Hans Christern

Hans Christern
Born	24 January 1900 Lauenburg, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	17 June 1966 (aged 66) Georgenhof, Bavaria, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1920)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1917–20 1936–45
Rank	Oberst
Commands held	II./Panzer-Regiment 31 Panzer-Regiment 35 7. Panzer Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Operation Bagration Battle of Radzymin (1944) Courland Pocket East Pomeranian Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hans Christern (24 January 1900 – 17 June 1966) was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He helped write the Tigerfibel training booklet for Tiger tank crewmen. Christern took over command of the 7th Panzer Division in March 1945 following a severe injury to the division's commander, Generalmajor Dr. Karl Mauss. Christern led the remnants of the division to Schwerin north and west of Berlin, where they surrendered to British troops in May 1945. He was held by the British until January 1946.

Following the war he worked as a farmer. He was involved in the CDU, and ran for office in the West German federal election of 1949, but failed to win his seat.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Silver
• Panzer Badge
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 31 January 1941 as Major and commander of the II./Panzer-Regiment 31^[1]

References

Citations

1. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 130.

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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

• Ritterkreuztrager 1939-1945
• World War 2 Awards.com