[2] Roques was one of many retired officers who were reactivated upon the outbreak of World War II to command rearguard and occupation units; his early activities in this role were uneventful.

[1] In late June and early July 1941, Roques informed his superior Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb of the massacres of Jews by Einsatzgruppe A, Lithuanian auxiliaries and the men of the 16th Army outside of Kaunas.

Historian Johannes Hürter argued that the exchange between Roques and Leeb showcased that the officers might've had weak moral concerns, but ultimately condoned the mass murder by excusing their inaction with claims of powerlessness.

[9] Like other Army Group Rear Areas, the territories under Roques' control became the sites of mass murder during the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity that targeted the civilian population.

[11] After World War II, Franz von Roques was never persecuted for his role in the massacres committed under the Army Group North Rear Area.