During the Dodecanese Campaign, Kleemann commanded the 7,500-strong Sturm-Division "Rhodos" during the attack on the Italian garrison of Rhodes.

In September 1943, barely two weeks after the Italian surrender, British forces landed on Samos, Leros, and Kos.

[2] Of the approximately 2,000 members of the ancient Jewish community of Rhodes, 1,700 were rounded up and transported to mainland Europe.

[3][4] Out of 6,000 Ladino-speaking Jews in the Dodecanese Islands, some 1,200 survived by escaping to the nearby coast of Turkey.

From 27 November 1944 to 8 May 1945, Kleeman commanded Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle on the Eastern Front.