Platon Chirnoagă (October 24, 1894 – March 29, 1974) 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 ...

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 ...

. Chirnoagă was born in 1894 in

Poduri Poduri is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Bucșești, Cernu, Cornet, Negreni, Poduri, Prohozești and Valea Șoșii. The Poduri archeological site of the late Neolithic Cucuteni-Trypillia ...

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county the ...

, one of eight children of Gheorghe Chirnoagă, a teacher, and his wife, Olimpia; one of his brothers,

Eugen Chirnoagă Eugen Chirnoagă (24 March 1891–June 14, 1965) was a Romanian chemist. Chirnoagă was born in 1891 in Poduri, Bacău County, one of eight children of Gheorghe Chirnoagă, a teacher, and his wife, Olimpia; one of his brothers, Platon Chirnoag� ...

, became a chemist. He attended military school from 1913 to 1915, graduating with the rank of second lieutenant. He then fought 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 ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

and

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1917. In 1919 he fought in the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War was fought between Hungary and Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. The Allies of World War I intended ...

, advancing to the rank of captain. From 1923 to 1925 he attended the Higher War School; he was promoted to major (1926), lieutenant colonel (May 1934), and then colonel (February 1939). In 1941, Chirnoagă was Chief Operation 3rd Army and then Vice Chief of Staff 3rd Army. He became Commanding Officer 7th Artillery Regiment and subsequently Vice Chief of Staff 3rd Army in 1942. In January 1944, he was promoted to brigadier general. Later that year, he was Commanding Officer 4th Artillery Brigade, General Officer Commanding 4th Division, and finally a German prisoner. In 1945, Chirnoagă was

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

while in exile in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. On 8 May 1945 he was arrested and interned at the Glasenbach camp, an

Allied 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 ...

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

near

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

where members of Nazi organizations and war criminals were held. He was freed in April 1947, after which he lived in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. A

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

report from May 1949 identified Chirnoagă as a member of the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...

, who had close contacts with

Horia Sima Horia Sima (3 July 1906 – 25 May 1993) was a Romanian fascist politician, best known as the second and last leader of the fascist paramilitary movement known as the Iron Guard (also known as the Legion of the Archangel Michael). Sima was ...

. He later moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and published his war memoirs in 1965. After 1968 he went to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, where he died in 1974.

References

Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II 1894 births 1974 deaths Romanian military personnel of World War I People from Bacău County Romanian people of the Hungarian–Romanian War Romanian prisoners of war Members of the Iron Guard Carol I National Defence University alumni Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania {{Romania-mil-bio-stub