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Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist Quotes

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was a German field marshal during World War II. He commanded the 1st Panzer Group during Operation Barbarossa in 1941 and Army Group A during the Wehrmacht's 1942 summer campaign. Following the war, Kleist was extradited to the Soviet Union and was convicted of war crimes; he died in prison.

✵ 8. August 1881 – 13. November 1954
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Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist: 4 quotes3 likes

Famous Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist Quotes

“The Russians were five times superior to us poor but brave Germans, both in numbers and in the superiority of their equipment. My immediate commander was Hitler himself. Unfortunately, Hitler's advice in those critical periods was invariably lousy.”

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist

To Leon Goldensohn (25 June 1946). Quoted in "The Nuremberg Interviews", Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellatel (2004).

“Ewald von Kleist was an officer and a gentleman in an era when such characteristics were liabilities.”

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist

Samuel W. Mitcham Jr., in Hitler's Generals (2003)

“It is interesting but it was tragic. If you receive a military order you must obey. That is where the big difference between a military and a political order comes in. One can sabotage a political order but to disobey a military command is treason.”

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist

To Leon Goldensohn (25 June 1946). Quoted in "The Nuremberg Interviews", Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellatel (2004).

“Recently I was discharged from the German army while in this prison and was informed that I am on the so-called war criminal list number seven. I haven't the faintest idea of what war crime I could have committed. The main thing is that I have a clear conscience.”

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist

To Leon Goldensohn (12 June 1946). Quoted in "The Nuremberg Interviews", Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellatel (2004).

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