Dietrich von Choltitz
General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz (born
November 9,
1894,
Schloss Wiese,
Silesia; died
November 4,
1966,
Baden-Baden) was the
German military governor of
Paris during the closing days of the German occupation of that city during
World War II. He disobeyed
Hitler's order to leave Paris in rubble during this last stage of the war.
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). 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, in 1943 a
lieutenant general. His command posts included assistant commander of the 260th Infantry Division and commander of a
panzer corps. From March 1944, he served in
Italy, and from June 1944 on the
Western Front.
On
August 1,
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
August 9. In the following 16 days, he disobeyed several direct orders from
Adolf Hitler to destroy the city. Hitler's order from
August 23 said: "The city must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete debris." A common account holds that Hitler phoned him in a rage, screaming, "Is Paris burning?"
Von Choltitz 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
August 25,
1944. For preventing a second
Stalingrad, many regard von Choltitz as "saviour of Paris".
He was released from
Allied captivity in 1947. Dietrich von Choltitz died in November 1966 due to a longtime 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 WWII French headquarters in Germany.
* A French-American film was made about these events, entitled
Is Paris Burning?.
*
"History net" article about his spell in Paris
