List of Knight's Cross recipients 4th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Division
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 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division |
The SS Polizei Division was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II.
The division was formed in 1939 as part of the SS-controlled Regular Police, and was transferred to the Waffen-SS in 1942. After a variety of splits and reunions it was eventually upgraded to a Panzergrenadier division, the 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division. It surrendered to the Americans at the end of the war.[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.
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 Oak Leaves and Swords
- Helmut Dörner SS-Oberführer 4th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Division 1 February 1945.[6]
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
- Alfred Wünnenberg SS-Brigadeführer SS Polizei Division 23 April 1942
- Helmut Dörner SS-Standartenführer 8th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 16 November 1944.[6]
Knight's Cross
HQ Staff
- Walter Krüger SS-Brigadeführer SS Polizei Division 13 December 1941 [6]
1st SS Polizei Schutzen Regiment
- Karl Schümers, Sturmbannführer II./1st SS Polizei Schützen Regiment 30 September 1942
- Otto Gieseke, Standartenführer und Oberst der Schupo, commander 1st SS Polezei Schutzen Regiment
- Wilhelm Dietrich SS-Hauptsturmführer I./1st SS Polizei Schützen Regiment 15 October 1944 [6]
2nd SS Polizei Schutzen Regiment
- Hans Christian Schulze SS-Standartenführer 2nd SS Polizei Schützen Regiment 11 September 1941
- Rudolf Pannier Major I./2nd SS Polizei Schützen Regiment 11 May 1942 [6]
3rd SS Polizei Schutzen Regiment
- Alfred Wünnenberg SS-Standartenführer 3rd SS Polizei Schützen Regiment 1 November 1941 [6]
2nd SS Polizei Regiment
- Günther Anhalt Standartenführer 2nd SS Polizei Regiment 12 August 1944
- Helmut Dörner Sturmbannführer und Major der Schupo II./2nd SS Polizei Regiment 15 May 1942
- Bruno Walden Major der Schupo III./2nd SS Polizei Regiment 18 January 1945 [6]
3rd SS Polizei Panzergrenadier-Regiment
- Hans Traupe, Sturmbannführer und Major der Schupo, commander I./3rd SS Pol Gren.Rgt 23 February 1944 [6]
SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Regiment 7
- Otto Prager SS-Sturmbannführer 7th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Regiment 9 December 1944 [6]
SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Regiment 8
- Karl Auer Hauptsturmführer I./8th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Regiment 31 October 1944
- Martin Tappe, Obersturmbannführer Commander, 8th SS Polizei Panzer Grenadier Regiment 28 March 1945 [6]
SS Panzer Battalion 4
- Alois Etthöfer SS-Sturmbannführer 4th SS Panzer Battalion 17 March 1945
- Hans Havik SS-Untersturmführer 1st Company, 4th SS Panzer Battalion 6 May 1945
- Richard Utgenannt SS-Hauptsturmführer 3rd Company, 4th SS Polizei Panzer Battalion 10 November 1944 [6]
SS Polizei Artillery Regiment 4
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bock SS-Obersturmführer und Oberstleutnant der Schupo II./4th SS Polizei Artillery Regiment 28 March 1943 [6]
SS Polizei Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 4
- Johannes Scherg SS-Obersturmführer 1st Company, 4th SS Polizei Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 23 October 1944
- Heinz Jürgens, SS-Hauptsturmführer Commander 4th SS Polizei Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, 9 May 1945 [6]
SS Polizei Panzerjager Battalion 4
- Rudolf Seitz SS-Unterscharführer 1st Company, 4th SS Polizei, Panzerjager Battalion 21 October 1942 [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
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "axis.history".
References
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). 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.
- Von Seemen, Gerhard (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 : die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung : Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 : The Knight's Cross Bearers of All the Armed Services, Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves Bearers in the Order of Presentation: Appendix with Further Information and Presentation Requirements] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7909-0051-4.