Harald Poelchau was hired to be a prison chaplain on April 1, 1933. He was twenty-nine, the son of a pastor. A year later, he witnessed his first execution. I had already experienced sleepless nights leading up to the dreaded day.… Before I knew it, the executioner threw the prisoner to the ground, pressed his neck against a block of wood and immediately beheaded him with a hand ax. I did not look. I was overcome with nausea and tried desperately to regain control of myself.
