Karl Kreutz

Karl Kreutz
Born	20 September 1909 Bromberg, Province of Posen, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire now Bydgoszcz, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
Died	27 July 1997 (aged 87) Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen-SS
Years of service	1932–45
Rank	Standartenführer (Colonel)
Unit	2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves German Cross in Gold Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class

Karl Kreutz (20 September 1909 – 27 July 1997) was a Standartenführer (Colonel) in the Waffen-SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Kreutz started World War II as a Battery Commander in the Das Reich Artillery Battalion and went on to command the Division.^[1]

Commands

• 2nd Battery Das Reich
• 6th Battery Das Reich
• IV Artillery Battalion, 2nd SS Pz.Art.Rgt. Das Reich
• 2nd SS Panzer Artillery Regiment Das Reich
• 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich^[2]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (2 October 1939)^[3]
  • 1st Class (30 July 1940)^[3]
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Black (27 May 1940)
  • in Silver (1942)
• General Assault Badge (30 January 1942)
• Eastern Front Medal (3 August 1942)
• German Cross in Gold on 15 December 1943 as SS-Obersturmbannführer in SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment "Das Reich"^[4]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 27 August 1944 as SS-Standartenführer and commander of SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 2 "Das Reich"^{[5][Note 1]}
  • (863rd) Oak Leaves on 6 May 1945 as SS-Standartenführer and commander of SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 2 "Das Reich"^{[7][Note 2]}

Notes

1. According to Scherzer as commander of SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 2.^[6]
2. No evidence of the Oak Leaves can be found in the German Federal Archives. The award was unlawfully presented by SS-Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich. The date is taken from the announcement made by the 6. SS-Panzerarmee. The sequential number "863" was assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Karl Kreutz was member of the AKCR.^[8]

References

Citations

1. "dasreich".
2. "frontkjemper".
3. Thomas 1997, p. 408.
4. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 254.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 274.
6. Scherzer 2007, p. 474.
7. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 103.
8. Scherzer 2007, p. 151.

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.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• 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.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.