Sava Caracaș (1890 – 15 March 1945) 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 ...

. He graduated the Infantry Military School in 1912 with the rank of second lieutenant. He advanced in rank to colonel in 1936. In 1938 Caracaș served as

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Iași County. At the order of the

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

, Armand Călinescu, he ordered the search of known sympathizers 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 were suspected of possessing weapons and propaganda materials. Wearing a

mărțișor Mărțișor () is the Romanian name of a tradition celebrated at the beginning of spring, in the month of March, and the name of the associated object made from two intertwined red and white strings with hanging tassel in Romania and Moldova, ve ...

was forbidden that year, since it was viewed as political insignia. From May 1941 to January 1942, he served as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

4th Corps Area. On 22 June 1941 Romania joined

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

in order to reclaim the lost territories of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

and

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

, which had been annexed by the Soviet Union in June 1940. From 29 June to 6 July 1941 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 ...

was launched by governmental forces under

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who made ...

against the Jewish community in Iași. On August 25, the commander of the 4th Corps Area, General Constantin Cernătescu, and his Chief of Staff, Colonel Caracaș, ordered all inhabitants of ethnic Jewish origin from the territory under their authority (the counties 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 ...

, Baia,

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, Bălți, and

Soroca Soroca (russian: link=no, Сороки, Soroki, uk, Сороки, Soroky, pl, Soroki, yi, סאָראָקע ''Soroke'') is a city and municipality in Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about north of Chișinău. It is the administrative ...

) to wear a

yellow badge Yellow badges (or yellow patches), also referred to as Jewish badges (german: Judenstern, lit=Jew's star), are badges that Jews were ordered to wear at various times during the Middle Ages by some caliphates, at various times during the Medieva ...

on their chest. In January 1942, Caracaș was promoted to brigadier general.Decretul Conducătorului Statului nr. 505 din 19 februarie 1942 pentru înaintări în Armata de Uscat, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CX, nr. 44 din 20 februarie 1942, partea I-a, p. 1.157. Starting în March 1942, he was Commanding Officer of the 10th Infantry Division. In August 1942 he led his division in the Battle of the Caucasus. In October 1943 he went into reserve until June 1944, when he became General Officer Commanding 7th Training Division. After the coup d'état of 23 August 1944, Romania switched sides and declared war on

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 ...

. In September of that year, Caracaș fought with his division at the Battle of Turda. In October 1944 he was appointed General Officer Commanding 20th Training Division. He died at a military hospital in Alba Iulia in March 1945. His awards include the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

, Officer rank (June 1940),Decretul Regal nr. 1.905 din 8 iunie 1940 pentru numiri de membri ai ordinului „Steaua României”, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CVIII, nr. 131 din 8 iunie 1940, partea I-a, p. 2.783. Order of the Crown, Commander rank (December 1943),Decretul Regal nr. 3.323 din 23 decembrie 1943 pentru conferiri de decorațiuni, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CXII, nr. 37 din 14 februarie 1944, partea I-a, p. 1.154. and Order of the Star, Commander rank (post-mortem, May 1945).Decretul Regal nr. 1.535 din 12 mai 1945 pentru conferiri de decorațiuni de război, publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CXIII, nr. 119 din 29 mai 1945, partea I-a, p. 4.414.

References

External links

* * 1890 births 1945 deaths Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian military personnel killed in World War II Prefects of Romania Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) {{Romania-mil-bio-stub