List of Knight's Cross recipients 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend

The 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend. ("[...] Youth") was a German Waffen SS armoured division which saw action on the Western front during World War II. As part of the Waffen-SS, it was found to be a criminal organization by the Nuremberg Trials. The 12th SS Panzer-Division established a reputation for being very effective during its short life. This military reputation has been damaged by proven and alleged war crimes committed by Hitlerjugend soldiers during the first days the division was in combat in Normandy.

The Hitlerjugend was unique because the majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the [...] Youth born in 1926, while the senior NCOs and officers were GeneRally veterans of the Eastern Front.

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 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 of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 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 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 Swords

• Kurt Meyer, 27.08.1944 Oberführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Div Hitlerjugend

Knight's Cross with Oakleaves

• Gerhard Bremer, 26.11.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Reconnaissance Btn
• Max Wünsche, 11.08.1944 Obersturmbannführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Rgt

Knight’s Cross

SS Panzer Regiment 12

• Arnold Jürgensen, 16.10.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander I./12th SS Panzer Rgt
• Karl Heinz Prinz 11.07.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander II./12th SS Panzer Rgt
• Richard Rudolf, 18.11.1944 Oberscharführer platoon commander 12th SS Panzer Rgt
• Hans Siegel, 23.08.1944 Hauptsturmführer Commander 8th Company, 12th SS Panzer Rgt

SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 25

• Werner Damsch, 17.04.1945 Hauptsturmführer Commander I./12th SS Panzergren Rgt
• Siegfried Müller, 19.12.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander 25th SS Panzergren Rgt
• Hans Waldmüller, 27.08.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander I./25th SS Panzergren Rgt

SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 26

• Emil Dürr, 23.08.1944 Unterscharführer Geschützführer, 4th Heavy Company, 26th SS Panzergren Rgt
• Bernhard Krause, 18.11.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander I./26th SS Panzergren Rgt
• Wilhelm Mohnke, 11.07.1944 Obersturmbannführer Commander 26th SS Panzergren Rgt
• Erich Olboeter, 28.07.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander III.(gep.)/26th SS Panzergren Rgt

SS Panzer Artillery Regiment 12

• Oskar Drexler, 06.05.1945 Obersturmbannführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Art Rgt 12

SS Panzerjäger Battalion 12

• Fritz Eckstein, 18.11.1944 Rottenführer Richtschütze, 1st Battery, 12th SS Pz Jäg Btn
• Georg Hurdelbrink, 16.10.1944 Obersturmführer Commander 1st Battery, 12th SS Pz Jäg Btn
• Rudolf Roy, 16.10.1944 Oberscharführer platoon commander, 1st Battery, 12th SS Pz Jäg Btn

See also

• 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
• Waffen SS

References

• SEEMEN, Gerhard von: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas, 1976.
• SCHERZER, Veit: Knight's Cross Recipients 1939 - 1945 (Paperback) by Enid Blyton, 1999

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