TORTURING YOUNG GIRLS

One of the women executed this way was Maria Naji.

Very little information survives about her crimes.

However, she was condemned as a war criminal accused of torturing young women — likely inside a prison or concentration camp.

In March 1946, she was brought before a huge crowd in Budapest.

Executioners fastened her to the pole.

Then the plank beneath her feet was removed.

Maria Naji died slowly, strangled against the execution post.

THE EXECUTION WAS DESIGNED TO HUMILIATE

These public deaths were not only punishment.

They were spectacles of shame.

Maria Naji was displayed before thousands as a traitor to her nation.

After her death, her hooded body reportedly remained hanging publicly for some time as a warning to others.

The message was clear:

The old regime was over.

And collaborators would suffer publicly.

HERTA KAŠPAROVÁ — THE WOMAN WHO USED THE SS FOR REVENGE

Another infamous case was Herta Kašparová.

She was a Czech woman who spoke fluent German.

As a young girl, she had been mocked by classmates and neighbors.

During the Nazi occupation, she eventually worked for Gestapo spies in her hometown.

She translated interrogations.

Reported resistance members.

And helped German occupiers identify local enemies.

THE WOMAN WHO SENT HER FORMER CLASSMATES TO THEIR DEATHS

In the final months of the war, Herta Kašparová allegedly took revenge on men who had humiliated her years earlier.

She specifically asked SS soldiers to execute four young men who had once bullied her at school.

The men had done nothing during the war to justify execution.

Yet all four were shot by firing squad later that same day.

At her war crimes trial, Herta reportedly admitted:

“I know that I caused the deaths of several people. I acted out of revenge.”

THE PUBLIC EXECUTION OF HERTA KAŠPAROVÁ

On September 13th, 1946, Herta Kašparová was led to her execution.

Thousands gathered to watch.

The moment she saw the execution pole, she collapsed to her knees crying.

Guards reportedly had to carry her forward.

Witnesses described her screaming hysterically while the executioner fastened the chest sling and tightened the noose around her neck.

Then the support was released.

Her body jerked violently.

Her head snapped from side to side while she struggled on the pole.

Eventually, a doctor declared her dead.

THE EXECUTIONER THREW DOWN HIS WHITE GLOVES

After the execution, the executioner reportedly threw his white gloves onto the ground.

It symbolized disgrace at having executed a woman.

Herta Kašparová’s body was placed into a coffin and buried before the watching crowd.

WHY THESE EXECUTIONS HAPPENED

The public pole hangings were meant to send a message.

These women had not only collaborated with Nazi Germany.

They were seen as having betrayed their nations and communities.

For many people after the war, humiliation was considered part of the punishment.

Not just death.

But public disgrace before thousands of witnesses.

THE FINAL IMAGE PEOPLE NEVER FORGOT

After the drop was released, executioners often covered the body with a white sheet.

The image became unforgettable:

A motionless figure hanging from a pole.

Covered in white cloth.

Surrounded by silent crowds.

It became one of the most haunting symbols of the women accused of betraying their countries during World War II — and who died publicly at the end of a rope.