In the grim theater of Nazi Germany’s so-called “justice system,” no figure was more infamous or feared than Roland Freisler, the shrieking, sadistic president of the People’s Court (Volksgerichtshof). His name became synonymous with show trials, verbal abuse, and death sentences, especially in the wake of the failed July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
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Freisler didn’t just dispense Nazi justice—he embodied its cruelty, turning courtrooms into execution chambers with a gavel and a scream.
Who Was Roland Freisler?
Born in 1893, Freisler was a trained lawyer who became radicalized early in his political career. A committed Nazi, he served as a legal advisor during the early years of Hitler’s rule and helped craft the legal foundations of the Third Reich, including the oppressive race laws targeting Jews and other groups.
In 1942, he was appointed President of the People’s Court, a special tribunal created to punish those accused of treason, defeatism, or resistance. From that bench, Freisler presided over thousands of trials, often delivering death sentences within minutes.
The People’s Court: Theater of Terror
Freisler’s trials were public spectacles, filmed for propaganda. Wearing his judge’s robe like a uniform of power, he would shout, mock, and humiliate defendants while denying them proper legal defense. The outcome was almost always predetermined: death by hanging or execution.
His most infamous moment came in 1944 after the July 20 Plot, a failed attempt by German officers to kill Hitler by planting a bomb at his East Prussian headquarters, the Wolf’s Lair. The conspirators, including Claus von Stauffenberg, were quickly arrested, tortured, and brought before Freisler.
The July 20 Plot Trials
The trials were a national spectacle—and a warning. Freisler screamed at the accused in rage, calling them “traitors,” “cowards,” and “pigs.” Even decorated war heroes like General Ludwig Beck and Admiral Wilhelm Canaris were not spared Freisler’s fury.
Stauffenberg and others were sentenced to death and executed within hours, some hung by piano wire in Hitler’s private killing chamber. The brutality was intentionally filmed and shown to Nazi leaders to deter any further dissent.
Freisler handed down over 5,000 death sentences during his reign—many for minor resistance activities, or simply being associated with dissenters.
A Sudden and Ironic End
Roland Freisler’s reign of terror ended as violently as it began. On February 3, 1945, during an Allied bombing raid on Berlin, a U.S. bomb struck the People’s Court building. Freisler was killed instantly—crushed by debris while preparing paperwork for another trial.
Ironically, the man who orchestrated so many executions died not by enemy fire in battle, but by the very bombs he condemned others for wanting to drop on Nazi Germany.