These recipients are listed in the 1986 edition of Walther-Peer Fellgiebel's book, Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945. Fellgiebel was the former chairman and head of the order commission of the AKCR. In 1996, the second edition of this book was published with an addendum delisting 11 of these original recipients. Author Veit Scherzer has cast doubt on a further 193 of these listings. The majority of the disputed recipients had received the award in 1945, when the deteriorating situation of Germany in the final days of World War II in Europe left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process.
Listed here are the 238 Knight's Cross recipients whose last name starts with "D". Scherzer has challenged the validity of six of these listings. The recipients are initially ordered alphabetically by last name. The rank listed is the recipient's rank at the time the Knight's Cross was awarded.
Background
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 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). 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 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten), based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.
Recipients
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (D)
Service
Number of presentations
Posthumous presentations
Heer
149
18
Kriegsmarine
7
0
Luftwaffe
57
5
Waffen-SS
25
1
The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Waffen-SS. 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. Of the 238 awards made to servicemen whose last name starts with "D", 20 were later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, six the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and one, Josef Dietrich, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds; 24 presentations were made posthumously. One hundred and forty-nine Heer members received the medal, seven went to the Kriegsmarine, 57 to the Luftwaffe, and 25 to the Waffen-SS. The sequential numbers greater than 843 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and 143 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are unofficial and were assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) and are therefore denoted in parentheses.
This along with the + (plus) indicates that a higher grade of Knight's Cross was awarded as well.
This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the Knight's Cross was awarded posthumously.
This along with the? (question mark) indicates that historian Veit Scherzer has expressed doubt regarding the veracity and formal correctness of the listing.
↑For an explanation of the various naming schemes used by the Luftwaffe, Heer, Kriegsmarine and Waffen-SS refer to nomenclature used by the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the I./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of the 10.(Pionier)/Panzergrenadier-Regiment 111.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of SS-Panzer-Regiment 5.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of the III./Grenadier-Regiment 418.
↑According to Scherzer as deputy leader of SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5.
↑According to Scherzer as observer in the Aufklärungs-Staffel 11.(H)/12.
↑The German Federal Archives hold no records for the presentation of the Swords to Karl Decker. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) assumes that the presentation fell into the timeframe 20 April 1945 to 29 April 1945. It is assumed that the nomination was approved on 26 April 1945. Scherzer states that the assumption is based on a statement from Decker's widow. She claimed that she had been informed that her husband had received the award. The date and sequential number "149" were assigned by the AKCR.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the I./SS-"Totenkopf"-Infanterie-Regiment 1.
↑According to Scherzer as Ia (operations officer)/commander fortress Abschnitt 44 (section 44).
↑According to Scherzer as leader of Grenadier-Regiment 11.
↑Major Joachim Domaschk, who processed the nomination at the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) from the troop, had sent a message to the AOK Ostpreußen on 28 March 1945 requesting an approval from the Armeekorps and the Armee. This approval was never received before the end of hostilities. Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt is not listed in the book for the "nominations for the higher grades of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross" nor in the nomination book for Knight's Cross (starting with Nr. 5100). According to the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) the award was present in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. The sequential number "870" and the presentation date were assigned by the AKCR. Dennhardt was a member of the AKCR.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the Artillerie-Regiments Stab z.b.V. 553.
↑No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. According to Walther-Peer Fellgiebel the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to Ferdinand Deutsch by Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner in accordance with the accreditation of 3 May 1945. The author Veit Scherzer was denied access to files, which could help clarify the case, of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) on the grounds of the Bundesarchivgesetz (German Archive Law). Deutsch was a member of the AKCR.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of the 1./Fallschirm-Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 12.
↑According to Scherzer as observer in the Aufklärungsstaffel 2.(F)/123.
↑Kurt Dombacher's nomination by the troop was processed by the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe/Auszeichnung und Disziplin (OKL/AuD—Air Force High Command/Award and Discipline) on 15 April 1945. This nomination, now recommending approval, was forwarded on 16 April with a Luftwaffenpersonalamt-Verleihungsvorschlag (LPA-VV—Air Force Staff Office Nomination Recommendation) Nr. 1576 to the adjutancy of Hermann Göring. The nomination was never finalized and was left unfinished by the end of the war. A presentation of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross cannot be verified. The presentation date of 7 April 1945 as listed by Ernst Obermaier, author of Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939–1945—The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Fighter Force 1939–1945, must be incorrect. The presentation date of 8 April 1945 as listed by the Walther-Peer Fellgiebel is an assumption of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients.
↑According to Scherzer as gun leader of the 14./Grenadier-Regiment 408.
↑No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. Presumably the award was presented by SS-OberstgruppenführerSepp Dietrich which would make it an unlawful presentation. The date was assumed by Fellgiebel. Von Seemen also states the 6 May 1945. The author Veit Scherzer was denied access to files, which could help clarify the case, of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) on the grounds of the Bundesarchivgesetz (German Archive Law). Oskar Drexler was a member of the AKCR.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 8.
↑According to Scherzer as Zugführer (platoon leader) in the Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 41.
↑"Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 849; 3 June 1940"(PDF). ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (in German). Reichsministerium des Inneren (Ministry of the Interior). Retrieved 21 February 2008.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer[in German] (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. ISBN978-3-7909-0284-6.
Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945[The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN978-3-87341-065-7.
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. ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
Von Seemen, Gerhard (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945: die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung: Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben[The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945: The Knight's Cross Bearers of All the Armed Services, Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves Bearers in the Order of Presentation: Appendix with Further Information and Presentation Requirements] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Verlag. ISBN978-3-7909-0051-4.
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