Hauptmann der Reserve Adolf Hoyer

Adolf Hoyer (17 July 1915 - 4 November 1943) is a Ritterkreuzträger (Knight's Cross recipient) from Sudetenland, who received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 October 1943 as Oberleutnant der Reserve and Chef 4.Kompanie / Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 120 / 20.Panzergrenadier-Division / XII.Armeekorps / 9.Armee / Heeresgruppe Mitte. His last rank was Hauptmann der Reserve. His other medals and decorations as follow: Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse und I.Klasse; Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen; and Verwundetenabzeichen.

Source :
"Die Ritterkreuzträger des Sudetenlandes 1939-1945" by Wolfgang Historica
http://www.20pzgrendiv.eu/ritterkreuz/
https://www.argunners.com/die-ritterkreuztrager-des-sudetenlandes-1939-1945/

Bernhard Jope with Luftwaffe Officer

One side of a stereograph of Hauptmann Bernhard Jope (left) with another Luftwaffe officer with the rank of Leutnant. Original caption in German reads: "Hauptmann Jope, Staffelkapitän eines Fernkampfgeschwaders, der u.a. den engl. 42000 to Dampfer 'Empress of Britain' im Atlantik in Brand geworfen hat" (Captain Jope, squadron commander of a ranged bomber squadron, has set fire to the 42,000 ton British steamer 'Empress of Britain' in the Atlantic). The picture was taken in the period of 1941-1943.

Source :
https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1180063

Martin Möbus in Hoffmann Postcard

At the age of 16, Martin Möbus was the leader of a group of 250 Hitlerjugend members. Already at that same age he flew with gliderplanes. He began his training with the Luftwaffe in 1936 and completed his course in 1938. His first unit to fly with was the I.Gruppe / Stukageschwader 1 ("Insterburger Gruppe"). With this unit he took part of the campaign in Poland (spetember 1939) and Norway (april-may 1940). After these campaigns het was ordered to Germany for more training and flew with the 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Stukageschwader 2. his excellent leader capacity's made him Hauptmann and Commander of the 1.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Stukageschwader 5 during the Russian Campaign. Martin Möbus was killed in a carcrash in Pori, Finnland on 2 June 1944. During the more than 800 flights he made, he destroyed several ships, more then 60 tanks, 18 Anti-Aircraftguns, 5 Armored Cars, over 600 other vehicles and several bridges. His medals and decorations were as follow: Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse (26 September 1939) und I.Klasse (8 May 1940); Ritterkreuz (8 May 1940); Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (24 September 1942); and Eichenlaub (25 April 1944).

Source :
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/3109/M%F6bus-Martin.htm

Bernhard Jope in Hoffmann Postcard

Bernhard Jope (10 May 1914 – 31 July 1995) was a German bomber pilot during World War II. He was a recipient of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes from the Luftwaffe. As part of Kampfgeschwader 40 (bomber wing), Jope flew missions across the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean in support of the German navy, damaging in October 1940 the RMS Empress of Britain. In 1943, he led Kampfgeschwader 100 in the attacks on the Italian battleship Roma, the British battleship HMS Warspite and cruiser HMS Uganda, and the US cruiser USS Savannah. Bernhard Jope joined the military service of the Luftwaffe on 1 April 1935 after graduating from the Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig (technical university in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz) in aircraft construction. Prior to joining the military service he had already almost completed his flight training at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (German Air Transport School). In support of the Kriegsmarine, Jope flew the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor on experimental missions across the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean on behalf of Deutsche Luft Hansa. On 26 October 1940 he spotted the troop transport RMS Empress of Britain and severely damaged her with two 250 kg bombs. The Empress of Britain was subsequently sunk by U-32, commanded by Hans Jenisch, on 28 October 1940. During his time at Kampfgeschwader 100 (KG 100) Jope led an attack on 9 September 1943 on the Italian battle fleet that was sailing from La Spezia en route to Malta, to surrender to the Allies. Jope led a formation of eleven Dornier Do 217 bombers armed with the Fritz X radio controlled glide bomb and in the ensuing action the 45,000 ton Italian battleship Roma was hit twice and sank. The Roma's sister ship, Italia, was hit by a single Fritz and seriously damaged, but was able to make it to Malta. In later action, Jope and KG 100 scored hits with the Fritz on the British battleship HMS Warspite and cruiser HMS Uganda, and the US cruiser USS Savannah. After the war, Jope worked until his retirement as a pilot for Lufthansa. Jope died on 31 July 1995, in Königstein.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Jope

Georg Grüner in Hoffmann Postcard

Georg Grüner joined as a cadet in the Panzer Regiment 1 in 1936. On 1 September 1938 he was promoted to Leutnant and Zugführer in Panzer-Abteilung 33. With this unit he participated in the Polish campaign. Then he came in the 1st Company of the Panzer-Regiment 33, with whom he joined the Western campaign. From June 1941 he fought in Russia, where he was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 18 October 1941. For his outstanding work as a platoon leader in the Kursk area, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 November 1941 as Chief of the 1st Company. Subsequently, he was promoted to Hauptmann and a short time later seriously wounded in the battlefield. After his recovery, he was given the job as the commander of I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 2 in March 1943, which was repositioned in France after its destruction in Stalingrad. Subsequently, it was used in Italy. At the end of November 1943, the regiment came to the eastern front. In forming a bridgehead over the Gornyi-Tikitsch at Cherkassy in February 1944, he was particularly distinguished. On 11 March 1944, he died in these operations. Posthumously he was awarded the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz on 26 March 1944, and promoted to Major.

Source :
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/G/GruenerG.htm

Horst Ademeit in Hoffmann Postcard

Horst Ademeit was born on 8th February 1912 in Breslau. After taking chemistry in Berlin he became a Diplomiert-ingenieur Assistent with Technischen Hochschulen in Berlin and in Braunschweig. In this period, Ademeit served his reserve duty by learning to fly and being trained as a fighter pilot. In the spring of 1940 he was transferred to the 3.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) with the rank of Unteroffizier, with which he participated in the campaign in France and the Battle of Britain. He achieved his first victory on 18th September 1940 over the English Channel, but was shot down himself also and rescued. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Ademeit left for the Eastern Front with I. / Jagsgeschwader 54 in June 1941. With the shooting down of a I-15 fighter he achieved his tenth victory on 24th September 1941 as Feldwebel. With his twentieth victory on 18th February 1942 he was promoted to Leutnant. On 7th March, after his fourtieth victory he was made Staffelkapitän with 6. / Jagdgeschwader 54. With the shooting down of three Soviet La-5 fighters and a Pe-2 bomber he had achieved his 100th victory on 15th January 1944. On the 18th January he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur with I. / Jagdgeschwader 54. Early August 1944 he was temporarily appointed Kommandeur of Jagdgeschwader 54. During a chase with a Soviet II-2 Shturmovik over the Soviet lines on 7th August 1944 he went missing near Dünaburg, probably killed in action. While missing he was promoted to Major. Horst Ademeit achieved a total of 166 victories in over 600 sorties. He achieved 146 victories on the Eastern Front.

Source :
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/21466/Ademeit-Horst.htm?c=aw

Hans Källner in Hoffmann Postcard

Hans Källner (as Generalmajor) on Hoffmann postcard series, not long after he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (12 February 1944) as a Commander of 19. Panzer-Division. Källner (9 October 1898 – 18 April 1945) was a German general during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Källner was killed in action while visiting the front lines near Olomouc.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_K%C3%A4llner
http://www.wwii-photos-maps.com/generalofficers/slides/Hans%20K%C3%A4llner.html

Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke in Hoffmann Postcard

Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (24 January 1889 – 4 July 1968) was a German general of paratroop forces during World War II. He led units in Crete, North Africa, Italy, the Soviet Union and France, and was captured by American forces at the conclusion of the Battle for Brest in September 1944. He was a recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, one of only 27 people in the Nazi German military so decorated. Ramcke was an ardent Nazi who committed war crimes. Following the fighting on Crete in 1941, he ordered his men to attack civilians. In 1951 Ramcke was convicted of war crimes against French civilians during the Battle of Brest, but was released after three months imprisonment. During the 1950s he was a prominent nationalist and supported extreme right-wing movements.

Source :
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/24-01-1913.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann-Bernhard_Ramcke

Ritterkreuz Award ceremony for Ewald Mrusek

 

 

The first Ritterkreuzträger (Knight's Cross recipient) in Tunisia: Stabsfeldwebel Ewald Mrusek (some sources spelled his last name as "Mrousek") received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 january 1943 for heroism while serving as a Zugführer (Platoon Leader) in 2.Kompanie / Feld-Bataillon "Tunis 1" / Infanterie-Regiment "Tunis" (part of 5. Panzerarmee), a unit that was formed from inhabitans of North Africa in Winter 1942/43 in Tunis. There were three such Batallions (T1-T3), and they were disbanded after the Axis capitulation in Tunis. Mrusek received the coveted medal after he defended an important elevated position in the Tunisian forward area with only nine men and, thanks to them, a strategically important section of land could be reclaimed from the Allied forces. The Ritterkreuz award ceremony would be held a month later, on.17 February 1943, in Tunisia, North Africa. This pictures was taken on that date. Mrusek himself was born on 26 December 1911 in Beuthen/Silesia, Germany, and died on 24 March 1981 in Bremen, Germany. His other medals and decorations: Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4.Klasse, 4 Jahre; Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse und I.Klasse; Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber; Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz; and Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=131099
https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/first-german-soldier-to-be-decorated-with-the-knight-cross-news-photo/107427551
https://live.warthunder.com/user/ArabianRhinos/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/47037/Mrusek-Ewald.htm

Luftwaffe Ace Gerhard Barkhorn in 1943

Summer of 1943: Oberleutnant Gerhard Barkhorn (left) - initially commanding officer of 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52), and subsequently of II. Gruppe itself - and Leutnant Karl-Heinz Plücker, photographed on the airfield at Kharkov-Roganj in the Eastern Front. Barkhorn was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 August 1942, plus Eichenlaub on 12 January 1943 and Schwerter on 2 March 1944. Although when this picture was taken Barkhorn had won Eichenlaub for 120 victories, he was wearing no decoration at the time.

Source :
Book "Luftwaffe at War: Fighters over Russia" by Manfred Griehl