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

. Chirnoagă was born in 1894 in

Poduri Poduri is a Commune in Romania, 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 Neolithi ...

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 there a ...

, 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 Chirnoagă ...

, 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 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 ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

and

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, 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 Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

, 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 declared Minister of Defence in a puppet government in exile established by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

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

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

near

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

where members of Nazi organizations and war criminals were held. On March 21, 1946, he was sentenced to death ''in absentia'' by the

Bucharest People's Tribunal The two Romanian People's Tribunals (), 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 Control Commission to try ...

. He was freed in April 1947, after which he lived in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. A

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

report from May 1949 identified Chirnoagă as a member of the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

, 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 a ...

. His wife, Lucia (born 1907) stayed in Bucharest, and as of 1953, was under investigation by the

Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...

. He later moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, 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 Romanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Carol I National Defence University alumni Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Officers of the Order of the Star of Romania People convicted by the Romanian People's Tribunals {{Romania-mil-bio-stub People sentenced to death in absentia