Franz Krech

Major General(Generalmajor)Franz Krech(23 June 1889 – 27 April 1944) was the German commander of the41st Fortress Divisionof theWehrmachtduring theWorld War IIAxis occupation of Greece.He was ambushed and killed by a platoon of theGreek People's Liberation Army(ELAS) inMolaoi,Laconia.It led to harsh reprisals by the occupying forces and contributed to the declaration of thePeloponneseas an "operational zone", i.e. a war zone.

Biography

Franz Krech was born on 23 June 1889 inGörlitz.He joined theDeutsches Heeron the 2nd of May, 1908 and became a lieutenant on 19 August 1909. He saw combat duringWorld War Ias part of theInfanterie-Regiment „von Courbière “(2. Posensches) Nr. 19.He received both classes of the 1914Iron Crossand theHonour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 for combatants,theWound Badgein black and theMilitary Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration.Postwar, he remained in theReichswehrand theWehrmacht,later receiving theWehrmacht Long Service Award.During the outbreak ofWorld War IIhe was anOberst,serving as an Army Selection Inspector.

Ambush

A platoon of the 8th (Laconian) Regiment of ELAS, under 2nd LieutenantManolis Stathakis,ambushed the German major generalin the region of Laconia on 27 April 1944. Krech and four members of his escort were killed. The day before, German Major GeneralHeinrich Kreipehad been kidnappedby British agents and Greek civilian activists in Crete.

The AmericanOSSand the BritishSOE,with the collaboration of the GreekNational Liberation Front,spread the story, for propaganda reasons (seeOperation Hemlock) but also to preventGerman reprisals,that Krech had been executed by theGestapoas a "dissident"and they publicized a forged letter calling on German soldiers to desert.It had also been alleged that Krech, along with Kreipe, had participated in the anti-Hitler "Free Germany" movement.

Reprisals

On 1 May, theGermans executed 200 communist prisonersatKaisariani,a suburb of Athens. According toHellmuth Felmy's apology in theNuremberg trials,the head of the collaborationistSecurity Battalionsin the Peloponnese, Colonel Dionysios Papadongonas, who was a friend of Krech, ordered on his own initiative the execution of further 100 members or suspected members of the Resistance.At the same time, the Germans killed another 25 in Athens. In total, at least 325 people were executed, and more executions followed in the wake of117th Jäger Division's march fromMolaoitoSparti.Felmy justified the number of the killings with Krech's status as a divisional commander. The orders for reprisals were given by the Higher Military Commander of the Peloponnese, Major GeneralKarl von Le Suire.

In May, the Peloponnese area was declared an "operational zone", i.e., a war zone.

Promotion

Krech was posthumously promoted to lieutenant general (Generalleutnant) by Hitler and buried in Athens.