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 been nominated for the award in 1945, when the deteriorating situation of Germany during the final days of World War II left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process.
Listed here are the 324 Knight's Cross recipients of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS whose last name starts with "P". Fellgiebel himself delisted one and Scherzer has challenged the validity of five more 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 (P)
Service
Number of presentations
Posthumous presentations
Heer (incl. Volkssturm)
208
22
Kriegsmarine
15
0
Luftwaffe
77
9
Waffen-SS
24
1
The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) kept separate Knight's Cross lists for the 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 324 awards made to servicemen whose last name starts with "P", 32 were later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and six the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords; 32 presentations were made posthumously. Heer members received 208 of the medals, including one to the Volkssturm; 15 went to the Kriegsmarine, 77 to the Luftwaffe, and 24 to the Waffen-SS. The sequential numbers greater than 843 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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! (exclamation mark) indicates that author Walther-Peer Fellgiebel has expressed doubt regarding the veracity and formal correctness of the listing.
This along with the? (question mark) indicates that author 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.
12According to Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and Scherzer name is Kurt Papst who received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as commander of Divisions-Füsilier-Bataillon 81.
↑According to Scherzer as chief of the 13./Grenadier-Regiment 461.
↑According to Scherzer as group leader in the 2./Divisions-Füsilier-Bataillon 719.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of SS-Panzer-Regiment 10.
1234According to Scherzer name is spelled Karl Packebusch who received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 April or 25 April 1945 as leader of Volkssturm-Bataillon 3-617 in Berlin-Wedding.
↑According to Scherzer as chief of the SS-Sturmgeschütz-Batterie 1007.
↑According to Scherzer as Korvettenkapitän zur Verwendung (for disposition).
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the I./Polizei-Schützen-Regiment 2.
↑According to Scherzer as chief of the 8./Infanterie-Regiment 96.
↑According to Scherzer as company leader in the SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 17.
12According to Scherzer name is spelled Wilhelm Pardon who received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 1./Aufklärungs-Ersatz-Abteilung 15 [Walküre-Einheit of Wehrkreis VI in the Division-Nr. 176].
↑According to Scherzer as pilot in the Nahaufklärungsstaffel 12.(H)/13.
↑According to Scherzer as chief of the 2./Pionier-Bataillon 8.
↑According to Scherzer as pilot in the Aufklärungsstaffel 3.(F)/22.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of the II./Grenadier-Regiment 407.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon Paul (under control of the 334. Infanterie-Division).
↑Scherzer assumes that the presentation was made on 24 April 1945.
1234The brackets around the doctor title [Dr.] denote that the academic title was attained after the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded.
↑According to Scherzer as chief of the 14./Grenadier-Regiment 501.
↑No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. Georg Peschel is listed in the first and second edition of Gerhard von Seemen's "Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945—The Knight's Cross Bearers", however with a presentation date 15 March 1945. The 2nd edition explicitly states that there is no evidence in the German Federal Archives. Walther-Peer Fellgiebel comments about Peschel in his book: "Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients exist, who do not have official evidence in the National Archives, but are members of the Bundeswehr and claimed to be Knight's Cross recipients. This claim in some cases was investigated by the Militärischer Abschirmdienst (MAD—Military Counterintelligence Service ) and accepted." Nothing can be found in the files of the Order Commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) regarding Peschel. The presentation date was assigned by Fellgiebel.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the 6. Feld-Division (L).
↑According to Scherzer as gun leader in the 6./Flak-Regiment 4.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the II./SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 49 "De Ruiter" (niederl. Nr. 2).
↑According to Scherzer as eader of schwere Artillerie-Abteilung (partially improvised motorized) 929.
↑According to Scherzer as pilot in the Aufklärungsstaffel 1.(H)/13.
12According to Scherzer as SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Police and Waffen-SS and commanding general of the IX. Waffen-Gebirgs-Armeekorps of the SS.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of the I./Grenadier-Regiment 435.
12According to Scherzer name is spelled Karl Pitschmann who received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as leader of the regimental pioneer platoon in Grenadier-Regiment 57.
↑According to Scherzer as Richtkanonier (gunner) in the 7./Flak-Regiment 43.
↑No evidence of the award can be found in the German Federal Archives. According to Walther-Peer Fellgiebel the award was presumably awarded by SS-OberstgruppenführerSepp Dietrich, which would make it unlawful. Fellgiebel names Hermann Buch, the former IIa (personnel administration) of the 2. SS-Division "Das Reich", and Wilhelm Kment, the adjutant of Heinrich Himmler and liaison officer to the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office), as sources. Buch stated on 25 June 2006 that he has nothing to do with this presentation. Walter Pitsch is mentioned the first in Ernst-Günther Krätschmer's 2nd edition of "Die Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen-SS—The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Waffen-SS". The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) initially did not accept Pitsch as a recipient since he was not listed in Gerhard von Seemen's 2nd edition of "Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945—The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945". The order commission of the AKCR processed the case in 1977 and decided: "Knight's Cross yes, 3 May 1945". The presentation date was later changed by Fellgiebel to 6 May 1945. Krätschmer who does not present a source for Pritsch’s listing also states 6 May 1945. Unfortunately Pritsch, a member of the AKCR, did not help clarify the situation. He twice, on 24 July 2004 and 22 July 2004, did not respond to a request from the president of the AKCR.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of SS-Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 3.
↑According to Scherzer as chief of the 2./Flak-Regiment 111.
↑Hubert Platz's nomination for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by his corps was never forwarded or was lost due to the military situation. A second nomination was made after the evacuation of East Prussia, after the German capitulation. This nomination was never processed. The order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed the case in 1982 and decided: "Knight's Cross yes, 9 May 1945". The presentation date was later changed by Fellgiebel to 11 May 1945.
↑According to Scherzer as commanding general of the German Luftwaffe in Mittelitalien (central Italy) and commander of the Nahkampf-Korps (close quarters combat corps) of Luftflotte 2.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of VorpostenbootVP-1806.
↑According to Scherzer as pilot and oberserver in the 1./Nahaufklärungsgruppe 2.
↑According to Scherzer as Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 8./Infanterie-Regiment 266.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the III./SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 11.
↑According to Scherzer as leader of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 7.
↑Peter Prien was nominated twice for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The first nomination was made for actions before end of March 1945, while a second nomination was submitted on 9 May 1945, presumably for a different deed. A contemporary file card for the first nomination still exists, which was created by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) for a nomination received on 28 March 1945. This nomination did not prevail. A Heerespersonalamt-Verleihungsvorschlag (HPA-VV—Army Staff Office Nomination Recommendation) was not created. He was also not listed in the book "Verliehene Ritterkreuze" (Awarded Knight Crosses) for his first nomination. The first nomination was either left unfinished by the end of the war, or it was rejected. An argument supporting the rejection thesis is the fact that the nomination paperwork completed by Prien's unit is no longer available. On the other hand, there is no rejection number or note on the file card. The second nomination, presumably a teleprinter message, is also no longer available. Again no HPA-VV was created nor a file card. MajorJoachim Domaschk noted this nomination in the first section of the book "Verliehene Ritterkreuze" with an entry Nr. 5101. This number was assigned twice, the second section of this book starts with Nr. 5100. Why Domaschk listed him there cannot be determined anymore. This entry states that the nomination by Prien's unit was received by the HPA on 9 May 1945 and was forwarded (Scherzer assumes to General Ernst Maisel) and awarded the very same day. The presentation was unlawfully made, first because it is dated after 8 May 1945, secondly because neither General Maisel nor Major Domaschk had been authorized to do so. Prien was a member of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR).
↑According to Scherzer as commander of SS-Artillerie-Regiment "Totenkopf".
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the II./SS-Panzer-Regiment 12.
↑According to Scherzer as Zugführer (platoon leader) in 1./Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 1 "Hermann Göring".
12According to Scherzer and the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) his name is Theodor Prost who received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 12./Grenadier-Regiment 519.
↑According to Scherzer as commander of the III./Werfer-Regiment 55.
↑According to Scherzer as pilot in the Nahaufklärungsstaffel 4.(H)/31.
↑According to Scherzer as observer in the Aufklärungsstaffel 2.(F)/11.
12According to Scherzer as Leutnant and observer in the Aufklärungsstaffel 2.(F)/22.
↑According to Scherzer as chief of the 1./Infanterie-Regiment 84.
↑According to Scherzer as group commander of the 33.SS Charlemagne division
↑Walther-Peer Fellgiebel lists Emil Pusch as a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 November 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in Nachtjagdgeschwader 2. He is delisted again by Fellgiebel in the year 2000 without stating a reason.
↑According to Scherzer as Staffelkapitän of the Aufklärungsstaffel 3.(F)/121.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer[in German] (2000). 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.
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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