His defence lawyer was Gustav Steinbauer. Seyß-Inquart was nonetheless found guilty of all charges except conspiracy. On hearing of his death sentence, Seyss-Inquart made it clear he accepted responsibility for excesses during the war, "Death by hanging...well, in view of the whole situation, I never expected anything different. It's all right". He was hanged on 16 October 1946, at the age of 54, together with nine other Nuremberg defendants. His last words were "I hope that this execution is the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War and that the lesson taken from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between peoples. I believe in Germany".