Dietrich von Choltitz

Dietrich von Choltitz
Dietrich von Choltitz in 1940
Born	9 November 1894(1894-11-09) Gräflich Wiese, district of Neustadt (Oberschlesien)
Died	4 November 1966(1966-11-04) (aged 71) Baden-Baden
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1907-1945
Rank	General der Infanterie
Commands held	11. Panzer Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz (9 November 1894 – 4 November 1966) was the German military governor of Paris during the closing days of the German occupation of that city during World War II. He claimed to have disobeyed Hitler's order to leave Paris in rubble during this last stage of the war, although this is disputed.

Career

In World War I, von Choltitz served on the Western Front, reaching the rank of lieutenant. He remained in the Reichswehr during the Weimar Republic, becoming a cavalry captain in 1929. Later he became commander of the 3rd battalion of the Luftlande-Infanterieregiment 16, first as a major, and from 1938 as a lieutenant-colonel.

In World War II, von Choltitz' battalion was engaged in the occupation of Rotterdam via air landings in 1940 (earning him a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross). In September 1940 he became commander of the whole regiment and from 1941 as a full colonel. In the war against the Soviet Union, von Choltitz' regiment was engaged in the siege of the city of Sevastopol in June 1942. In the same year he became a major-general, and in 1943 a lieutenant-general. His command posts included assistant commander of the 260th Infantry Division and commander of the 48th Panzer Corps. From March 1944, he served in Italy, and from June 1944 on the Western Front. Later, as an Allied prisoner at Trent Park in England, he admitted in a conversation with fellow prisoners (recorded by the British unknown to him or his fellow inmates) to "executing the most difficult order of my life in Russia, (...) liquidation of the Jews. I have executed this order in its entirety nonetheless..." recorded on 29 August 1944.^[1]

Governor of Paris

Further information: Liberation of Paris

On 1 August 1944 von Choltitz was promoted to the rank of general of infantry, and on August 7, he became the military governor of Paris. He arrived at Paris on 9 August. In the following 16 days, he claimed to have disobeyed several direct orders from Adolf Hitler to destroy the city. Hitler's order from 23 August said: "The city must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete debris." A common account^{[citation needed]} holds that Hitler phoned him in a rage, screaming, "Brennt Paris?" ("Is Paris burning?") [According to Col. Genl Jodl, Hitler's chief of staff, the question "Is Paris burning?" was apparently addressed to him in the room. He continued: "Jodl, I want to know... is Paris burning? Is Paris burning right now, Jodl?" Von Choltitz claimed to have prevented a complete uprising of the city's inhabitants and direct battles within the city by a mix of active contact with his enemies, negotiation with the Resistance, and demonstrations of power, ultimately preventing any major damage to the famous city. He and 17,000 men under his command surrendered to French general Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque and the Resistance leader Henri Rol-Tanguy at the Gare Montparnasse on 25 August 1944. For preventing a second Stalingrad, von Choltitz was regarded as "saviour of Paris"^[2] by some.

Refer to this page for discussion of the evidence for and against von Choltitz's claims that he saved Paris.

Captivity and after

He was held for a while at Trent Park in North London, a prison camp for senior German Officers. Unknown by the inmates, many of their conversations were recorded.^[1][3] Selected transcripts were dramatized in the 2008 History Channel 5-part series The Wehrmacht. In the episode The Crimes, General von Choltitz is quoted as saying in October 1944:

We all share the guilt. We went along with everything, and we half-took the Nazis seriously instead of saying, "to hell with you and your stupid nonsense". I misled my soldiers into believing this rubbish. I feel utterly ashamed of myself. Perhaps we bear even more guilt than these uneducated animals. (apparently in reference to Hitler and other Nazi Party members)

After a spell in Camp Clinton, Mississippi he was released from Allied captivity in 1947. Dietrich von Choltitz died in November 1966 due to a longstanding war illness in the city hospital of Baden-Baden. He was buried at the city cemetery of Baden-Baden in the presence of high-ranking French officers. Baden-Baden was the post-World War II French headquarters in Germany.

In Film

• Is Paris Burning?, a French-American production starring Gert Fröbe as von Choltitz.

See also

• Liberation of Paris

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Neitzel, Sonke ed.; Tapping Hitler's Generals: Transcripts of Secret Conversations, 1942-1945, London: Frontline, 2007
2. ^ "Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz Dies; 'Savior of Paris' in '44 was 71". The New York Times: p. 88. November 6, 1966. 
3. ^ Listening to the Generals, Adam Ganz, Radio Play BBC Radio 4, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jn0q6

External links

• Historic.de - Biography und pictures (German)
• Entry on Find A Grave
• Dietrich von Choltitz (German)

Military offices
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Hermann Balck	Commander of 11.Panzer Division 4 March 1943 – 15 May 1943	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Johann Mickl
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Otto von Knobelsdorff	Commander of XLVIII. Panzerkorps 6 May 1943 – 30 August 1943	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppen Otto von Knobelsdorff
Preceded by General der Panzertruppen Otto von Knobelsdorff	Commander of XLVIII. Panzerkorps 30 September 1943 – 21 October 1943	Succeeded by General der Panzertruppen Heinrich Eberbach

Persondata
Name	Choltitz, Dietrich von
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 November 1894
Place of birth	Gräflich Wiese, district of Neustadt (Oberschlesien)
Date of death	4 November 1966
Place of death	Baden-Baden