List of Knight's Cross recipients 22nd Volunteer cavalry Division Maria Theresia
The 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia. was a German Waffen SS cavalry division which saw action on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. The Maria Theresia was composed primarily of Hungarian Volksdeutsche. The bulk of the soldiers were Hungarian Army volksdeutsche conscripts, transferred to the Waffen-SS following an agreement between Germany and Hungary. The division was organized in absolute secrecy; this led many of The New recruits to incorrectly assume that they were part of Adolf [...]'s much vaunted Wunderwaffe program. The division was designated 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia.. The Title referred to Maria Theresa from the House of Habsburg, who had ruled Austria, Hungary and Bohemia in the 18th century. The symbol of the division, a cornflower, is emblazoned on the divisional shield. It was adopted as it was the favourite flower of Empress Maria Theresa.
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 September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.
Prerequisites
To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole.
Grades
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was divided into five grades, excluding the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross:
- Knights Cross
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and swords
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Knights Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Knight's Cross with Oakleaves
- August Zehender, 01.02.1945 SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der W-SS Kdr 22. SS-Kav.Div
Knight’s Cross
SS Cavalry Regiment 17
- Paul Reißmann, 16.11.1944 Oberscharführer Commander 4th Squadron
SS Cavalry Regiment 52 Ungarn
- Anton Ameiser, 01.11.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander 52nd SS Cav Rgt
- Anton Vandieken, 26.12.1944 Hauptsturmführer Commander 6th Company
SS Cavalry Regiment 53
- Werner Dallmann, 17.01.1945 Untersturmführer Adjutant 53rd SS Cav Rgt
See also
- 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia
Footnotes
References
- SEEMEN, Gerhard von: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas, 1976.
- SCHERZER, Veit: Knight's Cross Recipients 1939 - 1945 (Paperback) by Enid Blyton, 1999
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