Dumitru Carlaonț (28 October 1888 – 2 July 1970) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n major-general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, who is known for being imprisoned and acquitted for war crimes three times. He was the younger brother of General

Ioan Carlaonț Ioan Carlaonț (19 October 1885 – 6 February 1952) was a Romanian major general, who led an anti-communist resistance movement in Oltenia after World War II. He was the older brother of General Dumitru Carlaonț. He was born in Miculești, G ...

. Born in Miculești,

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...

. After attending the Artillery Military School in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

(1908–1910), he graduated with the rank of second lieutenant, advancing to lieutenant in 1913, and to captain in 1916. He commanded in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the 5th Artillery Regiment, fighting in the Romanian Campaign at the battles of the

Jiu Valley The Jiu Valley ( , ) is a region in southwestern Transylvania, Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains. The region was heavily industrialised and the main activity ...

and Dragoslavele. In 1917 he was promoted to major, and was awarded the Order of the Crown, knight rank. Subsequently, he fought in the Campaign of 1917, at the battles of

Mărășești Mărășești () is a small town in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It administers six villages: Călimănești, Haret, Modruzeni, Pădureni, Siretu, and Tișița. Geography The town is located in the eastern part of the county, on th ...

and

Oituz Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; ) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poiana Sărată (' ...

. After the war, Carlaonț pursued his studies at the Higher War School (1919–1920), after which he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1927, to colonel in 1934, and to brigadier general in 1939. From May 30 to June 10, 1941 he was Deputy General Officer Commanding the 4th Infantry Division, while from July 1 to August 26 he was Military Commander of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

. Afterwards he took command of the 8th Division, which he led in battle on the Eastern Front. For his actions during the Siege of Odessa, he was awarded the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave () is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaign of the World War I ...

, 3rd class. Carlaonț was promoted to major general in 1942, and served as Secretary-General in the Ministry of War September–October 1944, after which he went into reserve and then retired in 1945. He was arrested in February 1945, accused of war crimes while he was military commander of Iași in 1941, right after the

Iași pogrom The Iași pogrom (, sometimes anglicized as Jassy) was a series of pogroms launched by governmental forces under Marshal and Leader Ion Antonescu in the Romanian city of Iași against its History of the Jews in Iași, Jewish community, which la ...

of 28–30 June 1941, but was freed in August 1945. He was arrested again in October 1948 and imprisoned, but acquitted and released in 1950. In 1951, he was condemned to 12 years imprisonment for crimes against humanity. However, he was pardoned and released in 1955. He was again arrested from 1959 to 1960. This time, he was condemned to 7 years imprisonment for anti-social activities but released later that year from

Jilava Prison Jilava Prison () is a prison located in Jilava, a village south of Bucharest, Romania. History The prison began as Fort 13, part of the fortifications of Bucharest built in the 1870s and 1880s. It served as an arms deposit and garrison until 1 ...

. He died in

in 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlaont Dumitru 1888 births 1970 deaths Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian military personnel of World War II People from Gorj County Romanian military personnel of World War I Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave Inmates of Jilava Prison Romanian prisoners and detainees Recipients of Romanian presidential pardons People detained by the Securitate