to stand where they were. Hitler blamed his generals for the overall strategic success of Soviet armies and on 30 March 1944, Kleist was dismissed and replaced by Ferdinand Schörner. After the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler failed (1944), the Gestapo implicated and arrested Kleist due to the involvement of his cousin Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin in the Oster conspiracy. Kleist avoided trial and was later released. Trial and death Kleist was arrested in late April 1945 in Bavaria by United States' troops, and handed over to the British Army. In September 1946 he was extradited to Yugoslavia, where after a trial he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for war crimes. In 1948 he was extradited to the Soviet Union, where he was charged with war crimes. After a trial he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. On 13 November 1954 Kleist died of heart failure in Vladimir Central Prison. He was the most senior ranking soldier among the German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union to die in Russian captivity. Kleist was buried at the Prince Vladimir cemetery near the prison walls. In October 1955, after German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's visit to Moscow, the Soviet Union repatriated the remaining 14,000 German prisoners of war convicted of war crimes. Kleist's body was exhumed, dressed in a field marshal's uniform and sent home to Germany. Awards Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (4 October 1914) & 1st Class (27 January 1915) Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) & 2nd Class (17 September 1939) & 1st Class (27 September 1939) Hanseatic Cross Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Knight's Cross on 15 May 1940 as General der Kavallerie and commanding general of XXII. Armeekorps (Panzergruppe "von Kleist") Oak Leaves on 17 February 1942 as Generaloberst and Commander-in-chief of Panzergruppe 1 Swords on 30 March 1944 as Generalfeldmarschall and Commander-in-chief Heeresgruppe A References Citations Bibliography Leon Goldensohn: Die Nürnberger Interviews. Gespräche mit Angeklagten und Zeugen. (Original: The Nuremberg Interviews. New York, 2004). Herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Robert Gellately. Artemis und Winkler, Düsseldorf / Zürich 2005, . External links 1881 births 1954 deaths People from Braunfels People from the Rhine Province German Army World War II field marshals Paul Ewald German Army personnel of World War I Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Recipients of