Johann Fortner (25 November 1884 – 26 February 1947) was a German ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' 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 commanded the 718th Infantry Division from its formation in May 1941 until he was relieved in March 1943. During his command the division engaged in anti-

Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

operations throughout

occupied Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned among Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attack ...

, mainly within the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

. The

Nazi security warfare Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

conducted by the division whilst under his command involved brutal and widespread massacres and burning of villages. He was retired from active duty in 1944. After the war, Fortner was extradited to Yugoslavia, convicted in a war crimes trial and executed.

Early life

Fortner was born in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

in the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

in 1884. In 1903, Fortner joined the 5th Bavarian Regiment of the

Royal Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army () was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1918) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty () of Bavaria into that of the German ...

as a ''

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...

'' (officer cadet). During

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 ...

Fortner served on the Western Front with the 5th Bavarian Infantry Regiment (as part of the

4th Bavarian Infantry Division The 4th Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the German Army (German Empire), Imperial German Army. The division was formed on November 27, 1815, as an Infantry Division ...

. He started the war as an ''

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'' and was promoted to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'', commanded a company of his regiment and was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

2nd and 1st Class. He was captured by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

Battle of Flers-Courcelette A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

on 15 September 1916 and remained a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

for the remainder of the war. Soon after he was released from internment in November 1919, Fortner transferred from the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

to the

Bavarian State Police The Bavarian Police () is the state police force of the German state of Bavaria under the umbrella of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. It has approximately 33,500 armed officers and roughly 8,500 other civilian employees. Organization Th ...

and over a period of 15 years rose to the rank of ''Polizei-Oberst'' (Police Colonel) before joining the Wehrmacht soon after its creation in 1935 with the rank of ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' (Colonel), and was appointed as the commander of the

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

military district.

World War II

In 1939 Fortner was appointed as the director of training in

Landeck Landeck () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the capital of the district of Landeck. Geography Landeck is located in the Tyrolean Oberland in the west of the state at an elevation of about . The town is situated in the valley of the Inn ...

in Tyrol, Austria. In May 1941 he was appointed to command the newly raised 718th Infantry Division, and this was followed by his promotion to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' in June 1941. While Fortner was based in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, he visited the Bosnian National Museum and demanded that the museum custodians hand over a 14th-century illuminated Jewish manuscript known as the

Sarajevo Haggadah The Sarajevo Haggadah is an illuminated manuscript that contains the illustrated traditional text of the Passover Haggadah which accompanies the Passover Seder. It belongs to a group of Spanish-Provençal Sephardic Haggadahs, originating "somew ...

. The chief librarian of the museum, a

Bosnian Muslim Islam is the most widespread religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was introduced to the local population in the 15th and 16th centuries as a result of the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Muslims make the largest religious co ...

, told Fortner that the manuscript had already been handed over to another German officer. The librarian then smuggled the manuscript to a village in the mountains, where the local

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

secreted it amongst the

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

s in his library. The manuscript survived the war and was returned to the museum. Between May 1941 and June 1942, Fortner's division was the only permanent German garrison in the Independent State of Croatia. While under Fortner's command, members of the division executed

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

in the

Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia The Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia (; ) was the area of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that was placed under a military government of occupation by the Wehrmacht following the invasion, occupation and dismantling of Yugoslavia in ...

. In November 1942, Fortner was promoted to ''Generalleutnant''. On 15 March 1943, Fortner was relieved and placed on the reserve list of generals. On 31 March 1944, he was retired from military duties. Fortner was extradited to Yugoslavia after the war ended, tried and found guilty of the murder of Yugoslav civilians during his command of the 718th Infantry Division. He was sentenced to death on 16 February 1947 and was hanged less than two weeks later.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortner, Johann 1884 births 1947 deaths Executed German mass murderers Executed military leaders Executed people from Rhineland-Palatinate German Army personnel of World War I German police officers convicted of murder German prisoners of war in World War I Holocaust perpetrators in Yugoslavia Romani genocide perpetrators Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Military personnel of Bavaria Nazis executed by Yugoslavia by hanging People extradited from Germany People extradited to Yugoslavia People from Zweibrücken Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom