Lothar Berger

Lothar Berger
Born	31 December 1900 Halberstadt
Died	5 November 1971 (aged 70) Bad Schwartau
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1918–20 1924–45
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	75. Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars	World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Italian Campaign Gothic Line Offensive Prague Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Lothar Berger (31 December 1900 – 5 November 1971) was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II, and one of only 882 recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Lothar Berger was initially captured by Soviet troops in May 1945, but was transferred to British custody and was released in 1946.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (28 July 1918)^[1]
  • 1st Class (24 September 1920)^[1]
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1 January 1935)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (30 September 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (2 October 1939)^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 August 1940 as Major and commander of III. / Infanterie-Regiment 84^[2]
  • 806th Oak Leaves on 28 March 1945 as Oberst and commander of Brigade z.b.V.100 / XXXX.Panzer-Korps^[3]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1997, p. 41.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 110.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 83.

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.
• 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.

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Ritterkreuztraeger 1939-1945
• Lothar Berger @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009)