Paul von Kleist
| Surname | Kleist |
| Given Name | Paul |
| Born | 8 Aug 1881 |
| Died | 13 Nov 1954 |
| Country | Germany |
| Category | Military-Ground |
| Gender | Male |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbasePaul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was born into a Prussian aristocratic family in 1881. He graduated from a military academy in 1900 and served as a commander at the regiment level during WW1. He rose to divisional command in 1932 and retired from service in 1935. In Aug 1939, aged 58, he was recalled to duty as Germany made the final preparations for war. He participated in the invasion of Poland as the commanding officer of 22nd Panzer Corps, in the invasion of France as the commanding officer of Panzergruppe von Kleist, and in both the Balkans campaign and the invasion of the Soviet Union as the commanding officer of 1st Panzergruppe. In Nov 1942, he was made the commanding officer of Army Group A, in which role he participated in the failed attempt to capture the oil producing regions of southern Russia. He was promoted to the rank of field marshal in 1943. In Mar 1944, Adolf Hitler relieved him of his command for ordering German 8th Army to fall back without Hitler's permission; Kleist would hold no further active roles in the European War. He was captured by the Americans in 1945 and was handed over to Yugoslavia to face war crimes charges in 1946. In 1948, he was handed over to the Soviet Union for war crimes trials. Found guilty in 1952, he was sentenced to a 10-year prison term. He died while in captivity at the Vladimir Prison in Vladimir Oblast in Russia; he was the highest ranked German officer to die in Soviet captivity.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Jun 2013
Paul von Kleist Interactive Map
Photographs
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Paul von Kleist Timeline
| 8 Aug 1881 | Paul von Kleist was born in Braunfels an der Lahn in central Germany. |
| 28 Jun 1934 | Generalleutnant Ewald von Kleist, the German Army Commander in the Silesia region, was alarmed to discover from a local SA commander that both SS and SA units were arming for an attack on each other. |
| 29 Jun 1934 | Generalleutnant Ewald von Kleis flew to Berlin, Germany to warn General Werner von Fritsch of the impending violence between the SS and SA organizations of the Nazi Party. When Fritsch informed Walther von Reichenau at the Defence Ministry the latter simply replied that it was "too late now". |
| 15 May 1940 | Paul von Kleist was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. |
| 10 Apr 1941 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 13 Apr 1941 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 26 Aug 1941 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 27 Aug 1941 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 5 Oct 1941 | Field Marshal Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was named the commander of German 1.Panzerarmee. |
| 11 Oct 1941 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 12 Oct 1941 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 22 Nov 1941 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 17 Feb 1942 | Paul von Kleist was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. |
| 30 May 1942 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 22 Nov 1942 | Paul von Kleist was made the commanding officer of German Army Group A. |
| 19 Aug 1943 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 9 Oct 1943 | Paul von Kleist was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. |
| 30 Mar 1944 | Paul von Kleist was awarded Swords to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross medal. |
| 13 Nov 1954 | Paul von Kleist passed away in Vladimir Prison in Vladimir, Russia. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
20 Apr 2016 06:03:51 AM
In Yugoslavia, he was sentenced to 15 years in jail because of war crimes committed during the invasion of Yugoslavia.
11 Sep 2020 01:00:59 PM
Odd that the death date of Kleist is variously given as 13 Nov, 1954 (quite frequently in various sources)...and just as many sources saying 15th or 16th October, 1954. You would think we can get stuff like this right. Same with details of his capture, and sentencing terms issued by the Yuogoslavs and Russians. We hear anything from 10 yrs...15 yrs....25 yrs...and "life imprisonment" of his sentencing. Again, should be able to get simle things like this correct.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937
3 Oct 2013 06:39:11 AM
I heard a slightly different ending to von Kleist's story. He was not actually found 'guilty' of war crimes...this was a problem for the Soviet Legal team. Since he behaved reasonably in the USSR, he was charged with Anti-Soviet Activity (ie; by being 'kind' he had tried to convert Russians to Nazism)...therefore, he was found guilty as charged under USSR Law.