Willy Langkeit (2 June 1907 – 27 October 1969) was a German general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. After the war, Langkeit joined the

Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; en, Federal Border Guard) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primari ...

(Federal Border Guards) in 1951, retiring in 1967.

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1939) 2nd Class (10 November 1939) & 1st Class (30 August 1940)Thomas 1998, p. 10. *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 1 July 1942 as ''

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

'' in the II./Panzer-Regiment 36 *

** Knight's Cross on 9 December 1942 as ''Major'' and commander of I./Panzer-Regiment 36 ** Oak Leaves on 7 December 1943 as ''

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedis ...

'' and commander of Panzer-Regiment 36Fellgiebel 2000, p. 65.

References

Citations

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langkeit, Willy 1907 births 1969 deaths People from Olecko County Military personnel from East Prussia Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Brigadier generals of the German Army