Dietrich von Choltitz

Dietrich von Choltitz

Dietrich Hugo Hermann von Choltitz (German pronunciation: [ˈdiːtʁɪç fɔn ˈkɔltɪts]; 9 November 1894 – 5 November 1966) was a German general. Sometimes referred to as the Saviour of Paris, he served in the Wehrmacht (armed forces) of Nazi Germany during World War II, as well as serving in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, and the Royal Saxon Army during World War I. Born into an aristocratic Prussian family with a long history of military service, Choltitz joined the army at a young age and saw service on the Western Front during the First World War (1914–1918). He rose to the rank of Leutnant by the end of the war and was active in the interwar period helping Germany rebuild its armed forces. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Dietrich von Choltitz has received more than 1,107,734 page views. His biography is available in 36 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 32 in 2019). Dietrich von Choltitz is the 173rd most popular military personnel (up from 202nd in 2019), the 406th most popular biography from Germany (up from 476th in 2019) and the 41st most popular German Military Personnel.

Dietrich von Choltitz was a German general who was in charge of the defence of Paris during World War II. He is most famous for his refusal to obey Adolf Hitler's order to destroy Paris.