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Ernst von Leyser (German pronunciation: [ˈeʁnst ˈuːlʁiːx ˈxans fon ˈlaɪsa]) (18 November 1889 – 23 September 1962) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded several army corps.
After the war, in 1947, Leyser was tried for war crimes committed in the Balkans and sentenced to ten years of imprisonment during the Hostages Trial; his sentence was commuted to time served and he was released in 1951.
World War II
During the invasion of France, Leyser commanded a regiment. In April 1941 he appointed commander of the 269th Infantry Division. As part of the Army Group North, the division fought in northern Soviet Union after the launching of Operation Barbarossa. On 18 September 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and command of the XXVI Army Corps during the siege of Leningrad.
On 1 December 1942 Leyser assumed command of the XXVI Army Corps. Almost a year later, he was assigned to lead the XV Mountain Army Corps, which was fighting against Yugoslav partisans in Croatia. On 20 July 1944 (coincidentally, the day of the failed assassination of Adolf Hitler) he switched command with General Gustav Fehn, commander of the XXI Mountain Army Corps (Germany) in the Balkans.
On 29 April 1945, he was relieved of command. Leyser was arrested by the United States forces on 8 May.
Trial and conviction
Leyser was tried, as subordinate to General Lothar Rendulic, along with 12 other high-ranking German officers in the Hostages Trial, from 13 May 1947 to 19 February 1948. He found guilty on two charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes: murder and mistreatment of POWs and murder and mistreatment of civilians. Leyser was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in December 1947. On 31 January 1951, John J. McCloy, the US High Commissioner in Germany, revised his sentence to time served.
Leyser died in Garstedt on 23 September 1962, at the age of 73.
Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 September 1941 as Generalmajor and commander of the 269. Infanterie-Division