1. Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz was a German Generaloberst during World War II.
20 Facts About Johannes Blaskowitz
1. 2.
Johannes Blaskowitz wrote several memoranda to the German high command objecting to the criminal conduct of the Einsatzgruppen on the Eastern Front, and he handed out death sentences to SS members for crimes against Polish civilians.
3.
Johannes Blaskowitz commanded Army Group G during the Allied invasion of Southern France and Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front.
4.
Johannes Blaskowitz later commanded the remnants of Army Group H as it withdrew to Northern Netherlands before surrendering to Allied forces.
5.
Johannes Blaskowitz died by suicide during the trial on 5 February 1948.
6.
Johannes Blaskowitz was the son of a Protestant pastor, Hermann Blaskowitz, and his wife Marie Blaskowitz, nee Kuhn.
7.
In 1894, Johannes Blaskowitz joined cadet school at Koslin and afterwards at Berlin Lichterfelde.
8.
Johannes Blaskowitz rose to command an infantry company by 1918, and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery.
9.
Johannes Blaskowitz was mocked because of the poor Czech language used in the first decree as the occupation commander.
10.
On 28 September 1939, Johannes Blaskowitz accepted the surrender of General Tadeusz Kutrzeba and the Polish forces in Warsaw.
11.
Johannes Blaskowitz handed out death sentences to members of the SS for crimes against the civilian population, which were rescinded by Adolf Hitler.
12.
On 10 November 1942, the 1st and 7th Army under Johannes Blaskowitz's command launched Case Anton, the military occupation of Vichy France.
13.
However, Johannes Blaskowitz's forces failed to secure the Vichy French fleet at Toulon, which was scuttled by the French.
14.
In May 1944, following the appointment of Gerd von Rundstedt as Commander-in-Chief in the West, Blaskowitz was appointed the head of Army Group G This comparatively small command, consisting of the 1st Army and the 19th Army, was given the task of defending southern France from the imminent Allied invasion.
15.
Johannes Blaskowitz encouraged the troops deployed to support French agriculture to act "selflessly".
16.
Johannes Blaskowitz publicly distanced himself from units that committed the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre.
17.
Johannes Blaskowitz's forces had been weakened by the relocation of its divisions to other fronts and the replacement of its soldiers with third-rate Ostlegionen outfitted with obsolete equipment.
18.
Johannes Blaskowitz was in overall command of German forces defending Nancy, although the city was encircled and fell on 15 September 1944, most of the German forces escaped encirclement.
19.
The next day, both parties returned and, in the presence of both Foulkes and Prince Bernhard, Johannes Blaskowitz signed the surrender document, which in the meantime had been typed.
20.
Johannes Blaskowitz was tried for war crimes at the High Command Trial, one of the subsequent Nuremberg trials.