Sergeant Cyril William Sibley (* 10 October 1923 in Great Britain; "† 21 February 1945 in Dirmstein (Pfalz)) a flier of the Royal was air Force, which was shot briefly before the end of the Second World War over the Vorderpfalz and murdered afterwards by a functionary of the NSDAP.

The case Sibley

Firing

On 21 February 1945 349 four-engined British bombers of the types flew "Halifax "and "Lancaster "from a Air Force base in the county Yorkshire (English northeast coast) out a large-scale attack on the Rhine-hessian city Worms on the upper Rhine. Briefly before the goal the federation was attacked approximately at 20.30 o'clock by a German night interception squadron. 21 British machines were shot, which could throw others their bombs off.

Met "Halifax "with the number MZ 351 came south the district border into the Pfalz with Dirmstein down, whereby the pilot Alan Charles Widdowson died. The six remaining crew members could save themselves with the parachute. Five of them, that landed on free field, survived shank and war. Were navigator Terry Dillon, radio operator Michael Jordan, bomb contactor Jack Scott, Les Toogood and a further man.

Murder

The sixth survivor, the tail contactor Sibley (service number 1898606), got caught with his parachute in a crown of tree in the garden of the Dirmsteiner citizen Maria Gassner. After this Sibleys had supplied hurt hand, it became a little later of the local group leader Adolf Wolfert, the two member of the people storm - which commander of battalion George hardlive (* 12. May 1893 in Dirmstein; "† (executed) 11 October 1946 in Hameln) and the aide Heinrich K. -, under threats and with force of arms from the house Gassner accompanied gotten and to the local Gendarmerieposten brought. A time witness, that at that time Arthur Maurer, since 2004 of honorary chairmen of the culture association pc. Michael Dirmstein, described to 5. May 2006 the incident so (source: s. discussion side):

"Together with my friend Hans Landin was I as the first with the English airplane, which had fallen somewhat outside from Dirmstein. We found the dead pilot, who lay beside the wreck on the back and from mouth, nose and bled to ears. Its parachute had gotten tangled with one of the engines. After we had examined everything, we went into the place to the Gendarmerieposten, in order to announce a finding of the corpse. There a straight further member the flight crew was demonstrated. We heard that one decided to bring the prisoners into one foot hour removed green city. The prisoner and its three Bewacher, who tried to verscheuchen us, made themselves on the way by the station and the road. I followed with other young people at some distance. Suddenly deviated the three armed with their prisoner to the right from the road and disappeared toward off stone between the houses. After few instants we heard several shots"Â… "

As was determined after end of war with the determinations of the allied ones, Wolfert the prisoner from next proximity in head shot and chest (after other sources in head and belly), hardlive hunted at the soil for the lying and probably already dead one still another pistol ball into the head. The aide took part not in the massacre and indicated later to its discharge because of its of the assassination plot nothing to have experienced.

The shooting was verscharrt in the afternoon 22 of February at the edge of the Dirmsteiner of cemetery in a mass grave, which had been dug for the six dead passengers of a second bomber fallen with Dirmstein and the pilots first. An American commission of inquiry determined with a Exhumierung on 6 August 1945 that Sibleys corpse without coffin had been put zuoberst in the grave. In April 1948 the Umbettung took place on the soldier cemetery from Rhine mountain at the Niederrhein.

Judgement and execution

Of 13. to 17. The two stood for May 1946 for Sibleys death responsible person in bath Lippspringe before a British military court. The judgement read "murder ", as punishment "death by "was expressed. The decision was confirmed on 22 July by the highest army court in London. On 11 October 1946 the two murderers in Hameln were executed and bestattet there afterwards anonymous.

Heinrich K. was condemned in first instance to ten years detention, acquitted in the appointment procedure however.

Literary processing

1985 found the blood act their literary processing by the Dirmsteiner poet walter Landin. Over a broadcast transmission of 2001 it gives a Typoskript.

Literature

• Walter Landin: If only grass grows. Narrations, publishing house, Landau 1985
• Marie Christine Werner: The English flier - the murder at Cyril William Sibley. Transmission of the southwest broadcast in Mainz on 10 February 2001, 21 to 22 o'clock, Typoskript, 47 sides
• Hannes Ziegler: Dirmstein in the national socialism. in: Dirmstein - aristocracy, farmer and citizen, chronicle of the municipality Dirmstein, P. 197 FF., publishers: Michael Martin, self publishing house of the donation for the promotion of the historical research, new city at the crying race, 23 November 2005 (1163. Anniversary of the first documentary mention Dirmsteins), ISBN 3-9808304-6-2

Related links

• Lynching murders at allied fliers (for date look, here: 2.1945)

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