Johannes Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a Colonel-General of the Wehrmacht armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II, commanding occupation forces in both Poland and France. He committed suicide in 1948 rather than face trial for war crimes, although he was likely to be acquitted.
Biography[]
Johannes Blaskowitz was born on 10 July 1883 in Paterswalde, East Prussia, German Empire (Bolshaya Polyana, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia). He entered the Imperial German Army in 1901 and served in World War I, and he rose in the ranks of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht during peacetime. Blaskowitz was known as a traditional soldier, and he was opposed to the participation of regular German troops in SS and Einsatzgruppen war crimes. In 1939, he commanded the German 8th Army during the invasion of Poland, and he led occupation forces there until 29 May 1940, when he was relieved of command for his disagreements with Hitler over German atrocities. In May 1940, he became the Governor of Northern France under the German occupation, and he was sent to lead the German 1st Army on the southwest coast of France in October of that year.
In May 1944, Blaskowitz was given a major command when he took over Army Group G from General Gerd von Rundstedt, who was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, West. Blaskowitz's army group was outnumbered and lacked air defense during the Operation Dragoon landings by the US Army in southern France, and he led a fighting withdrawal north to avoid encirclement. Blaskowitz withdrew to the Vosges mountains to refuel and regroup, and he fought the Americans at Luneville from 18 to 20 September 1944 with assistance from Hasso von Manteuffel's 5th Panzer Army. During the Battle of the Bulge, his attack was repelled, and he was sent to the Netherlands to take over Army Group H from Kurt Student. On 6 May 1945, he signed a surrender document with Canadian general Charles Foulkes, and he was charged with war crimes during the Nuremberg Trials. On 5 February 1948, he broke away from his guards and jumped to his death from a balcony in the court building, killing himself to avoid trial. He was posthumously acquitted.