Alexander Andrae
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Alexander Andrae | |
---|---|
Rank | General der Flieger General der Artillerie |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Iron Cross |
Alexander Andrae (27 April 1888 – 3 April 1979), whose first name is often mistakenly given as Waldemar,[1] was a German military officer from Kösling, Upper Silesia. Initially pursuing an Army career, he then joined the security police and eventually the Luftwaffe.
During World War II he was appointed military governor of Crete. After the war, he was tried and imprisoned for war crimes committed there under his command.
Early life, World War I and Interbellum
Andrae was born in 1888 and joined the army in 1906. During
After the end of World War I, he remained in the Reichswehr, from which he retired in 1920. He then moved to the security police, where he stayed until 1935 when he re-entered the army. In August 1936, he joined the then newly established Luftwaffe.
World War II
Serving in the Luftwaffe as the Commander of Air Region Staffs 17 (Poland), 300 (Denmark), Balkans, and Crete, Andrae took part in the campaigns against
Post-war
After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, Andrae was captured by the British and then extradited to Greece to be tried for war crimes he was responsible for while in Crete. In 1947, he was condemned to four life sentences. In 1951, his sentence was commuted by King Paul of Greece to four years imprisonment. As a result, after spending four years in prison, he was released in January 1952. Later, Andrae co-founded the German Reich Party.[3]
References
- ^ Beevor, Antony. Crete: The Battle and the Resistance, John Murray Ltd, 1991. Penguin Books, 1992.
- ^ Fermor, Patrick Leigh. Abducting a General: The Kreipe Operation and SOE in Crete, John Murray Ltd, 2014.
- ISBN 3-531-14516-9.
External links
- A. Andrae bio from Axis Biographical Research( Archived 2009-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, 25 October 2009)
- A. Andrae in Lexikon der Wehrmacht