Ulrich Kleemann (23 March 1892 – 1 January 1963) was a German 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 ...

and a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

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 ...

. He commanded the 90th Light Africa Division in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

from 10 April 1942 to 13 July 1942 and from 10 August 1942 to 1 November 1942. During the

Dodecanese Campaign The Dodecanese campaign was the capture and occupation of the Dodecanese islands by German forces during World War II. Following the signing of the Armistice of Cassibile on 3 September 1943, Italy switched sides and joined the Allies. As a ...

, Kleemann commanded the 7,500-strong Sturm-Division "Rhodos" during the attack on the Italian garrison of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. Kleeman defeated the Italians within two days, before British reinforcements could arrive in Rhodes. In September 1943, barely two weeks after the Italian surrender, British forces landed on

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

Leros Leros (), also called Lero (from the Italian language), is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by a nine-hour ferry ride or by a 45-min ...

, and

Kos Kos or Cos (; ) is a Greek island, which is part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 37,089 (2021 census), making ...

. Kleemann counterattacked and within two months overran the three British garrisons. In June 1944, two SS officers arrived by plane in Rhodes to hold discussions with Kleemann about the ( Ladino speaking) Jews of Rhodes. On 13 July Kleemann issued an order ordering the Jewish population of Rhodes to gather in the city of Rhodes and the towns of Trianda, Cremasto and Villanova by noon on 17 July. On 16 July Kleemann was forced to issue another order stating that the Jewish question on Rhodes had apparently given rise to "doubts" and barring further questioning of orders by the troops. Of the approximately 2,000 members of the ancient Jewish community of

, 1,700 were rounded up and transported to mainland Europe. Only about 160 of them survived the camps. Out of 6,000 Ladino-speaking Jews in the Dodecanese Islands, some 1,200 survived by escaping to the nearby coast of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. From 27 November 1944 to 8 May 1945, Kleeman commanded Panzer Corps ''Feldherrnhalle'' on the Eastern Front. Kleeman's tank corps fought in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and was destroyed in the

Battle of Budapest The siege of Budapest or battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budapes ...

Command history

* 1942 to 1943 General Officer Commanding,

90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 90th Light Infantry Division was a light infantry Division (military), division of the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army during World War II that served in North African Campaign, North Africa as well as Mediterranean and Middle East thea ...

* 1943 to 1944 General Officer Commanding, Assault Division "Rhodes" * 1944 to 1945 General Officer Commanding,

Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle The Panzerkorps ''Feldherrnhalle'' was a German army corps (panzer corps) that fought on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. It was formed of Sturmabteilung (SA) members. Unlike the Waffen-SS, ''Feldherrenhalle'' operated under the W ...

Awards and decorations

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 ...

(1914) 2nd Class (26 October 1914) &1st Class (8 July 1918)Thomas 1997, p. 372. *

Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...

(1939) 2nd Class (19 September 1939) & 1st Class (25 October 1939) *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was lower in precedence than the Grand C ...

** Knight's Cross on 13 October 1941 as

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 ...

and commander of 3. Schützen-BrigadeFellgiebel 2000, p. 258. ** Oak Leaves on 16 September 1943 as

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 ...

and commander of Sturm-Division Rhodos

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleemann, Ulrich 1892 births 1963 deaths Generals of Panzer Troops Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 20th-century Freikorps personnel People from Bad Langensalza Military personnel from Thuringia

Command history

Awards and decorations

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography