Camp Tonkawa, Oklahoma, USA.

On this day 4th November 1943, German POW, Johannes Kunze was murdered at Camp Tonkawa, Oklahoma, USA.




Johannes Kunze (March 5, 1904 - November 4, 1943) was a German World War II prisoner of warq (POW) held at Camp Tonkawa, Oklahoma. He was a Gefreiter in the Afrika Korps.

Following a trial before a kangaroo court on November 4, 1943, he was beaten to death by fellow POWs for being a traitor.

There was evidence that Kunze had indeed been spying for the Americans. According to the POWs who killed Kunze, The discovery of Kunze happened by accident: he had been in the habit of passing notes to the American doctor at the camp during sick call. Who would then turn them over to the camp authorities.

These notes provided his captors with useful information regarding the activities of various POWs in the camp, some of whom were loyal Nazis and therefore could create problems for the Americans. One day a new American doctor was on duty who did not know about Kunze's role as spy and who could not speak German.

When Kunze handed over his note, the American doctor accidentally blew Kunze's cover by sending it back via another POW, who read the incriminating note and quickly realised that Kunze was a spy.

News of this discovery spread quickly and soon afterwards Kunze was killed inside the camp by his fellow POWs.

Walter Beyer, Berthold Seidel, Hans Demme, Hans Schomer and Willi Scholz were brought to trial for murder and all five defendants were found guilty, and subsequently executed by hanging at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on 10 July 1945.

Their executions were delayed until after the end of the war in Europe due to the fear of reprisals against Allied prisoners held by Germany. Afterwards, the bodies of the executed men were buried in Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery.

The case was prosecuted by Leon Jaworski, later to become famous as the special prosecutor in the Watergate case. The trial took place at Camp Gruber near Muskogee]

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