Major General (''Generalmajor'') Franz Krech (died 27 April 1944) was the German commander of the 41st Fortress Division of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

during the

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 ...

Axis occupation of Greece. He was ambushed and killed by a platoon of the

Greek People's Liberation Army Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

(ELAS) in

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

.''Meyer Hermann Από τη Βιέννη στα Καλάβρυτα. Τα αιματηρά ίχνη της 117ης Μεραρχίας Καταδρομών στη Σερβία και την Ελλάδα'', Estia, 2004, p. 512Yiannis Priovolos, ''Μόνιμοι Αξιωματικοί στον ΕΛΑΣ, οικειοθελώς ή εξ'ανάγκης'', Alfeios Publications, p. 515 It led to harsh reprisals by the occupying forces and contributed to the declaration of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

as an "operational zone", i.e. a war zone.

Ambush

A platoon of the 8th (

n) Regiment of ELAS, under 2nd Lieutenant Manolis Stathakis, ambushed the German major general''Από τη Βιέννη στα Καλάβρυτα. Τα αιματηρά ίχνη της 117ης Μεραρχίας Καταδρομών στη Σερβία και την Ελλάδα'', Estia, 2004, p. 512 in the region of Laconia on 27 April 1944. Krech and four members of his escort were killed. The day before, German Major General

Heinrich Kreipe Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe (5 June 1895 – 14 June 1976) was a German career soldier who served in both World War I and World War II. While leading German forces in occupied Crete in April 1944, he was abducted by British SOE officers ...

had been kidnapped by British agents and Greek civilian activists in Crete. The American OSS and the British SOE, with the collaboration of the Greek National Liberation Front, spread the story, for propaganda reasons (see Operation Hemlock) but also to prevent German reprisals, that Krech had been executed by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

as a "

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and ...

" and they publicized a forged letter calling on German soldiers to desert. It had also been alleged that Krech, along with Kreipe, had participated in the anti-Hitler "Free Germany" movement.

Reprisals

On 1 May, the Germans executed 200 communist prisoners at

Kaisariani Kaisariani ( el, Καισαριανή) is a suburb and a municipality in the eastern part of the Athens agglomeration in Greece. Geography Kaisariani is located about southeast of Athens city centre, and of the Acropolis of Athens. The munic ...

, a suburb of Athens. According to

Hellmuth Felmy Hellmuth Felmy (28 May 1885 – 14 December 1965) was a German general and war criminal during World War II, commanding forces in occupied Greece and Yugoslavia. A high-ranking Luftwaffe officer, Felmy was tried and convicted in the 1948 Hostag ...

's apology in the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

, the head of the collaborationist

Security Battalions The Security Battalions ( el, Τάγματα Ασφαλείας, Tagmata Asfaleias, derisively known as ''Germanotsoliades'' (Γερμανοτσολιάδες) or ''Tagmatasfalites'' (Ταγματασφαλίτες)) were Greek Collaboration with ...

in the Peloponnese, Colonel Dionysios Papadongonas, who was a friend of Krech, ordered on his own initiative the execution of further 100 members or suspected members of the Resistance. At the same time, the Germans killed another 25 in Athens. In total, at least 325 people were executed, and more executions followed in the wake of 117th Jäger Division's march from

Molaoi Molaoi ( el, Μολάοι) is a town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Monemvasia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has a ...

Sparti Sparta ( el, Σπάρτη ) is a city and municipality in Laconia, Greece. It lies at the site of ancient Sparta. The municipality was merged with six nearby municipalities in 2011, for a total population (as of 2011) of 35,259, of whom 17,408 li ...

. Felmy justified the number of the killings with Krech's status as a divisional commander. The orders for reprisals were given by the Higher Military Commander of the Peloponnese, Major General

Karl von Le Suire __NOTOC__ Karl Hans Maximilian von Le Suire (8 November 1898 – 18 June 1954) was a German general during World War II who commanded the XXXXIX Mountain Corps. He was responsible for the Massacre of Kalavryta, in Greece. Life and career Karl von ...

. In May, the Peloponnese area was declared an "operational zone", i.e., a war zone.

Promotion

Krech was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general (''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

'') by Hitler and buried in Athens.

References

{{reflist German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) 1944 deaths Military assassinations German occupation of Greece during World War II Battles and operations involving the Greek People's Liberation Army Battles and operations involving the Greek Resistance Peloponnese in World War II History of Laconia German military personnel killed in World War II German Army personnel of World War I People from Görlitz Military personnel from Saxony