GERMAN MILITARY TERRITORIES OF SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
DURING WWII
Immediately after the conquest of Greece and Yugoslavia in 1941, all German
forces and armies - from army, navy and air - operating in both areas were
united into one single overall command styled Südost.
Until 1943 the heads of this command had not only a purely military mission.
They were also the chief administrators of all the occupied territories and
as such not only the German fighting troops - like those in occupation of
Croatia - but also the German military administrators of Greece and Serbia
were under their authority.
In 1943 two major changes toke place :
- in aug 1943 a separate military government for the South East (covering
Serbia and "German" Greece) and formally only concerned with civil and
administrative matters was established, Südost command now only retaining
the purely military affairs.
- in sep 1943 the territories, which till then had been under Italian rule,
were taken over by the Germans. At first they were governed by the Südost
command, but by the end of the year most of them (most of former "Italian"
Greece in oct - Albania and Montenegro in dec) had been transferred to the
military government, only the Greek islands (Crete, the Ionian Islands, ...)
the Dodecanesos and the German forces in Croatia now remaining under Südost
command as before.
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COMMANDERS IN CHARGE OF CIVIL-ADMINISTRATIVE AND MILITARY
AFFAIRS 1941 - 1943, OF MILITARY AFFAIRS AND THE ISLANDS
1943 - 1945
(Directly subordinated to the Führer)
Armed Forces Commanders South East
Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Südost
1941 Generalfieldmarsh. Wilhelm Sigmund List,
Commander of the 12th Army 1880 - 1971
1941 - 1942 Gen. Walter Kuntze* 1883 - 1968
1942 Gen. Alexander Löhr, Commander of Army
Group E 1885 - 1947
Commander in Chief South East
Oberbefehlshaber Südost
1942 - 1943 Gen. Alexander Löhr, Commander of Army
Group E s.a.
1943 - 1945 Generalfieldmarsh. Maximilian Maria
Joseph, Reichsfreiherr von und zu Weichs
zu Glon, Commander of Army Group F. 1881 - 1954
Although the command was only formally abolished in 1945, it actually lost
all importance in 1944.
(See also subordinated commanders in Greece and Yugoslavia)
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Military Commander South East
Militärbefehlshaber Südost
(Subordinated to the O.K.W. - was at the same time administrator of Serbia
and Commander of the occupation forces troops in Serbia)
1943 - 1944 Gen. Gustav Hans Felber 1889 - 1962
Special Plenipotentiary of the Reichsministry of Foreign Affairs for the
South East
Sonderbevolmächtigter des Auswärtiges Amts für den Südosten
(The Special Plenipotentiary was in charge of general political affairs (a
kind of political adviser) and international issues resulting from the
occupation but his main task was however to prepare the legal way for the
"final solution")
1943 - 1944 Hermann Neubacher 1893 - 1960
Higher SS And Police Leaders
Höhere SS und Polizeiführer (H.S.S.P.F.)
There was no central H.S.S.P.F. for the Südost : see Albania, Croatia,
Greece and Serbia.
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