Artur Phleps | |
|---|---|
 Phleps in 1942 | |
| Birth name | Artur Gustav Martin Phleps |
| Nickname(s) | Papa Phleps |
| Born | 29 November 1881 Birthälm, Szeben County, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 21 September 1944 (aged 62) Șimand, Arad, Romania |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/ | |
| Years of service | 1900–1944 |
| Rank | SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS (Lieutenant General) |
| Unit | SS Motorised Division Wiking |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
| Spouse(s) | Grete |
| Children |
|
Artur Gustav Martin Phleps (German pronunciation: [ˈaʁtuːɐ̯ ˈɡʊstaf ˈmaʁtiːn ˈflɛps]; 29 November 1881 – 21 September 1944) was an Austro-Hungarian, Romanian and Nazi German army officer who held the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS (lieutenant general) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. An Austro-Hungarian Army officer before and during World War I, Phleps specialised in mountain warfare and logistics, and had been promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) by the end of the war. During the interwar period he joined the Romanian Army, reaching the rank of General de divizie (major general), and also became an adviser to King Carol. After he spoke out against the government, he was sidelined and asked to be dismissed from the army.
In 1941, he left Romania and joined the Waffen-SS as an SS-Standartenführer (colonel) under his mother's maiden name of Stolz. Seeing action on the Eastern Front as a regimental commander with the SS Motorised Division Wiking, he later raised and commanded the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen, raised the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian), and commanded the V SS Mountain Corps. Units under his command committed many crimes against the civilian population of the Independent State of Croatia, German-occupied territory of Serbia and Italian governorate of Montenegro.[1][2] His final appointment was as plenipotentiary general in south Siebenbürgen (Transylvania) and the Banat, during which he organised the evacuation of the Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) of Siebenbürgen to the Reich. In addition to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Phleps was awarded the German Cross in Gold, and after he was shot and killed in the aftermath of the 1944 Romanian coup d'état, he was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.
- ^ Lopičić 2009, pp. 26–30.
- ^ Lopičić 2009, pp. 112–113.