Friedrich-Wilhelm Richter

Friedrich-Wilhelm Richter
Born	9 May 1911 Picher, Germany
Died	30 August 1989 (aged 78) Rheinbach, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen-SS
Years of service	1936–45
Rank	Sturmbannführer
Unit	SS-VT 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross I Class Iron Cross II Class German Cross in Gold

Friedrich-Wilhelm Heinrich Richter (9 May 1911 – 30 August 1989) was a Sturmbannführer (Major) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Friedrich-Wilhelm Richter was born on the 9 May 1911, in Picher near Hannover. In 1936 he volunteered to join the SS-VT (SS number 17 560), and was posted to the SS Standarte Germania in Radolfzell, he was selected to become an officer and by November 1939, had been promoted to Hauptsturmführer (Captain). He served with the SS Totenkopf Division during the Battle of France and was awarded the Iron Cross II class in July 1940.

He later served with the 1st SS Panzergrenadier Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) where he was awarded the Iron Cross I class in October 1941.

On the formation of the new division, 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg he was transferred as commander of the I. Battalion, 22 Panzergrenadier Regiment and was awarded the German Cross in Gold while in command. He was next given command of the II./21 Panzergrenadier Regiment at the beginning of 1945 and awarded the Knight's Cross on the 11 May.^{[Note 1]} Richter survived the war and died in Rheinbach on the 30 August 1989.

Notes

1. The nomination by the troop via teleprinter message was sent on 25 March 1945, according to file card on 28 March 1945, according to the book "Verliehene Ritterkreuze" (Awarded Knight Crosses) on 5 April 1945. The nomination was returned to the HPA/P5a (Army personnel office) by SS-Obersturmbannführer Wilhelm Kment, the adjutant of Heinrich Himmler and liaison officer to the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office), with the approval of Heinrich Himmler on 29 April 1945. Retained by the German Federal Archives are four identical copies listing the approval of Friedrich Richter's divisional commander Heinz Harmel and the Reichsführer SS, as well as three almost finished nominations by the HPA. Missing is the confirmation of the commander-in-chief of the 9. Armee and Army Group Vistula. The nomination of the HPA Nr. 4729 is listed in the book "Verliehene Ritterkreuze" (Awarded Knight Crosses), however lacks reference to this number and remained unfinished by the end of the war. The order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed this case in 1977 and decided "Knight's Cross yes, 6 May 1945". Fellgiebel later changed this date again. Krätschmer lists the 9 May 1945. Richter was a member of the AKCR.^[1][2]

References

Citations

1. Scherzer 2007, p. 166
2. Krätschmer 1999, p. 877.

Biography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Henschler, Henri; Fey, Willi (2003). Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-2905-5.
• Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). Retreat to the Reich : the German defeat in France, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3384-7.
• Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). The German Defeat in the East, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7.
• Krätschmer, Ernst-Günther (1999). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen-SS [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Waffen-SS]. Coburg, Germany: Nation Europa Verlag. ISBN 978-3-920677-43-9.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• The Combat History of the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg. available on line