Nazi head hunter invented his own guillotine killed 3,000
The name Johann Reichhart might not be one synonymous with Nazi Germany but his ruthless killing streak made him one of the most feared members of the regime.
Germany's chief executioner claimed the lives of some 3,165 with the vast majority coming during World War II.
Criminals, resistance fighters and dissenters made up the bulk of his victims, whose lives he ended with the simple plunge of his guillotine.
Johann Reichhart claimed the lives of some 3,165 with the vast majority coming during World War II
In his bloodiest day, the 'remorseless' Reichhart executed 32 people with cold efficiency, earning his feared nickname 'Head Hunter' through his dedication to the unenviable job.
Marc von Luke, a journalist who has written about Reichhart, said: 'He killed quickly, efficiently and without remorse. Under the Nazi regime, Johann Reichhart despatched criminals and resistance fighters, and after the end of the war he hung up Nazis for the Allies. Until the end of his life, he believed in the benefits of the death penalty.
'Reichhart had the ambition to become the best hangman in Germany, sure that he was a master of his art. No one was going to kill faster than he did.
'He served the Nazis, but he served the Weimar Republic and the Allies too. It was the profession which was important, not the government of the day. He was simply good at his job.'
One could say Reichhart had killing in his blood being the eighth generation in his family to go into executions.
Born on April 29, 1893 he would first serve his country in the First World war before becoming a butcher in peacetime.
However after growing tired of the slaughter house he applied to become an executioner for the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice in Munich in 1924, assuming the post from his outgoing uncle.
Reichhart, seen here in the midde, immersed himself in his role and even invented a device called the 'double detective tongs' for his guillotine
His career in killing began in earnest with the execution by guillotine of Rupert Fischer and Andreas Hutterer for murder.
The administration promised him 150 Goldmarks for each execution, and announced: 'From April 1, 1924, Reichhart takes over the execution of all death sentences coming in the Free State of Bavaria to the execution by beheading with the guillotine.'
A lull in executions forced Reichhart to become a green grocer in neighbouring Holland but he was soon back in action after Hitler's rise to power in 1933 and soon became a vital clog in the Nazi killing machine.
Reichhart immersed himself in his role and even invented a device called the 'double detective tongs' that kept prisoners pinned down without the need to tie them with rope.
The metal clamp held the prisoner beneath the guillotine instead of rope meaning execution time was reduced to four seconds flat.
One of Reichhart's most famous victims was 21-year-old Sophie Scholl on February 22, 1943 whose 'crime' was to have been a leading member of the White Rose movement, which had peacefully resisted the regime by writing anti-Nazi leaflets and distributing them around university students in Munich.
One of Reichhart's most famous victims was 21-year-old Sophie Scholl, a leading member of the White Rose movement
Sophie was the first of her fellow conspirators to be led to her death, which took place within just three hours of being found guilty by the rabidly Nazi judge, Roland Freisler, in his People's Court, notorious for its kangaroo trials.
For executioners such as Sophie Scholl's killers like Reichhart, the Nazi boom in the use of the guillotine made them wealthy. Those who dropped the blade were paid 3,000 Reichsmarks per year — and received a 65 Reichsmark bonus per execution. Reichhart made enough to buy a villa in an affluent Munich suburb.
Cruelly, the Nazis even charged the families of those they had imprisoned and beheaded. For every day that a prisoner was held, a fee of 1.50 Reichsmarks was charged. The executions cost 300 Reichsmarks. Even the 12 pfennig cost of posting the invoice was demanded back by the Nazi state.
Married dad-of-three Reichhart had gained such notoriety that his children were taunted at school with chants such as 'headcutter, headcutter, your dad's a headcutter!'
The reputation of their father even drove one of his sons to suicide.
However Reichhart changed sides once the Reich was toppled by the Allies and he was captured by American soldiers.
Curiously, he was prisoner in Landsberg Prison for the purposes of denazification but not tried for carrying out his duty of judicial executioner.
After his released he helped in the hanging of 156 Nazi officers but after two mistaken identities he refused to carry out any more killings himself.
An episode of Forbidden History, which airs on Wednesday tonight, is dedicated to exploring the life of Hitler's head hunter.
Jamie Theakston, the show's presenter, said: 'Reichhhart developed his own guillotine modelled on the traditional French guillotine, but lighter and more mobile. It's horrific to think of it.
'He was very proud of what he did. He felt he was doing an important service.
'One of the reasons he ended up working for the Allies was that there were not a lot of people prepared to do that kind of thing.'
After years spent living alone, Reichhart died in a care home near Munich in 1972.