 On 6 April 1944 he was sentenced to death by judge Roland Freisler at the Volksgerichtshof for "undermining military morale" and "denigrating the Führer" ("Wehrkraftzersetzung" and "Verunglimpfung des Führers").Joseph Goebbels himself selected Freisler to preside over the trial and pressed for swift and harsh retribution.Knauf was beheaded on 2 May 1944, with the Fallbeil at Brandenburg-Görden Prison in Brandenburg an der Havel.