Horst Günther was a German World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 prisoner of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

. An Afrika Korps

Afrika Korps

The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...

 gefreiter

Gefreiter

Gefreiter is the German, Swiss and Austrian equivalent for the military rank Private . Gefreiter was the lowest rank to which an ordinary soldier could be promoted. As a military rank it has existed since at least the 16th century...

, he was "captured on 9 May 1943 in Tunisia [and] murdered in Camp Aiken prisoner-of-war camp, South Carolina" United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.
He was suspected of collaborating with the American authorities and strangled by two fellow prisoners-of-war, Erich Gauss and Rudolf Straub, who hung his body from a tree in order to make it seem that Günther had killed himself. Gauss and Straub were hanged on 14 July 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

United States Disciplinary Barracks

The United States Disciplinary Barracks is a military prison located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army post in Kansas....

. They were buried in the prison cemetery. Straub is alleged to have said just before his execution: "What I did was done as a German soldier under orders. If I had not done so, I would have been punished when I returned to Germany."