Corneliu Calotescu (November 19, 1889 – October 17, 1970) was a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

major-general 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 was born in

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...

, the son of Constantin and Felicia Calotescu. Following into his father footsteps, he chose to go into a military career and enrolled in 1908 in the

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 ...

Military School. He graduated in 1910 with the rank of second lieutenant and joined the 30th ''Dorobanți Muscel'' Regiment. After Romania entered

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 ...

in August 1916 on the side of 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 ...

, Calotescu, by then a captain, fought at the Battle of Mărăști in the summer of 1917, and was subsequently decorated with the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave ( ro, Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second Wor ...

, Third Class. Calotescu advanced in rank to lieutenant colonel in 1927 and colonel in 1934. From 1934 to 1934 he commanded the 4th ''Dorobanți Argeș'' Infantry Regiment, and in October 1939 he was promoted to brigadier general. He served as Secretary-General to the Under-Secretary of State of Land Forces in 1940. In June 1940 he was awarder the Order of the Crown, Commander class.Decretul Regal nr. 1.906 din 8 iunie 1940 pentru numiri de membri ai ordinului "Coroana României", publicat în '' Monitorul Oficial'', anul CVIII, nr. 131 din 8 iunie 1940, partea I-a, p. 2.789. From 30 August 1941, he was Deputy Governor-General of

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 ...

, and then Governor-General of Bukovina; he served in this position from 5 September 1941 to 20 March 1943. At the urging of military dictator

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 ...

, Calotescu announced on October 10, 1941 his decision that all the Jews of Cernăuți must be

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

to Transnistria. After

Traian Popovici Traian Popovici (October 17, 1892 – June 4, 1946) was a Romanian lawyer and mayor of Cernăuți during World War II, known for saving 20,000 Jews of Bukovina from deportation. Life Popovici was born in Rușii Mănăstioarei village of t ...

, the Mayor of Cernăuți, intervened, Calotescu agreed that Popovici would be allowed to nominate 200 Jews who were to be exempted from deportation; the number grew to 20,000 after Popovici appealed directly to Antonescu. After being promoted to major general on 25 October 1942, Calotescu took command of the 3rd Infantry Division on 21 March 1943. After the coup d'état of 23 August 1944, he was named commander of the 2nd '' Vânători de munte'' Division, with which he fought in Transylvania until October 12, 1944, when he went into the reserves. On 22 March 1945, Calotescu was put into retirement by the Petru Groza government. In May 1945 he was tried by the

Bucharest People's Tribunal The two Romanian People's Tribunals ( ro, Tribunalele Poporului), the Bucharest People's Tribunal and the Northern Transylvania People's Tribunal (which sat in Cluj) were set up by the post-World War II government of Romania, overseen by the Allied ...

; found guilty of crimes perpetrated during the

1941 Odessa massacre The Odessa massacre was the mass murder of the Jewish population of Odessa and surrounding towns in the Transnistria Governorate during the autumn of 1941 and the winter of 1942 while it was under Romanian control. It was one of the worst mass ...

, he was condemned to death. Later that year his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he was sent to

Aiud Prison Aiud Prison is a prison complex in Aiud, Alba County, located in central Transylvania, Romania. It is infamous for the treatment of its political inmates, especially during World War II under the rule of Ion Antonescu, and later under the Commu ...

. In June 1956 he was pardoned and released. He returned to Pitești, where he died in 1970.

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References

1889 births 1970 deaths People from Pitești Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian Land Forces generals Holocaust perpetrators in Romania Romanian people convicted of war crimes Romanian prisoners and detainees Inmates of Aiud prison People detained by the Securitate Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) {{Romania-mil-bio-stub