Erich Friderici

Erich Friderici (21 December 1885 – 19 September 1967) was a German general during World War II. He was the commander of Army Group South Rear Area behind Army Group South from 27 October 1941 to 9 January 1942, while the original commander, Karl von Roques, was on medical leave.^[1]

Erich Friderici
Friderici in 1939
Born	21 December 1885
Died	19 September 1964(1964-09-19) (aged 78)
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Rank	Genederl der Infanterie
Commands	Army Group South Rear Area
Battles / wars	World War II

Like other Army Group Rear Areas, the territories under Friderici's control were the sites of mass murder during the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity targeting the civilian population. Rear Area commanders operated in parallel, and in cooperation, with the Higher SS and Police Leaders appointed by the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, for each of the army group's rear areas.^[2] In the words of historian Michael Parrish, these army commanders "presided over an empire of terror and brutality".^[3]

Further reading

• Beorn, Waitman Wade (2014). Marching into Darkness: The Wehrmacht and the Holocaust in Belarus. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72550-8.
• Blood, Phillip W. (2006). Hitler's Bandit Hunters: The SS and the Nazi Occupation of Europe. Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1-59797-021-1.
• Hill, Alexander (2005). The War Behind The Eastern Front: The Soviet Partisan Movement In North-West Russia 1941–1944. London & New York, NY: Frank Cass. ISBN 978-0-7146-5711-0.