List of Knight's Cross recipients 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen
| Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | |
|---|---|
| Awarded by Nazi Germany | |
| Type | Neck order |
| Eligibility | Military personnel |
| Awarded for | Awarded to holders of the Iron Cross to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership |
| Campaign | World War II |
| Status | Obsolete |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1 September 1939 |
| First awarded | 30 September 1939 |
| Last awarded | 11 May 1945 / 17 June 1945[a] |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Grand Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Next (lower) | Iron Cross 1st Class |
 Insignia of 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen |
|
The 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen. was a German Waffen-SS mechanised infantry division which saw action on the Western Front during World War II. The Division was raised near Poitiers, France in October 1943. It was formed from scratch, with the majority of its original cadre coming from replacement units and conscripts, many of Romanian extraction. The division was granted the honour-title Götz von Berlichingen. The name referred to the 15th century German knight who had, after losing his right hand in battle, worn an iron prosthetic hand. In keeping with this, the division's emblem was a clenched iron fist.[1]
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 [2] of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 [3] of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 [4] of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 [5] of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.
Contents
Prerequisites
To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole.
Grades
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was divided into five grades, excluding the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross:
- Knights Cross
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and swords
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Knights Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Knight's Cross with Oakleaves
- Bruno Hinz, 23.08.1944 SS-Obersturmführer Commander 2nd Company, 38th SS Panzer Grenadier Rgt
- Kurt Wahl, 01.02.1945 SS-Sturmbannführer Commander 17th SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion [6]
Knight’s Cross
SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 38
- Kurt Wahl, 23.08.1944 Hauptsturmführer Adjutant 38th SS Pz Gren Rgt [6]
SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 17
- Ortwin Kuske, 26.11.1944 Untersturmführer Commander 3rd Company
- Fred Papas, 27.12.1944 Untersturmführer Company Commander [6]
SS Flak Battalion 17
- Heinrich Gottke, 27.12.1944 Unterscharführer 3rd Battery [6]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 1573; 1 September 1939
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 849; 3 June 1940
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 613; 28 September 1941
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11; 29 December 1944
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
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