Waffen SS Knights Cross, Signed Photos

My Knights Cross recipients signed photo collection (post war signed) started with Luftwaffe and U-boat earners of the Knights Cross and I have acquired well over 300 signed photos in those two catagories. Over the past few months I have started adding some Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Knights Cross recipients to my collection and will start posting some of those that I have collected. I have posted a few already in prior threads but here are some of the more prominant Waffen SS officers that I have been able to acquire as well as a few NCOs. Getting higher ranking officer photos (Like Generals) is not easy as they were older during the war and many of them have passed on quite a few years ago (20 or more years ago). Waffen SS officers are actually some of the hardest signed photos to find.



Theodor "Teddy" Wisch, Brigadefuhrerund General Major, He became Commander of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler on April 7, 1943 replacing Sepp Dietrich. Wisch was seriously wounded at the Battle of the Falaise Pocket in Normandy and was replaced by Wilhelm Mohnke in August of 1944.




Wilhelm Mohnke, Brigade Fuhrer und General Major, Replaced Theodor Wisch (August 20th 1944) as commander of the 1st SS Panzer Division Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler. Mohnke saw action with the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler in France, Poland and the Balkans. After several failed attempts to introduce a Panzer arm to the Leibstandarte, he was transferred to the replacement battalion until he was given command of a regiment in the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitler Jugend. It was with this regiment that he fought in the Battle for Caen in Normandy. After participating in most of the French campaign, he was given command of his original division, the Leibstandarte, during the Battle of the Bulge, which commenced on 16 December 1944. He served until the very last day of the war in Europe; during the Battle of Berlin, he commanded the Kampfgruppe Mohnke and was charged with defending the Berlin government district, including the Reich Chancellery and Reichstag.



Otto Kumm, Brigade Fuhrer und General Major, Succeeded Wilhelm Mohnke as Commander of the 1st SS panzer Division Leibstandart Adolf Hitler.
SS-Brigadeführer Otto Kumm was officially appointed the new Division Commander of the (LSSAH) as of February 15, 1945. This after the LSSAH had been transferred to Hungary to bolster the crumbling situation and the prior LSSAH Division Commander, SS-Brigadeführer Mohnke was injured in an air raid.




Otto Baum, SS Oberfuhrer (Senior Colonel/Brigadier General), Commander of17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Gotz von Berlichingen, June 18, 1944 - August 1, 1944. Then the 2nd SS Division Das Reich from July 28, 1944 - October 23, 1944.



Sylvester Stadler, Brigade Fuhrer und General Major of the Waffen SS. Commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen



Albert Frey, Sturbannfuhrer (major) 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler.
On April 20, 1942, he was promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) and in July 1942 he took over the 1st battalion of the newly established 1st SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment LSSAH. For his achievements during the battle between the Donetz and Dnepr at the beginning of 1943, he was awarded the Knights Cross and a short time later he was appointed commander of the 1st SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment. During the Battle of Kursk he commanded a battle group, consisting of his regiment, a Panther Tank Battalion, an assault gun Company and an artillery Battalion, which fought in the Kiev region. For this successful defence, he received on 27 December 1943 the oak leaves to the Knight's Cross. In March 1944 he was given command of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. In June of 1944 he was seriously wounded in Normandy and gave up command of the division.



Max Wunsche, Obersturmbannfuhrer of the Waffen SS. In January 1940 he was a platoon commander in the 15th Motor Cycle Company of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler under the command of Kurt Meyer, for the invasion of Holland and the Battle of France. In February 1942 Wünsche was given the command of the LSSAH Sturmgeschutze (Assault Gun) Battalion, and was involved in stopping numerous Russian attempts to break through the German lines.

In October of 1942 October when he was given command of the I/Battalion, SS Panzer. His new battalion's first action was at Kharkov, fighting in blizzard conditions, with temperatures below freezing, they fought a number of battles which ended on the 9 February 1943. On the 10th February they went on the attack in an attempt to relieve the encircled 1st SS Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH still commanded by his old commander, Kurt Meyer. On the 13th February Wünsche and his battalion succeeded in breaking through the lines to Meyer's beleaguered troops, saving them from destruction.

In June Sturmbannführer Max Wünsche was ordered to transfer to a new division forming in France, which later became the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitler Jugend (12th SS Panzer Division Hitler Youth), and take command of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment.

On 6 June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy and the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was committed to action on the 7 June. In the following battles Wünsche's Regiment was credited with the destruction of 219 tanks up to the beginning of July, which gained Wünsche the award of the Oakleaves to his Knight's Cross. The 12th SS Panzer was later trapped in the Falaise Pocket on the night of 20 August, Wünsche, his adjutant SS-Hauptsturmführer Isecke, SS-Untersturmführer Fritz Freitag and a wounded medical officer, escaped out of the pocket on foot. During the escape Wünsche was wounded in the calf and the Doctor captured. On the 24 August, Isecke was captured, followed a short time later by the capture of Wünsche and Frietag.



To be Continued.....

 

Max Hansen, Standartenfuhrer (Colonel) in the SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, In 1941 he was given command of the II./1st Panzer Grenadier Regiment LSSAH. It was whilst commanding this battalion during the Third Battle of Kharkov on 28 March 1943 that he was awarded the Knight's Cross. His battalion broke through to Red Square in Kharkov, conducted house-to-house fighting and opened the way to the city centre, so that the northern part of Kharkov could be taken.
Hansen later went on to command the 1st SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment LSSAH




Max Schaefer, Sturbannfuhrer (major) commanded a platoon in the 2nd Company, SS Pioneer Battalion for the Polish Campaign and the Battle of France. In 1940 he was promoted to command the 2nd Company, 5th SS Pioneer Battalion, which from June 1941 was involved in the invasion of Russia.
In October 1941 he was given command of the 5th SS Pioneer Battalion, 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Viking", which at the time was operating in the Don and the Caucasus regions.
He was awarded his Knights Cross, for his command during the defence of the Stalinsky sector and the numerous battles they were involved in between January 1943 and early February 1943.
In May 1943 he became the commander of all pioneers in the III SS Panzer Corps serving with distinction at Leningrad and Oranienbaum.



Karl Ullrich, Oberfuhrer (Brigadier General), He was a member of the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" on the Eastern Front in 1941. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for his leadership and bravery during the battles of the Demyansk Pocket in February 1942 and in October 1944 was given command of the 6th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment "Theodor Eicke" and was awarded the Oakleaves while in command. Promoted to Standartenführer (Colonel) he was given command of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Viking" for the final battles of the war in Hungary.



Hans Hauser, Sturbannfuhrer (major) and Major der Schupo, I./4th SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt "Der Führer" of the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich".



Ernst August Krag, Sturmbannführer (major), Commander 2nd SS-Pz.Rec Btn "Das Reich" He began the war as the commander of the 3rd Battery, 3rd SS Artillery regiment, Das Reich. In 1940 he was the adjutant for the 1st Battalion under Herbert Otto Gille. He was severely wounded on 23 January and returned to Germany to recover. When he returned to the unit, he was posted as the Artillery Regiment Adjutant holding this post for about 6 months. In October 1942, he moved to the Sturmgetschutz Battalion as the 2nd Battery Commander. In August 1943 he took temporary command of the Sturmgeschutz Battalion which was later made his permanent Command. In late July 1944, he was posted again this time to Command the 2nd SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion "Das Reich", during which he was awarded the Knight's Cross and the only Oakleaves awarded to a member of the Reconnaissance battalion.



Johannes Muhlenkamp, Standartenfuhrer (colonel), Originally he was given the command of the 2nd SS Division "Das Reich" Reconnaissance Battalion. In March of 1942 he was assigned to the 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Viking", as Panzer Battalion commander, until March 1943. When the number of soldiers from the battalion have been increased, the battalion was converted into a regiment. On August 1944, Mühlenkamp was given the command of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Viking"

 

Nice photo of Maki Schaefer !!

 

Those are pretty nice

 

Rudolf von Ribbentropp, Hauptsturmfuhrer, He was commissioned on 20 April 1941 as a Untersturmführer. He was given command of a platoon in 1. Kompanie in Reconnaissance Battalion "Nord". Upon the invasion of Russia, SS-Kampfgruppe Nord was sent to Finland where Ribbentrop was to distinguish himself and was awarded the Finnish Freedom Cross, fourth class. He was wounded in action and after a long hosptial stay he was tranferred to the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler. He was assigned to 3. Kompanie's first Platoon as Platoon leader. After serving briefly with the Regimental Staff as a Operations Officer, he was then assigned to the 6. Kompanie, II./SS-PzRgt 1, in command of the first Platoon where he went into action during the retreat from Kharkov. Von Ribbentrop was wounded for the third time during these battles; shot in the right shoulder blade, and left shoulder. He also had a minor lung wound.
On 13 March 1943 Ribbentrop took command of 7. Kompanie, and was the Kompaniechef during the recapture of Kharkov. After Kharkov was captured, Ribbentrop was placed as a Regimental Adjutant. One month later he was given the responsibility of training Luftwaffe members that were sent to the LSSAH. On 15 June he returned to field command, and was appointed commander of 6. Kompanie. One month later he was awarded the Knight's Cross. On 1 August he was transferred to the newly formed 12th SS Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend", and was charged with commanding two Junior officer training courses. Four months later he was appointed commander of the 3. Kompanie, I./SS-PzRgt 12. On 3 June 1944, heading back to Le Neubourg following a training excersize, his car was attacked by a Spitfire, and von Ribbentrop was wounded for the fourth time. By 9 June, he was back in command of his Kompanie. During the defensive battles in Normandy, Ribbentrop was awarded the German Cross in Gold, and the Panzer Assault Badge. Following the breakout from Falaise, von Ribbentrop was made the Regimental Adjutant to SS-Panzer regiment 12.
On 20 December he was wounded for the fifth time with a shell fragment in his mouth. He was awarded the Wound Badge in Gold, and was given command of I./SS-PzRgt 12. He commanded this Abteilung until the Division surrendered to the Americans on 8 May 1945.



Walter Reder, Sturbannfuhrer, He held various commands in the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf"
In the opening weeks of Operation Barbarosa, Reder commanded the 11.Company of SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 1 which spearheaded the German advance on Leningrad. During the bitter fighting near Chilkowa in September 1941, Reder was severely wounded in the neck, but recovered quickly and returned to his division just a month later. In March 1942, he was given command of the I.Battalion of the SS-Panzer-Grendadier-Regiment 5 Totenkopf leading it for more than a year and also throughout the Third Battle of Kharkov. On 9 March 1943, during the ferocious fighting near Dergatsch, south of Kharkiv, Reder was again severely wounded and a day later the lower portion of his left arm had to be amputated. For his exemplary leadership at Kharkiv, SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer (Captain) Reder was on 3 April 1943 awarded the much coveted Knights Cross.



Ernst Barkmann, Oberscharfuhrer, In the beginning of the war Barkmann was in the SS-Division (mot) Germania. The division was to comprise a large number of European Volunteers. In early 1942, Barkmann was posted as an instructor to a unit in The Netherlands where he was responsible for training European SS volunteers. Barkmann requested a transfer to the newly formed Waffen-SS panzer arm. In winter 1942/43 he was sent back to the Eastern Front to join the second company of I./SS-Panzer-Regiment "Das Reich", a part of the 2nd SS-Panzer Grendadier Division "Das Reich". In July 1943, his division next took part in Operation Citadel, the operation to destroy the Kursk Salient. Barkmann saw action during the mammoth tank battles around Prokhorovka. The Das Reich division remained on the Eastern front until January 1944. Early in February, the division was ordered to France to refit and to form a part of Panzergruppe West, the armoured reserve for the expected allied invasion. Leaving its remaining armour behind for other divisions to use, the Das Reich was posted to the Bordeauz region. With the exception of several skirmishes with partisans, the refit was uneventful. Barkmann, along with the rest of the I Battalion of the panzer regiment, was equipped with new model Panthers.
During the Normandy Battles Barkmann achieved much recognition for his action in the Normandy Hedgerows near the town of Le Lorey. On the morning of July 27, Barkmann found himself in his Panther cut off from the rest of his company. While attempting to reach his unit, he was stopped near the village of Le Lorey where he was told by German infantrymen that the Americans were closing in with a large armoured column. Barkmann positioned his Panther under a stand of oak trees near the crossroads where the American tanks would have to pass.
As the column came into sight, Barkmann knocked out the two lead Shermans and a fuel tanker truck. Next, he destroyed two Shermans which had attempted to bypass the burning tanker. The Americans called in fighter Bombers, which damaged Barkmann's Panther and wounded two of his crewmen. Barkmann's next victims were two Shermans that had used the noise of the fighter-bombers as cover to sneak up on the damaged Panther's flank. As Barkmann's crew repaired the Panther, two more Shermans were knocked out. Finally, before leaving, Barkmann destroyed one last Sherman.
During the engagement, which has come to be known as Barkmann's Corner, it has been claimed Barkmann knocked out nine Shermans and several other American vehicles and halted an American armoured attack. For his actions, he was awarded the Knights Cross.



Josef "Sepp" Lanier, Hauptscharfuhrer (master Sergeant), In 1940 he was part of the 2nd Company, SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Der Führer, "Das Reich" Division and participated in the invasion of Holland and the Battle of France as a Rottenfuhrer (Senior Corporal) in command of a machine gun group.
At the beginning of 1941 Lainer had been promoted to Unterscharfuhrer (Sergeant) and took part in the invasion of Russa in June 1941, where he received his first wound on the 8 July being hit by shell splinters.
Lainer returned to the front within hours and was involved in 15 battles in 17 days which included the battles at Smolensk, Kiev, Gomel and the outskirts of Moscow.
In the Autumn battle outside of Moscow, Lainer was again wounded three times in two hours, twice shot in the arm which was also fractured, which resulted in Lainer being admitted to hospital and it was the skill of the surgeons that prevented the amputation of the arm. After his release from hospital Lainer was assigned to a training company in Germany, returning to the "Das Reich" which was still in Russia, in the spring of 1943. Lainer was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class in the defensive battles at Kiev and days later was again shot in the arm refusing to leave the front Lainer was promoted to Oberscharfuhrer(Technical Sergeant) and given command of a platoon in the 2nd Company, a position normally held by an officer.

In August 1943 Lainer was involved in the Battle of Kharkov and the action the resulted in the award of the Knight's Cross.
Located in the village of Korotich, Lainer's unit came under attack by the Russians. His unit had taken over an abandoned Russian tank which they used to counter attack the Russian positions. During the assault Lainer was again wounded by shrapnel from a Russian Hand Grenade, but they did manage to stop the Russian attack.
That night they were attacked by a company of Russians, but managed to hold them off. The Russians attacked again and again, for five days. On the sixth day the Russians put in an attack in strength, using tanks. Lainer had deployed his men in the minefield in front of the German line to fight off this attack. During these battles Lainer was twice slightly wounded, for which he received the Wound Badge in Gold.
For these actions Lainer was awarded the Knight's Cross in October 1943, and was congratulated by Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein the commander of the Army Group.
He was also awarded the Close Combat Clasp in Gold for having spent 54 days in combat, he was the seventh person to receive the Gold award and only the third NCO.
Lainer was now promoted to Hauptscharfuhrer (Master Sergeant) in January 1944 and moved with the Das Reich Division to France, where he would lead his men against the British and American forces in Normandy.

 

Heinz Harmel, Brigade Fuhrer (General), At the end of 1938 Harmel was appointed as commander of the 9th Company of the new SS-Regiment "Der Führer". On December 4, 1941, Harmel took command of SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Deutschland", whose commander, SS-Oberführer Wilhelm Bittrich, replaced SS-Gruppenführer Paul Hausser as divisional commander when he was seriously wounded. Harmel officially became commander of the SS-Infanterie-Regiment "Deutschland" on June 18, 1942. He was promoted to the rank of Obersturmbannfuhrer (lieutenant colonel), on October 20, 1942. During the winter of 1942-1943, Harmel struggled with his men near Rzhev-Oskol, with courage and selflessness. Harmel participated in the capture of Kharkov on March 15, 1943. He distinguished himself by attacking with his regiment at night. To honor these heroic actions, Heinz Harmel received the Knights Cross on March 31, 1943 and he also received the Tank Destruction Badge to honor individuals who single-handedly destroyed an enemy tank with hand held explosives.
On April 1944, Heinz Harmel took command of the 10th SS-Panzer Division "Frundsberg" On September 9 1944, Harmel was promoted to the rank of Brigade Fuhrer. At 38-years-old, Harmel was respectfully called "Der Alte" (The Old) by his men, who were often themselves teenagers.
During the summer 1944, the division moved to the Western Front, in Normandy. Harmel had been ordered to break the enemy's lines, to free the German units, trapped at Falaise Pocket.
Harmel was then sent to the Netherlands. He fought for the defense of the Reich against the Allied offensive Operation Market Garden. He distinguished himself again during the battle. After the fights around Nijmegen, Harmel received the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on December 15, 1944.
In the 1977 movie A Bridge Too Far, German actor Hardy Kruger portrays a character named SS-Brigadeführer Ludwig, which based on Heinz Harmel. Harmel did not want his name to be mentioned in the movie.

 

Ive a few of the above too. Do you have any from Remy Schrijnen?

 

C.Evans
yes I do have a Remi signed photo and I posted it a few threads back under the title "Knights Cross Wearers, new signed photos"

Also thanks Paul and GST121 for the compliments

 

Hi NJ, thats great ;-)) I have quite a few from him including letters and such. My most prized is a signed copy of: The Last Night of Flanders. He signed the cover and every photo of him in it as well as dedicated it to me ;-)) Remy did this when Susanne and I were visiting he and his wife in Hagen-over 10 years ago. Hard to imagine its been a decade already.

 

@ C.Evans
wow that is great that you got to meet Remi and to get the signed book and all the photos signed.
I have seen a few of his letters to people requesting signed photos and he always seems to be very nice and cordial
It must have been a real treat to be able to talk to him about his experiences

 

Here are some of the other officers (not Wafffen SS) that I have recently acquired


Heinrich Eberbach, General der Panzertruppen,
In June 1941, as commander of the 5th Panzer Brigade in Generaloberst Guderian's XXIV Panzer-Korps, Eberbach participated in the invasion of Russia. By March 1942 he had been promoted to Major General and made commander of the 4.Panzer-Division in Tula, Russia. Later he became commander of the XLVIII Panzer-Korps operating near Kiev.
In late November 1942 Eberbach was wounded near Stalingrad and hospitalized until February.

Shortly thereafter he became Inspector of the Armored Troops in the Home Army, awarded the Knights Cross and promoted to Lieutenant General.

In November 1943 Eberbach became commander of the Army Group Nikopol and fought in battles around Zhitomir in Russia. In December he incurred a kidney illness and later made Inspector of Panzer Troops.

In early 1944 Eberbach was promoted to the rank of General der Panzertruppen. During the Normandy Invasion, he fought against the British landings along the 'Juno' and 'Sword' beaches. In July he took command of "Panzer Group West" in the Caen area and after a reorganization his unit was redesignated Fifth Panzer Army. In August he formed Panzergroup Eberbach during his failed attempt to recapture Avranches and later became commander of 7.Armee itself.



Arthur Juttner, Oberst (Colonel), Very Highly decorated combat officer of the Wehrmacht. He was awarded the Close Combat Clasp in Silver which was awarded for engaging in hand to hand combat, the Silver version was for engaging in hand to hand combat for over 30 days. Juttner was also awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He first received the Knights Cross on 14 December 1941 as Hauptmann (Captain) and commander of the III./Infanterie-Regiment 38. He was awarded the Oak-Leaves on 18 October 1944 as Oberst (Colonel) and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 532. Then on April 1st 1945 he was awarded the Swords as the commander of Grendier Regiment 532.



Walther Wenck, General der Panzertruppen, (he was the youngest General in the German Army and was called the "Boy General")
From 1939 to 1942, Wenck was Chief of Operations for the First Panzer Division.
Wenck stayed on the Eastern Front and, from 1942 to 1943, he was Chief of Staff of "Army Detachment Hollidt" which was subordinated to the Third Romanian Army. In 1943, he was Chief of Staff of the Sixth Army. From 1943 to 1944, Wenck was Chief of Staff of the First Panzer Army. In 1944, he was Chief of Staff of Army Group South Ukraine.

From 15 February 1945, at the insistence of General Heinz Guderian, Wenck commanded the German forces involved in Operation Solstice (Unternehmen Sonnenwende) on the Eastern Front. With General Felix Steiner commanding the 11th SS-Panzer Army, this was one of the last major German tank offensives of the war. Approximately 1200 German tanks attacked Soviet positions in Pomerania.

On 10 April 1945, as General of Panzer Troops, Wenck was made the commander of the German Twelfth Army located to the west of Berlin. The Twelfth Army was positioned to defend against the advancing American and British forces on the Western Front. The area of control of Wenck's army to his rear and east of the Elbe River had become a vast refugee camp for German civilians fleeing the path of the approaching Soviet forces. Wenck took great pains to provide food and lodging for these refugees. At one stage, the Twelfth Army was estimated to be feeding more than a quarter million people every day.

On 22 April, Wenck's Twelfth Army became Hitler's last hope to save Berlin. Wenck was ordered to disengage the Americans to his west and, attacking to the east, link up with the Ninth Army of (Generaloberst) Theodor Busse. Together, they would attack the Soviets encircling Berlin from the west and from the south. Wenck's army, only recently formed, did make a sudden turn around and, in the general confusion, surprised the Russians surrounding the German capital with an unexpected attack. Wenck's forces attacked towards Berlin in good morale and made some initial progress, but they were halted outside of Potsdam by strong Soviet resistance.

As his attempt to reach Berlin started to look impossible, Wenck developed a plan to move his army towards the Forest of Halbe. There he planned to link up with the remnants of the Ninth Army, "Army Group Spree," and the Potsdam garrison. Wenck also wanted to provide an escape route for as many citizens of Berlin as possible.
Arriving at the furthest point of his attack, Wenck radioed the message: "Hurry up, we are waiting for you." Despite the attacks on his escape path, Wenck brought his own army, remnants of the Ninth Army, and many civilian refugees safely across the Elbe and into territory occupied by the U.S. Army. Estimates vary, but it is likely the corridor his forces opened enabled up to 250,000 refugees, including up to 25,000 men of the Ninth Army, to escape towards the west just ahead of the advancing Soviets.

 

Here are a few more, click on image to enlarge

 

some others, if image small click on them to enlarge

 

I prefer larger size with personal inscriptions as seen by the previous 2, same for US aces. Click to enlarge

 

Ed, project team head for designing the B-17 (my favorite plane), click to enlarge

 

For Stuka KC I mostly wrote those with 1,000or more missions, or EL and higher awards

 

1 of several large size of Noller

 

always liked color though a bit hard to find

 

Making images small to fit file limit, must be doing something wrong as they come up thumbs one must click on

1 of my favorite "Wiking" KC both historically and personally