Dumitru Carlaonț (28 October 1888 – 2 July 1970) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n major-general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, who is known for being imprisoned and acquitted for war crimes three times. He was the younger brother of General

Ioan Carlaonț Ioan Carlaonț (19 October 1885 – 6 February 1952) was a Romanian major general, who led an anti-communist resistance movement in Oltenia after World War II. He was the older brother of General Dumitru Carlaonț. He was born in Miculești, G ...

. Born in Miculești,

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gor(no)-'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolj (“lower Jiu”). Demographics In 2011, the county had a ...

. After attending the Artillery Military School in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

(1908–1910), he graduated with the rank of second lieutenant, advancing to lieutenant in 1913, and to captain in 1916. He commanded in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the 5th Artillery Regiment, fighting in the Romanian Campaign at the battles of the

Jiu Valley The Jiu Valley ( ro, Valea Jiului ) is a region in southwestern Transylvania, Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains. The region was heavily industrialised and th ...

and Dragoslavele. In 1917 he was promoted to major, and was awarded the Order of the Crown, knight rank. Subsequently, he fought in the Campaign of 1917, at the battles of Mărășești and

Oituz Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; hu, Gorzafalva) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poi ...

. After the war, Carlaonț pursued his studies at the

Higher War School The National Defence University of Warsaw ( – AON) was the civil-military highest defence academic institution in Poland, located in Warszawa–Rembertów. In 2016 it was succeeded by the War Studies University. The National Defence Universit ...

(1919–1920), after which he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1927, to colonel in 1934, and to brigadier general in 1939. From May 30 to June 10, 1941 he was Deputy General Officer Commanding the 4th Infantry Division, while from July 1 to August 26 he was Military Commander of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

. Afterwards he took command of the 8th Division, which he led in battle on the Eastern Front. For his actions during the

Siege of Odessa The siege of Odessa, known to the Soviets as the defence of Odessa, lasted from 8 August until 16 October 1941, during the early phase of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Odessa was a port on the ...

, he was awarded the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave ( ro, Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second Wor ...

, 3rd class. Carlaonț was promoted to major general in 1942, and served as Secretary-General in the Ministry of War September–October 1944, after which he went into reserve and then retired in 1945. He was arrested in February 1945, accused of war crimes while he was military commander of Iași in 1941, right after the

Iași pogrom The Iași pogrom (, sometimes anglicized as Jassy) was a series of pogroms launched by governmental forces under Marshal Ion Antonescu in the Romanian city of Iași against its Jewish community, which lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941. Accord ...

of 28–30 June 1941, but was freed in August 1945. He was arrested again in October 1948 and imprisoned, but acquitted and released in 1950. In 1951, he was condemned to 12 years imprisonment for crimes against humanity. However, he was pardoned and released in 1955. He was again arrested from 1959 to 1960. This time, he was condemned to 7 years imprisonment for anti-social activities but released later that year from Jilava prison. He died in

in 1970.

References

1888 births 1970 deaths Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Recipients of Romanian presidential pardons People from Gorj County Romanian prisoners and detainees Romanian military personnel of World War I Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave {{Romania-mil-bio-stub