Knights Cross Recipients Who Are Still Living

curious if Heinrich Timpe who received his Ritterkreuz on 4 of May 1945 with 1./Stug Brigaden 300 is still alive ?, possibly 59 Soviet armor kills to his credit.

thank you

 

Yes, Heinz Timpe is still alive as far as I know. He is 87 years old.
Please reference my Wikipedia page (not "mine", but the one I've been working on for a while). It's a good guide for living Knights Cross recipients.

List of living Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

PM coming

 

Erich, Heinz Timpe is the Vorsitzender of the Sturmartillerie Kameradschaft i have has much contact with him !!

 

By the way the Wiki list is not the best source of the remaining RKT , some on that list have been dead for a long time !!

 

Really? Please tell me which ones! I need help from people like you in order to provide an accurate, up-to-date list for other enthusiasts. Perhaps you could PM me the names? Thanks.

 

Received a package today from Othmar Hermes. He didn't sign the pics I sent him, but he provided his own photos, which he signed for me. Also included was one of those sheets that lists his awards, units he belonged to, how he won his RK, etc. Really fast reply, nice guy.

 

Congrats on the response from Othmar Hermes. He is on my to do list. Sent a bunch out in the last month so just waiting to see what comes back.

 

Just on a quick scan of your wiki page the following are already in Valhalla Hans Siegler , Hans Lawrenz, Paul Landgraf is fate unknown MIA/KIA during the war !!

Further info re those on your list who are alive but it isn't worth trying to trace them ........... Breuker wants no more contact from collectors , Gunter Meyer will only reply if at all with a very rude letter , Gerhard Simons does not send out photos and contact annoys him , Wilhelm Keppel has never replied and no photos are known of him , Nitsche won't reply !!

The following have now expressed a wish not be be contacted any longer due to old age and ill health , Friedrich Buck , Arthur Buesseke , Alfred Sekund , Gerhard Fischer ( SS) and Oskar Schafer.

Although an excellent site and the best on the web Das Ritterkreuz by Andreas Duefel is not completely up to date with those who have died or who are fate unknown , many of them show no date of death !!

 

Okay, that is helpful. I'll edit it soon.

Gerhard Simons actually did respond to me last month with two signed photos and a very friendly letter. Why do you say he doesn't respond? I always hear about certain veterans not responding from internet posters, but when I try they usually always respond anyway! I feel that just because veterans do not write some people, it does not mean they won't write other people. About 95% of the soldiers I've written to have at least signed a photo for me and sent it back. Let's try to encourage people who share the same hobby - not discourage. If they won't write back, they won't write back! It's not for us to say who will and won't reply to someone else's letter.

 

I agree with this sentiment. I have been told that some veterans would not respond and it turns out that they do.

 

and some you have been told, do not, take heed you two as stated before figure how old these guys are, time to leave them be.

 

You must be one of the only people Gerhard Simons has responded to as he has never in the past as he is very anti war and Third Reich which is why i posted that information, congratulations if you have had a response you must have cuagt him on a very good day !!! Please post a copy of your signed photos of him ?

I am not trying to discourage anyone and i don't post info to spoil anyones collecting or contact with veterans, i am merely pointing out what i know through my contacts within the OdR as often RKT contact the OdR to put the word out that they no longer want contact as they have had enough of replying , all the above info is from my own knowledge or direct from the OdR !! If you choose to ignore that there's nothing i can do about it but i post it anyway for the information of all , not just you, if my posting this info can save a 95 year old man who has expressed a wish not to be contacted any longer from continuing to be bombarded by letters then i have done them a service but clearly you would just ignore that advice anyway.

If i can also prevent the continued hassling of the families of the dead , yes it does happen , then again i have done them a service.

You seem to be very paranoid about other people in this part of the hobby as to their motives in posting or not posting information ,which is reflected in the comments you have made in other threads on this and in other forums, perhaps on reflection you may be better served by showing that you can be trusted and then others with experience and information to offer may be forthcoming !!

 

Amen to that Erich but i fear we waste our time !!

 

Encouraging people does not involve name-calling.
I think you would be better served by not pretending to be a spokesperson for veterans simply because you attend a meeting once a year. I was invited to join as well, but it doesn't make me, you, or anyone else an expert in anything. This hobby is supposed to be fun and help teach us through the experience of others (veterans) during a significant time in history. Let's not lose focus on that. I understand your point about not bothering people who are getting older - and I agree with it. If I send a letter and don't receive a reply, I would never send another one. I guess we just have different definitions of "bothering", and let's leave it at that.

I would be happy to post my signed photos that Gerhard Simons gave me if you are seriously interested. We write each other, not because I "caught him on a good day", but because we like to talk to each other. I am grateful for every letter he takes the time to write me, and it's an honor. Again, it doesn't make me his spokesperson - just his friend.

 

I agree with the sentiments offered by VonKoenigsberg. I have received many responses from veterans who I was told would not or never have responded. In most cases I was told after the fact that they wouldnt respond. In a few cases I have changed my plans on sending a letter to a veteran because it was clear that they would not respond so I ddint want to bother them. In most cases, I have found that the veteran who responds, is warm and very friendly in his letter. I have found this in all the vets I have conatcted. I have sent letter to American vets as well and found that they are thrilled people are inetersted in thier lives and experiences. Let us not forget that once they pass on, they are lost to us forever. While reading about someone in a book is a worthwhile endeavor, for some of us, the personal contact and in some cases the friendship that can develop with these men who lived the history that we all are drawn to, is a moment we will never forget. In addition, we are now able to pass on first had accounts to our children or grandchildren so this page in history will not be lost.

I do not believe that paranoia is a driving force here but the negativity that is displayed in a few posts is a real turn off. Yes, trust must be earned, but there has to be a chance given to earn trust in the first place. Paul and Erich, your knowledge and experience can be so very helpful to all of us.

I can now get off my soapbox and hope that we can all put this back and forth behind us and move forward with sharing information. Please understand that we are just as enthusiastic and passonate as you are.

I received a response form Georg Lassen today unfortunatly its was not the KC winner Georg Lassen. He is an 80 year old farmer and told me that he has been getting mail for the last 25 years for KC winner georg Lassen. He stated that he normally just throws the letters away but for some reson, he read mine and decided to respond. He told me of his life and of what Germany was like after the Second World War. He asked me to respond and explain why people are so inetersted in this period of history and what motivates us to write.
He seems like a very nice man and I will be responding to him soon. Even if wasnt KC winner, Lassen, I have heard the life story of a man who lived in that time period and of his experiences.

If anyone is planning on sending a letter to Georg Lassen in Gnarrenburg, it is not who you are looking for but a very nice man none the less

 

Well said, Gregoperations2. Let us not treat veterans like they are helpless old men who cannot make decisions for themselves. They decide who they respond to and who they won't respond to, not any of us. In fact, I'm sure they would be unhappy if they knew people were attempting to speak on their behalf. Let's leave it up to them.

I haven't tried Georg Lassen yet, but I will certainly avoid sending my letter to the wrong man! That happens sometimes, though. I sent a letter to the wrong Karl Radermacher before I got the right one. However, the other Radermacher's widow sent me photographs of him, a death notice, a nice letter, and a military career sheet highlighting what her late husband did during the war. Turns out, he was born in 1915 and was an infantryman! Sometimes harmless mistakes can turn into something positive.

 

View attachment 15204

 

Great Pic! Ok share with us how you posted it. I have had the worst time trying to post my pics

 

As i have said congratulations on the Simons photo and many thanks for posting it , a rare photo indeed and if he is corresponding with you then you are a lucky man !!

As far as i know i have not done any name calling here and i'm certainly not pretending to be a spokesperson for anyone , i'll explain again ......... i'm not attempting to discourage anyone in fact my reputation in this hobby is one of helping not discouraging as i have been helped and encouraged by others along the way , ALL i am doing is passing on information that has been gleaned directly from the OdR or from RKT and veterans themselves and not just by attending one meeting a year , i actually attend many meetings of and am a member of many veterans associations , therefore i am not their spokesperson but merely a conduit amongst others through which there wishes can be passed to the wider collecting community !!

You want information about RKT's , i'm giving you some how you use it is up to you !! The point is many of the old guys HAVE made the decision for themselves and are asking for no more contact so they can live out there lives as they wish in peace this is the info that i amongst others pass on , as i've said whether you choose to believe or take on board that info is down to you, but remember many who have been replying for years and now don't want to will still answer as they are polite and don't want to disappoint even though they really want a quiet life now, which is how you will have got some responses from those who you have been told no longer will reply.