Baron Herman Baltia (1 September 1863 – 16 September 1938) was a Belgian military officer, the son of the Belgian General Charles Baltia (of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

ish origin) and of a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

mother.

Career

In 1907 Baltia was made an officer in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

's cartographic institute, charged with preparing a mission for setting the southern boundaries of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

, although he did not get to begin this task. In 1908 he was promoted to Major. He became a member of the

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in 1910. A

watercolour painter Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, he organised several exhibitions on the Yser Front starting in 1916, even displaying some of his own works during the first exhibition. He did this while serving as commander of the 10th Ligne Regiment (the future

Chasseurs Ardennais The ''Bataillon de Chasseurs Ardennais'' (, or more figuratively, 'Ardennes Light Infantry') is an infantry formation in the Land Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Originally formed in 1933 to ensure the defense of Belgium's Luxembourg Prov ...

). Baltia received high military honours and was made a Major General in December 1916, having served with distinction in the vicinity of Yser and

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

and in North France. From 10 January 1920 (when the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

entered into force) to 1 June 1925 (in accordance with the law of 6 March 1925), Baltia, promoted to Lieutenant General on 26 March 1920, exercised the function of Royal High Commissioner of the East Cantons, responsible solely before the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. He obtained this post in particular due to his command of French as well as German but also, according to his detractors, due to his colonial experience, which would prove useful in a territory annexed by Belgium against its inhabitants' will. One of Baltia's first official acts was to have taken down the monument commemorating the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 located in the town of

Malmedy Malmedy (; german: Malmünd, ; wa, Måmdiy) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a populati ...

, where he had an official residence. After quickly fulfilling the high expectations on him, he was awarded the title of Baron by royal decree on 28 August 1920. Between 26 January and 23 July 1920, he organised a popular consultation of the type required by the Treaty of Versailles. In this vote, the opponents of annexation had to write their names and addresses in an ''ad hoc'' register. Supporters had to do nothing. Only 271 of 33,726 voters dared to do this.

Bibliography

* ''Eupen, Malmedy et Son Gouverneur'' (1923) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltia, Herman (Baron) 1863 births 1938 deaths People from Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Belgian generals Belgian Army generals of World War I Belgian politicians 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian male artists 20th-century Belgian painters Belgian people of Luxembourgian descent Barons of Belgium 20th-century Belgian male artists