Gheorghe Cialâk (21 April 1886 – 7 December 1977) 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 ...

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

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 ...

. Born 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 ...

, he attended the Infantry and Cavalry Military School from 1906 to 1908, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant. He advanced in rank to lieutenant (1910), captain (1916), and major (1917), lieutenant colonel (1923), and colonel (1929). In 1938 he was promoted to brigadier general. From 1940 to 1941 Cialâk served as Director of the Personnel Directorate at the Ministry of War. In February 1941, he became General Officer Commanding the 4th Infantry Division, and in May 1941 he was awarded the Order of the Crown, Commander rank.Decretul regal nr. 1.300 din 9 mai 1941 pentru acordări de decorații, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CIX, nr. 109 din 10 mai 1941, partea I-a, p. 2.486. In January 1942, he was promoted to major general, and served as General Officer Commanding 7th Corps area and General Officer Commanding Cavalry Corps. In 1943 he fought with the Cavalry Corps on the Eastern Front. In January 1944 he was promoted to lieutenant general. After

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

of 23 August 1944, Romania joined the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. In mid-September, he arrived in Lugoj with his Cavalry Corps and fought against Axis at the battle of Timișoara. Cialâk was arrested in October 1944, after protesting the way the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

was treating units of recruits into the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

fighting on the front lines. Detained at Malmaison prison in Bucharest, he was released and put under house arrest in February 1945 at the intervention of the Chief of the Romanian General Staff, general Constantin Sănătescu. He retired in March 1945, and was acquitted by the Bucharest Court of Appeals and released in October 1946. However, he was arrested again in November 1951 and charged with

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

. After being incarcerated at Jilava prison for several years, he was ultimately released in October 1955. He died in 1977 in Bucharest.

References

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* 1886 births 1977 deaths Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Prisoners and detainees of Romania Romanian prisoners and detainees Military personnel from Bucharest {{Romania-mil-bio-stub