Joseph Malta (November 27, 1918 in
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from Downtown Crossing, downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War Patriot (American Re ...
;
Jose Malta
found at ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com - January 6, 1999) was the United States Army hangman who, with Master Sergeant John C. Woods
John Clarence Woods (June 5, 1911 – July 21, 1950) was a United States Army master sergeant who, with Joseph Malta, carried out the Nuremberg executions of ten former top leaders of the Third Reich on October 16, 1946, after they were sentenc ...
, carried out the Nuremberg executions The Nuremberg executions took place on 16 October 1946, shortly after the conclusion of the Nuremberg trials. Ten prominent members of the political and military leadership of Nazi Germany were executed by hanging: Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Alfred ...
of ten former top leaders of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
on October 16, 1946, after they were sentenced to death during the Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
. Malta was a 28-year-old military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...
man when he volunteered for the job. He ultimately hanged a total of 60 Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
government and military leaders. A floor sander in civilian life, Malta left the Army in 1947 and returned to his former job. "It was a pleasure doing it," noted Malta in 1996, echoing the sentiments of his colleague Woods.
References
Nuremberg Hangman: No Regrets
* Joseph Kingsbury-Smith
1918 births
1999 deaths
People from Revere, Massachusetts
Military personnel from Massachusetts
American executioners
Nuremberg trials
United States Army soldiers
American police officers
United States Army personnel of World War II
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