Franz Böhme

Franz Friedrich Böhme (15 April 1885, Zeltweg, Styria, Austria-Hungary – 29 May 1947) was an Austrian military officer. He served in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I, and later as a General der Gebirgstruppe in the German Army, serving as Commander of the XVIII Mountain Corps, Hitler's 'Plenipotentiary Commanding General' in the Balkans, and Commander-in-Chief in German-occupied Norway during World War II. Böhme stood trial in Nuremberg for having massacred thousands of Serbian civilians. He committed suicide in prison.

Personal life

Böhme's father, Ernst Friedrich, died in 1902, when Franz was 17 years old, and his mother, the former Maria Ludmilla (née Stremayr), died the following year. In 1929, Böhme married Romana Maria Hüller von Hüllenried, the daughter of Generalmajor Karl Rudolf Hüller von Hüllenried.

World War I and interwar years

From 1914 to 1918, Böhme served in the army in the World War I. Böhme served in the Austrian army during the interwar years. The Berchtesgaden agreement (12 February 1938) stipulated in paragraph 8 that the Austrian chief of staff, Alfred Jansa, who favoured a military response in case of a German attack, had to be replaced by Franz Böhme.