Alois Eisele was a highly decorated Major in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves - awarded to him to recognise extreme battlefield bravery and successful military leadership. He was also awarded the very rare Close Combat Clasp in Gold - one of only 631 awards of the kind to be ever bestowed. Other awards include the Iron Cross 2nd Class, 1st Class, West Wall Medal, Wound Badge in Black, in Silver, in Gold, Close Combat Clasp in Bronze, in Silver, in Gold, Eastern Front Medal, Infantry Assault Badge, German Cross in Gold as Hauptmann in the 9./Grenadier-Regiment 61, Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 15 December 1943 as Hauptmann and commander of III./Grenadier-Regiment 61 and the 695th Oak Leaves on 12 January 1945 as Major and commander of III./Grenadier-Regiment 61. ...more

Werner Ebeling (21 November 1913 – 25 August 2008) was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a Generalmajor in the Bundeswehr commanding the 11. Panzergrenadier-Division of the Bundeswehr. During WWII, he fought in the Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa, Siege of Leningrad, Demyansk Pocket Battle of Narva, and the Samland Offensive. Tow photos!...more

Otto-Ernst Remer was a German Wehrmacht officer who played a decisive role in stopping the 1944 20 July Plot against Adolf Hitler. During the war he was wounded nine times in combat. After the war he co-founded the Sozialistische Reichspartei (SRP) and advanced Holocaust denial. He is considered the "Godfather" of the post-war Nazi underground. By the time of the attack on Poland, in 1939, he was an Oberleutnant in a motorised infantry company, and went on to serve in the Balkans Campaign, as well as in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. By April 1942, he was a battalion commander, and he joined the Infantry Regiment Grosseutschland and his troops, mounted in halftracks, covered the withdrawal of an entire Waffen-SS tank corps during the fighting at Kharkov. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for his service as battalion commander, and in November 1943, he was awarded the Oak leaves to the Knight's Cross for leadership at Krivoi Rog, which was presented by Adolf Hitler personally. In March 1944, Remer and his men successfully stopped the 20 July plot to seize control of the German government, following an assassination attempt on Hitler. Otto Ernst Remer first heard of it through members of the Nazi Party and waited for official word of Hitler's fate. Remer heard both rumours that Hitler survived and rumours saying he died in the blast. That evening Claus Von Stauffenberg was given control of Germany and its power because the military was convinced that Hitler did not survive the assassination attempt. Stauffenberg and his staff had Remer arrest several Nazi officials, claiming that they were arming defense from a mutiny. Upon being ordered by General Paul von Hase to arrest Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, Remer went to Goebbels' office to do so, pistol in hand. However, Goebbels used his oratory skills to dissuade Remer from arresting him, insisting instead that Hitler was still alive. When Remer asked for proof, Goebbels picked up the phone and asked to be put through to Hitler. Within the minute, Hitler was on the phone, and Goebbels handed the receiver to Remer. Hitler asked Remer whether he recognised his voice, whereupon Remer answered that he did. Hitler then gave Remer orders to crush the plot with his troops. Remer guiltily realised that he and his men actually were taking orders from the mutineers and unwittingly supporting it. Remer and his troops reversed the results from given orders from the plotters. Slowly the plotters were stripped of controls from Germany thus confusing the plotters and postponing the mutiny to figure out the confusion. Then Remer went to the Berlin Nazi base and arrested the plotters including Stauffenberg. Friedrich Fromm had the plotters executed but Remer unsuccessfully tried to dissuade Fromm since Remer was told to keep the plotters alive. That same night Remer was promoted two ranks to Oberst (colonel). Remer went on to command an expanded Führer Begleit Brigade, a field unit formed from a Grossdeutschland cadre, in East Prussia and then transferred to the west for the Ardennes Offensive,suffering high casualties. He was eventually captured by American troops, and remained a prisoner until 1947.Remer's Socialist Reich Party, which he had co-founded in 1950, was banned in 1952, after it had gathered about 360,000 supporters in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, and won 16 seats in the state parliament. Main issues of the party included Holocaust denial, where it accused the U.S. of planting fake gas chambers and films about concentration camps, seesaw politics, and ending Germany's puppet status with the United States. With the party banned, Remer faced criminal charges from the German government as being the successor party to the Nazis, but fled to Egypt. Arriving in Egypt, he served as an advisor to Gamal Abdel Nasser and worked with fellow Nazis proliferating weapon technology to Arab countries....more

Karl-Adolf Hollidt was a German army general and commander during the Second World. During the First World War, Hollidt served on the Western Front. Over the course of the war he received two promotions: to First Lieutenant in 1915 and in 1918 to the rank of Captain. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class in 1914 and the Iron Cross 1st Class in 1916. After the war he had several promotions, to the rank of Major in 1930, and to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1933, serving as a battalion commander in Infantry Regiment No. 12 in Dessau. Hollidt next served as a Colonel (in the General Staff) in 1935 and as a Chief-of-Staff of the 1st Army Corps in Königsberg. After his appointment as Major-General on 1 April 1938, Hollidt was active as an infantry commander in Siegen. He also commanded Infantry Regiments No. 57, 116 and 136. At the beginning of World War II, Hollidt served as commander of the 52nd Infantry Division. From 1 November 1939, he served as a Chief-of-Staff with Commander-in-Chief Ost, General Blaskowitz. Lieutenant General Hollidt (promoted 1 April 1940) served from October 1940 as the commander of the 50th Infantry Division in Greece. Promoted to the rank of General der Infanterie (Infantry General), Hollidt commanded XVII Army Corps, which was planned to take part in the relief operation concerning the 6th Army, then encircled in the Russian city of Stalingrad. After the surrender of the 6th Army, it was reconstituted in March 1943 and Hollidt was given its command. He was promoted to Colonel General on 1 September 1943. In 1944, his 6th Army suffered severe losses during its retreat from its area of operations north of the Dnieper. Hollidt was subsequently dismissed from his command and put into reserve. In 1945, Hollidt was captured by US forces. After a trial held at Nuremberg, he was convicted of the unlawful use of prisoners of war and of the deportation and enslavement of civilians. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, of which he served a little less than 14 months. He was awardedthe Knight's Cross for the Battle at the Mius, where infantry and tank units of the Army and Waffen-SS under the command of General of Infantry Hollidt, repeatedly thwarted attempts of strong enemy forces to break through, and in a bold counter-attack struck the north Kuibyschewo broke through the enemy. ...more

Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt was a highly decorated Major in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Dennhardt, a former member of the Nazi Party, served in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein as a Christian Democratic Union politician after World War II. He rejoined the military service in the West German Bundeswehr in 1955, retiring in 1971 holding the rank of Brigadegeneral. He commanded the Panzergrenadierbrigade 16 of the Bundeswehr from 1 November 1965 to 31 March 1968 and was deputy commander of the 6th Panzergrenadier Division....more

Gerhard Mokros was a highly decorated Oberst der Reserve in the Wehrmacht during World War II, commanding Grenadier-Regiment 423. His awards include the Iron Cross 2nd Class, 1st Class, Wound Badge in Black, in Silver, Eastern Front Medal, German Cross in Gold as Major of the Reserves in the II./Grenadier-Regiment 331, as well as the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves as Leutnant and leader of the 7./Infanterie-Regiment 331 and (860th) Oak Leaves on 5 May 1945 as Oberst of the Reserves and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 423. Gerhard Mokros was captured by American forces in May 1945 and was released in December 1945....more

Prof. em. Dr. Bodo Spranz was a highly decorated Hauptmann in the Wehrmacht during World War II and one of the leading researchers of preclassic meso-American history. Upon successful completion of his training, he was assigned to Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 185 as a Zugführer with the Heeresgruppe Nord on the Eastern Front. In 1941, he was transferred to Schweinfurt as a Batterieoffizier with the Sturmgeschütz Ersatz- und Ausbildungsabteilung 200. He was once again serving on the Eastern Front between 1942 and 1943 as a Zugführer and later Batteriechef with Sturmgeschützabteilung 185.On 1 April 1942 he was promoted to Oberleutnant. For a short time he returned to the Sturmgeschütz Ersatz- und Ausbildungsabteilung 200 at Schweinfurt but transferred back to the Eastern Front on 2 June 1943 as a Batteriechef with Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 237. As a consequence of being decorated with the Knights Cross and the Oakleaves, both on 3 October 1943, he received a promotion to Hauptmann. He served with the Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 237 until 2 April 1944, after which time he was assigned as Hörsaalleiter with the Sturmgeschütz-schule at Magdeburg. From the beginning of 1945 until the end of the war, Bodo Spranz was assigned as an Ordonnanzoffizier (Aide-de-camp) with the Chef Generalstab des Heeres, Generaloberst Heinz Guderian, with the 29. Panzergrenadier-Division in Italy and finally with Army Commander General Wenck in Berlin. He was captured by the Americans on 6–7 May 1945, trying to escape Soviet captivity and transferred to a British POW camp until his release. Other awards include the Iron Cross 2nd Class, 1st Class, Wound Badge in Black, in Silver, in Gold, Eastern Front Medal, 4 (!)Tank Destruction Badges for Individual Combatants, General Assault Badge with 25 Numers, and the German Cross in Gold...more

Heinrich Neumann was a highly decorated Oberstarzt in the Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Neumann was a medical doctor and participated in the Spanish Civil War, and participated in the Battles of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Crete, as well as the Eastern Front. Awards include the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen, Flugzeugbeobachterabzeichen, Medalla de la Campaña de España, Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords, Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar, Iron Cross 2nd Class, 1st Class, Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe, Eastern Front Medal, Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as Oberstabsarzt and troop doctor of the Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment and the Armelband Kreta. ...more

Heinz Oskar Laebe was a highly decorated infantry officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Laebe joined the Polizei (police force) of Hamburg in 1932 and was promoted to Leutnant of the Prussian Landespolizei on 1 January 1935. During the war he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (2 October 1939), 1st Class (10 July 1940), Wound Badge in Black (17 March 1943), Eastern Front Medal (1 August 1942), Infantry Assault Badge in Silver, Close Combat Clasp in Bronze (8 June 1944), Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (28 March 1943), Armband Courland (20 April 1945), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 7 March 1944 as Major and commander of the I./Grenadier-Regiment 44 and the 854th Oak Leaves on 29 April 1945 as Oberst and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 44. ...more

Gerhard Hein was a highly decorated Oberstleutnant der Reserve in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards include the Iron Cross 2nd Class (23 June 1940), 1st Class (27 June 1940), Wound Badge in Black, in Silver, Eastern Front Medal, German Cross in Silver (15 July 1944), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 3 September 1940 as Unteroffizier der Reserve and platoon leader in 10. / Infanterie-Regiment 209 and the 120th Oak Leaves on 6 September 1942 as Leutnant der Reserve and leader of 5. / Infanterie-Regiment 209....more

Josef-Wilhelm Rettemeier (was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II and an Oberst in the Bundeswehr. Rettemeier served with 5.leichte Div (which became 21.Pz Div) as part of Rommel’s Afrikakorps. During the course of the campaign Rettemeier, promoted to Hauptmann on 1 February 1942, became a tank officer, serving as a company commander with Pz Regt 5. He remained in North Africa until 1943, earning the ‘Afrika’ campaign cuffband which is seen proudly worn on the sleeve of his black tank uniform in later photos. His regiment was decimated during the final battles in Tunisia, though Rettemeier was one of those fortunate enough to escape captivity, being evacuated before the final collapse in 1943. Moved to the Eastern Front, Rettemeier’s unit – now redesignated as Pz Abt 5, assigned to 25.PzGren Div – was heavily involved in fierce fighting in the area around Vitebsk and Rogashev; for his command of the battalion during these testing battles he was decorated with the Knight’s Cross on 5 December 1943. The Oak-Leaves were added on 13 March 1944, and he was promoted to Major shortly thereafter. Major Rettemeier was a true front line soldier, always in the thick of the action, as attested by his award of the Wound Badge in Gold for five or more wounds. During the Normandy campaign following the Allied landings of June 1944, Rettemeier served with the elite Panzer Lehr Division. Despite the relatively high quality of both men and equipment allocated to this formation, combat attrition, Allied naval gunfire support and overwhelming air superiority saw Panzer Lehr suffer dreadful losses, and by July 1944 it had been all but wiped out. Rettemeier was subsequently posted to the staff of the Officer Training School at Erlagen, remaining in that post until the end of the war. When the German armed forces were reconstituted in the 1950s, Rettemeier joined the Bundeswehr; he rose to the command of Panzerbrigade 6, and eventually to deputy divisional commander of 2.Panzergrenadier Division. He finally retired from German military service in 1972, but spent some time as an advisor with the Nationalist Chinese forces on Taiwan....more

Ernst-Georg Kedzia was a highly decorated Major in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards include the Iron Cross 2nd Class, 1st Class, Eastern Front Medal, Infantry Assault Badge, German Cross in Gold (March 1944), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 26 November 1944 as Hauptmann and commander of the II./Grenadier-Regiment 272[, and the 794th Oak Leaves on 23 March 1945 as Major and Combat commander of Fürstenberg an der Oder and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 98....more

Peter Frantz joined the military in 1936, opting to serve in Artillery Regiment 4 in Dresden. Serving as an aspirant officer during his initial years of service, he was commissioned as a Leutnant on 1 September 1938, moving to Panzer Artillery Regiment 74 of the 2nd Panzer Division. Frantz served in Poland as an orderly officer in the regimental headquarters of Panzer Artillery Regiment 74, earning the Iron Cross II Class, and afterwards moved to Vienna, then the artillery school at Jüterbog where the first battery of assault guns was raised by the German Army. This battery, Battery 640, was assigned to Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland in April 1940 and became the 16th Company of the Regiment shortly after. Hard service as a platoon commander during the first six months of the Russian Campaign earned Frantz both a "Certificate of Recognition" by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army in October 1941, but also the German Cross in Gold in December.Oberleutnant Frantz rose to command the entire 16th Company; in defensive battles near Tula in December 1941 his company destroyed many enemy armoured vehicles, including 15 enemy tanks on 13 December alone. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. By March 1942, Frantz was a battery commander in the reorganized Assault Gun Battalion GD. On March 14, 1943, Frantz led a group of assault guns in battle, destroying some 43 T-34 tanks, for which he was decorated with the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. In April, Adolf Hitler personally award Frantz with his Oak Leaves in Berlin. Frantz served with GD Assault Guns until January 1944, when he was transferred to the War Academy for general staff training, being appointed Major of the General Staff (Major i.G.) in August 1944. He saw action as a corps headquarters officer in the west, was captured in May 1945 by the Americans, and remained in captivity until April 1946. ...more

Ernst Kuppinger was a highly decorated Hauptmann in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards include the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (17 June 1940), 1st Class (1 October 1941), Wound Badge (1939) in Black, in Silver, in Gold, Infantry Assault Badge, Eastern Front Medal Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 24 December 1944 as Hauptmann and commander of the II./Grenadier-Regiment 352during the Battle of the Bulge, and the 819th Oak Leaves on 5 April 1945 as Hauptmann and commander of Füsilier-Battalion 246 at the end of the war. Ernst Kuppinger was captured by French troops in April 1945 and was held until April 1946....more

Peter Frantz joined the military in 1936, opting to serve in Artillery Regiment 4 in Dresden. Serving as an aspirant officer during his initial years of service, he was commissioned as a Leutnant on 1 September 1938, moving to Panzer Artillery Regiment 74 of the 2nd Panzer Division. Frantz served in Poland as an orderly officer in the regimental headquarters of Panzer Artillery Regiment 74, earning the Iron Cross II Class, and afterwards moved to Vienna, then the artillery school at Jüterbog where the first battery of assault guns was raised by the German Army. This battery, Battery 640, was assigned to Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland in April 1940 and became the 16th Company of the Regiment shortly after. Hard service as a platoon commander during the first six months of the Russian Campaign earned Frantz both a "Certificate of Recognition" by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army in October 1941, but also the German Cross in Gold in December.Oberleutnant Frantz rose to command the entire 16th Company; in defensive battles near Tula in December 1941 his company destroyed many enemy armoured vehicles, including 15 enemy tanks on 13 December alone. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. By March 1942, Frantz was a battery commander in the reorganized Assault Gun Battalion GD. On March 14, 1943, Frantz led a group of assault guns in battle, destroying some 43 T-34 tanks, for which he was decorated with the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. In April, Adolf Hitler personally award Frantz with his Oak Leaves in Berlin. Frantz served with GD Assault Guns until January 1944, when he was transferred to the War Academy for general staff training, being appointed Major of the General Staff (Major i.G.) in August 1944. He saw action as a corps headquarters officer in the west, was captured in May 1945 by the Americans, and remained in captivity until April 1946. ...more

Günter Goebel was an Officer in the German Wehrmacht, his 79th Infantry Division was part of the 6th Army during the invasion of the Soviet Union. In October 1941 he was awarded the Knight's Cross for his part in leading an advance battalion when a supply route was captured by Soviet forces. In 1941 he was also entered into the Honour Roll of the German Army. He is also known for the command of the Kampfgruppe Goebel assault on Stalingrad at the end of November 1942 around Nishij and Tschiskaja with 3,000 servicemen. With the following radio message, they became known to the staff of the 6th Army: "Battle-group Captain Goebel with 3,000 men holds the Don River bridge at (Werchne) Chir(skaya). Keep the head up, as we do". He held, together with his Kampfgruppe, for weeks, an important bridgehead. He later became the 180th recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for his bravery. In 1945, two days after signing the unconditional surrender documents for all German forces, he was taken into Soviet captivity, on 11 May 1945. He was detained for more than 10 years in different Soviet labor camps. On 9 October 1955 he was released, thanks to Konrad Adenauer and his successful negotiations over the release of the last German World War II prisoners. ...more

Eberhard Zahn served under Erwin Rommel in North Africa as the adjutant, platoon leader, and ultimately as the commander of the Panzerjäger-Abteilung 33, which was attached to the 15. Panzer-Division. On 15 June 1941 he stopped a enemy tank attack in which six British tanks were destroyed during the Battle of Fort Capuzzo. In this battle, he was captured by the enemy and entered captivity from which he managed to escape. For this, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross on 30 June 1941. Hauptmann Zahn received on 6 March 1943 as the 204th soldier of the German Wehrmacht the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross. After the end of fighting in Africa he served briefly in Sicily and then fought on the Eastern Front as commander of a Panzerjäger-Abteilung. In September 1944 he was appointed leader of the Panzer-Brigade 101. Then he took over the Panzer-Regiment 9 until he fell at the end of the war as Oberstleutnant into Soviet captivity in Bohemia, but from which he escaped after a short time. He traveled to the west until he encountered US forces and surrendered to them. ...more

Alfred Müller was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards include the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (11 October 1939), 1st Class (25 July 1941), Wound Badge (1939) in Black (7 June 1943), General Assault Badge (29 August 1941), Kuban Shield (1 December 1944), Order of Michael the Brave 3rd Class (28 January 1944), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 20 February 1943 as Hauptmann and commander of Sturmgeschütz-Batterie 901, the 354th Oak Leaves on 15 December 1943 as Hauptmann and commander of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 191 and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (22 February 1973). Alfred Müller was captured by American troops in May 1945. In 1956 he joined the Bundeswehr and served until 1979 retiring as a Brigadegeneral....more

Dr. jur. Josef-Georg Mulzer was a highly decorated Oberstleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards include the Iron Cross (1939), 2nd Class (27 June 1940), 1st Class (30 August 1942), Wound Badge (1939) in Silver, General Assault Badge, Narvik Shield, Eastern Front Medal (2 September 1942), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 7 September 1943 as Major and commander of Pionier-Bataillon 195, and the Oak Leaves on 10 January 1944 as Major and commander of Pionier-Bataillon 195. ...more

Wilhelm Niggenmeyer was a German officer who served in the Wehrmacht during World War II and in the postwar Bundeswehr. Niggemeyer personally destroyer four Soviet tanks single-handily, as well as 34 others with his unit. He participated in making of Männer gegen Panzer, 1943 German film, about different types of infantry anti-tank warfare....more

Erich Reuter was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards include the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (8 June 1940), 1st Class (6 July 1940), Wound Badge in Black, Infantry Assault Badge, Eastern Front Medal (1942), Crimea Shield (1943), Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (29 September 1941), German Cross in Gold (12 March 1942), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 17 August 1942 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 122, the 710th Oak Leaves on 21 January 1945 as Generalmajor and commander of 46. Infanterie-Division. ...more

Ernst König (12 August 1908 – 3 March 1986) was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards - Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (1 October 1939), 1st Class (10 October 1940), Wound Badge in Black, in Silver,, in Gold, German Cross in Gold (7 March 1942), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 16 September 1943 as Major and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 12, the 598th Oak Leaves on 21 September 1944 as Oberst and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 12....more

Helmuth Reymann was an officer in the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) during World War II. Reymann was one of the last commanders of the Berlin Defense Area during the final assault by Soviet forces on the city of Berlin. From 1942 to 1943, Lieutenant-General Reymann commanded the 212th Infantry Division in northern Russia. His division was part of Army Group North. In 1944, Reymann was transferred within Army Group North to command the 13th Air Force Field Division fighting in northern Russia. Reymann's 13th Air Force Field Division suffered heavy losses in the retreat from Leningrad. The division was disbanded in April 1944. In October 1944, Reymann's division was encircled in Latvia with a large number of German units in what was to be known as the Courland Pocket. Reyman was replaced by Lieutenant-General (Generalleutnant) Gerhard Feyerabend and Reymann returned to Germany. Then Reymann was ordered to lead the defense of Dresden. The 53-year-old Dresden resident cursed at his phone, "Tell [Hitler] there's nothing [in Dresden] to defend except rubble!" An hour later, Burgdorf called again, "The Führer has appointed you military commander of Berlin instead." Thus Reymann became the third person to be appointed command of the Berlin Defense Area. When he entered Berlin, he found that he had inherited nothing from his predecessor Lieutenant General Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild. No plans were drawn to evacuate the children and the elderly, and no food had been stored in case of an enemy siege. The blunt Reymann set to work regardless, doing all he could to prepare the city for the imminent attack that the top Nazi leaders refused to acknowledge. Reymann was also notably an opponent of the destruction of the bridges leading into Berlin before the Russian invasion; he believed that if the bridges were destroyed, which would deprive the city of its electricity, water, and fuel, Berlin would starve and cease to exist as an influential city in Europe....more

Fritz-Rudolf Schultz was a German politician and member of the FDP. Schultz fought in World War II as a member of the Panzertruppe. During the Battle of Kursk, he knocked out 10 Soviet tanks, including one by ramming. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves which he received from Heinrich Himmler personally in Trossingen. He became a member of the German Bundestag and elected Ombudsman for the Military (Wehrbeauftragter) on 11 March 1970....more

Walter Elflein (10 December 1914 – 30 December 2000) was a highly decorated Major der Reserve in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Awards - Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (5 December 1939), 1st Class (1 July 1941), Wound Badge (1939) in Black, in Silver in Gold (5 December 1943), Infantry Assault Badge (13 September 1941), Eastern Front Medal, German Cross in Gold (26 December 1941), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 8 October 1943 as Oberleutnat der Reserve and leader of the 2./Grenadier-Regiment 95, the 347th Oak Leaves on 5 December 1943 as Hauptmann der Reserve and commander of the I./Grenadier-Regiment 95 and Führer of a Kampfgruppe in the 17. Infanterie-Division. ...more