"Off with his head?"

[Kitsune]

There are some movies / books where scenes are that the leader order executions
Afterwards, instead of being executed, they are spirited away to wait until the ruler forgets their order
Did anything like that ever happen historically?

[Simon_Jester]

On a national level, a lot of Germans quietly ignored Hitler's orders to wage scorched earth tactics against the advancing Allies and did NOT destroy infrastructure to deny it to the enemy- because they figured that one, Germany was about to lose and was going to need it in vaguely intact condition, and two, Hitler would be dead soon enough that it wouldn't matter.

[Tiriol]

On a national level, a lot of Germans quietly ignored Hitler's orders to wage scorched earth tactics against the advancing Allies and did NOT destroy infrastructure to deny it to the enemy- because they figured that one, Germany was about to lose and was going to need it in vaguely intact condition, and two, Hitler would be dead soon enough that it wouldn't matter.

At least Albert Speer went around the rapidly shrinking Reich and talked to higher-ranking officers and officials, trying to get them to ignore Hitler's orders of reducing Germany to the state of medieval ruins. I do suspect, though, that many had already decided on that course of action or would have done so even without Speer telling them that destroying every bit of infrastructure in Germany would be something of a stupid idea. However, I don't think that qualifies entirely, according to the OP, since Hitler definitively did not forget those orders, he was simply at the end incapable of executing people who were not in his immediate sphere of influence or somehow connected to his bunker.

[Thanas]

Then again you have examples like Dietrich von Choltitz, who allegedly refused to burn Paris on Hitler's orders when the allies approached.

[spaceviking]

On a national level, a lot of Germans quietly ignored Hitler's orders to wage scorched earth tactics against the advancing Allies and did NOT destroy infrastructure to deny it to the enemy- because they figured that one, Germany was about to lose and was going to need it in vaguely intact condition, and two, Hitler would be dead soon enough that it wouldn't matter.

At least Albert Speer went around the rapidly shrinking Reich and talked to higher-ranking officers and officials, trying to get them to ignore Hitler's orders of reducing Germany to the state of medieval ruins. I do suspect, though, that many had already decided on that course of action or would have done so even without Speer telling them that destroying every bit of infrastructure in Germany would be something of a stupid idea. However, I don't think that qualifies entirely, according to the OP, since Hitler definitively did not forget those orders, he was simply at the end incapable of executing people who were not in his immediate sphere of influence or somehow connected to his bunker.

I was under the impression that at least in the western sphere Speer's efforts to reduce damage to infrastructure were done with Hitler's agreement. I recall efforts to make bridges unusable, but not destroyed.

[Thanas]

Where is that from?

[spaceviking]

The Wages of Destruction, perhaps I am misremembering.