Sepp Draxenberger

Sepp Draxenberger
Born	27 March 1921 Landau an der Isar, Germany
Died	23 March 1945 (aged 23) Stuhlweißenburg, Hungary
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen SS
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	Hauptscharführer
Unit	5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class

Sepp Draxenberger (27 March 1921 – 23 March 1945) was a Hauptscharführer in the Waffen SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. This was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Sepp Draxenberger was a platoon commander in the HQ company, 5th SS Panzer Regiment, 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking when he was killed in action in Hungary on the 23 March 1945, he was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross in April 1945.^{[1][Note 1]}

Notes

1. No evidence of the award 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. Draxenberger was a member of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR).^[2]

References

Citations

1. "award.recipients".
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 127.

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.
• Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). Retreat to the Reich : the German defeat in France, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3384-7.
• Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). The German Defeat in the East, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7.
• 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.