Why A 19 Year Old Mother Was Executed By Guillotine

On the 5th August 1943, a 19 year old German woman made her way into the execution chamber of Plotzensee Prison, for a date with the all metal guillotine known as the falling axe. She was two years younger than Sophie Scholl, a woman considered a hero in Germany today as she stood up to a ruthless and brutal dictatorship. Liane Berkowitz, a teenager did exactly the same. She made her way inside the chamber with the small compact metal guillotine inside, and before her many had already lost their heads at the drop of the sharp angled blade. The executioner’s assistants grabbed her roughly and shoved her right under the blade, as the executioner then got ready to push the lever which would release the blade right onto her neck. But one of the most shocking parts of Liane Berkowitz’ execution was the fact that months before she had given birth. Despite being a young mother, the Third Reich’s brutal justice wouldn’t give her any mercy. But why specifically was she executed, and what did she do?