The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: ''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'') and its variants was the highest military award in

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 ...

. Recipients are grouped by grades of the Knight's Cross. During or shortly after

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 opposing ...

, 145 German sailors and officers of the

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

service as part of the '' Kriegsmarine'' received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Among them, 29 officers received 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' ...

(''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub''), five the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords 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 ...

(''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern''), and two won the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten''). Of these, 144 presentations were formally made and one recipient received the award after 11 May 1945, when ''

Großadmiral Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual n ...

'' Karl Dönitz ordered a cease of all promotions and illegalized all subsequent awards. The final recipient is therefore considered to have received the medal without legal authority.Kurowski 1995, p. 7

Background

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment, of 1 September 1939 instituted the

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 es ...

(), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the

Grand Cross of the Iron Cross The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the second highest class of the Iron Cross, following the Star of the Gran ...

(). Article 2 of the enactment mandated that the award of a higher class be preceded by the award of all preceding classes. As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the

(), was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment of 3 June 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment of 28 September 1941 introduced the

() and the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds 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' ...

(). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds 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' ...

(), based on the enactment of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.

Recipients

The '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, '' Heer'' (

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

), '' Kriegsmarine'' (

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

), ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' (

Air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

) and for the ''

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

''. Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds is based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613'' of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Ultimately, it would be awarded to twenty-seven German soldiers, sailors and airmen, ranging from young fighter pilots to field marshals. Two recipients were members of the

U-boat arm The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the an ...

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords is also based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613'' of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849'' of 3 June 1940. The last officially announced number for the Oak Leaves was 843. Higher numbers are unofficial and therefore denoted in brackets.

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573'' of 1 September 1939 ''Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes'' (Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross).

Legally disputed Knight's Cross recipients

'' Karl Dönitz ordered a cease of all promotions and awards as of 11 May 1945. Nevertheless, a number of Knight's Crosses were awarded after this date and are considered "illegal" hand-outs. One sailor of the U-boat service is often listed as a recipient of the Knight's Cross but falls outside of the

Dönitz-decree 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' ...

. Karl Jäckel received his Knight's Cross confirmation after 11 May 1945 and is therefore a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' but not ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' recipient.

References

Footnotes

* Some sources indicating that von Forstner succumbed to his injuries aboard on 22 October 1943 have been found incorrect. * Author Clemens Range dates Hans Lehmann's Knight's Cross on 8 June 1945, thus after the effectiveness of the

. Walther-Peer Fellgiebel, author of ''Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945'', indicates that Lehmann received the Knight's Cross on 11 May 1945, before the Dönitz-decree prohibited the awarding of the Knight's Cross. The sequential number 317 within the Kriegsmarine, 144 within the U-boat service, associated to Lehmann's Knight's Cross is based on author Clemens Range's work ''Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine'' and Busch and Röll's book ''Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 - Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945''. Historian Veit Scherzer, whose work ''Die Ritterkreuzträger 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'' is based on the primary data from the German Federal Archives, indicates that the 7 May 1945 is the correct date.

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ub Lists of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients Uboote