Charles M. Robinson
On Friday, September 28, 1945, U.S. Army official executioner Master Sergeant John C. Woods hanged U.S. Army Private Charles M. Robinson at the Loire Disciplinary Training Center at Le Mans, France for the crime of murder. (The Fifth Field: The Story of the 96 American Soldiers Sentenced to Death and Executed in Europe and North Africa in World War II)
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An ethnic German, Albert Ratter was born on June 5, 1909 in the Volhynia region of Russia; he left school after sixth grade. Moving to Germany at a young age and joining the Nazi Party on January 1, 1931, he served in the SA for one year. Married on September 28, 1937 and a land-owner, he joined the SS early and received SS number 14736; he had blood type A. Albert spent three months in the German Army in early 1939. During this period he lived in Berlin-Köpenick. Standing 5’9” tall, SS-Unterscharführer Ratter fought at Kharkov, as a commander of a Mark III N panzer (853) in the light platoon of the company, winning a Panzer Battle Badge in Silver on March 27, 1943. At Kursk, Ratter first served as the company troop leader, commanding Tiger S02 in the 8th (Heavy) Company. However, early in the attack, S01 became non-operational and the company commander switched tanks, placing Albert in S01 to supervise its repairs. (Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk: The Men of SS Panzer Regiments 1, 2 & 3 in Operation Citadel, July 5-15, 1943)