Jozef Turanec

General II. Class Jozef Turanec

Jozef Turanec (7 March 1892 Sučany – 9 March 1957, Leopoldov) was a Slovak General during World War II. During his military career, he served as a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I, later as an officer in the Czechoslovak Army and eventually reaching the post of a 2nd Class General in service of Slovakia.

He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Jozef Turanec served as a general in the Slovak invasion of Poland. He held partial command of the Slovak Fast Division and helped in the command of the expeditionary force during Operation Barbarossa. Turanec was a skilled commander and received the Iron Cross after a Slovak success in the Battle of Rostov in December 1941. After the war, Turanec was sentenced to 30 years in prison for treason. He died in prison in 1957.

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 7 August 1942 as Major General and commander of the Slovak Fast Division

References

Bibliography

• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.