Dietrich von choltitz biography
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Dietrich von Choltitz
German general (1894–1966)
"Choltitz" redirects here. For market town in the Czech Republic, see Choltice.
Dietrich Hugo Hermann von Choltitz (German pronunciation:[ˈdiːtʁɪçfɔnˈkɔltɪts]; 9 November 1894 – 5 November 1966) was a German general. Sometimes referred to as the Saviour of Paris, he served in the Wehrmacht (armed forces) of Nazi Germany during World War II, as well as serving in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, and the Royal Saxon Army during World War I.
Born into an aristocratic Prussian family with a long history of military service, Choltitz joined the army at a young age and saw service on the Western Front during the First World War (1914–1918). He rose to the rank of Leutnant by the end of the war and was active in the interwar period helping Germany rebuild its armed forces. In September 1939, during the invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II, he was serving in Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South. In M
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Dietrich von Choltitz
Dietrich Hugo Hermann von Choltitz (9 November1894 – 4 November1966) was a German General who served in the Royal Saxon Army during World War I and the German Army during World War II. He is chiefly remembered for his role as the last commander of Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, when he disobeyed Adolf Hitler's orders to level the city, but instead surrendered it to Free French forces.
Quotes
[edit]- Even today, I can not say with certainty whether he himself believed in his words or whether he was knowingly deceiving those around him to urge him to keep to the end.
- Have you read Churchill's speech? Appalling beyond all words! A Jewish brigade to go to Germany! Then the French will take the west and the Poles the east. The hate in that speech! I am completely shattered.
- I asked the Field Marshal von Manstein if he would take part in the actions against Hitler. Manstein was sitting in a chair and reading the Bible. Quick, almost embarrassed
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General Dietrich von Choltitz
Dietrich von Choltitz was a military leader in World War Two. He is now most famous for saving Paris from destruction in 1944. Adolf Hitler preferred to see the city destroyed than in the hands of the Allies, but Choltitz defied the dictator and surrendered the city to the enemy.
Born in 1894 in Silesia, Dietrich von Choltitz fought in World War One and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He stayed in the army after the war and in 1929 earned a further promotion to the rank of captain in a cavalry regiment. Later he was made commander of the Third battalion of the Luftlande-Infanterie Regiment 16, from 1938 as a lieutenant colonel.
Choltitz saw action in the Netherlands during World War Two. His battalion helped occupy Rotterdam in 1940. His leadership during this swift attack earned him the Knight's Cross.