Friedrich Christiansen

Friedrich Christiansen (12 December 1879 – 3 December 1972) was a German general who served as commander of the German ''Wehrmacht'' in the occupied Netherlands during World War II.

Christiansen was a World War I flying ace and the only seaplane pilot to receive the ''Pour le Mérite''. He joined the Nazi Party in the interwar period, eventually rising to the rank of ''Korpsführer'' of the National Socialist Flyers Corps. After the German invasion of the Netherlands, Christiansen was appointed as the ''Wehrmachtbefehlshaber'' (Chief Military Commander) in the Netherlands. In response to attacks by the Dutch Resistance, he ordered reprisals against Dutch civilians such as the Putten raid. He was also responsible for the Dutch famine of 1944–1945 that resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians after ordering an embargo on all food transports to the western Netherlands. After the war, Christiansen was arrested and convicted of war crimes. Provided by Wikipedia