Rudolf Meister

Rudolf Meister
Rudolf Meister
Born	1 August 1897 Cologne, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	11 September 1958 (aged 61) Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Deutsches Heer (1914–18) Reichswehr (1918–28) Heer (1931–33) Luftwaffe (1933–45)
Years of service	1914–28 1931–45
Rank	General der Flieger
Commands held	IV. Fliegerkorps
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Eastern Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Rudolf Meister (1 August 1897 – 11 September 1958) was a highly decorated General der Flieger in the Luftwaffe during World War II who commanded the IV. Fliegerkorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded by Nazi Germany to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Rudolf Meister was captured by American troops in May 1945 and was held until 1948.

In 1950, Meister was one of the authors of the Himmerod memorandum which addressed the issue of rearmament (Wiederbewaffnung) of the Federal Republic of Germany after World War II.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (8 November 1918)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold on 30 October 1941 as Oberst im Generalstab (in the General Staff) of VIII. Fliegerkorps^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 September 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of IV. Fliegerkorps^[2][3]

References

Citations

1. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 302.
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 536.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 307.

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.

External links

• Rudolf Meister @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived January 19, 2011)
• World War 2 Awards.com