Nickname: Flegelein
Date of Birth: 30.10.1906 - Ansbach, Kingdom of Bavaria (German Empire)
Date of Death: 28.04.1945 - Reich Chancellery, Berlin (Germany)
Battles and Operations: Polish Campaign, Western Campaign (Belgium and France), Operation Barbarossa, Pripyat Marshes massacres, Battles of Rzhev, anti-partisan operations in Belarus (Operation Weichsel, Operation Zeithen), defensive operations on the Eastern Front with the SS-Kavallerie-Brigade and 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division "Florian Geyer"
NSDAP-Number: 1.200.158
SS-Number: 66.680
Religion: No information
Parents: Hans Fegelein (retired Oberleutnant, owner of Reitinstitut Fegelein) and unknown mother
Siblings: Waldemar Fegelein (younger brother)
Spouse: Gretl Braun (married 03.06.1944 in Salzburg)
Children: Eva Barbara Fegelein (born 05.05.1945)
Promotions:
12.06.1933 SS-Untersturmführer
20.04.1934 SS-Obersturmführer
09.11.1934 SS-Hauptsturmführer
30.01.1936 SS-Sturmbannführer
30.01.1937 SS-Obersturmbannführer
25.07.1937 SS-Standartenführer
01.03.1940 SS-Obersturmbannführer der Reserve der Waffen-SS
01.02.1942 SS-Standartenführer der Reserve
01.12.1942 SS-Oberführer
01.05.1943 SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS
21.06.1944 SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS
Career:
00.00.1925: joined the Reiter-Regiment 17
20.04.1927: joined the Bavarian State Police in Munich
00.00.1930: joined the NSDAP and the SA, instructor at the Reitinstitut Fegelein created by his father Hans Fegelein and open to the SS and NSDAP members
00.00.1931: Führer, SS-Reitersturm, Reitinstitut Fegelein
15.05.1933: entered the SS
12.06.1933: promoted to SS-Untersturmführer
20.04.1934: promoted to SS-Obersturmführer
09.11.1934: promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer
30.01.1936: promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer
30.01.1937: promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer
00.00.1937: won the Deutsches Spring- und Dressurderby
25.07.1937: promoted to SS-Standartenführer, Führer, SS-Haupt-Reitschule München
00.00.1938: won the "Braunes Band von Deutschland"
00.09.1939: SS-Staf, Führer, SS-Totenkopf-Reiter-Standarte, Ordnungspolizei
15.11.1939: renamed in 1. SS-Totenkopf-Reiter-Standarte
07.12.1939: unit involved in the mass shooting of 1,700 such people in the Kampinos Forest, Poland
15.12.1939: SS-Staf, Kdr, 1. SS-Totenkopf-Reiter-Standarte, Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer-Ost
01.03.1940: promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer der Reserve der Waffen SS
00.03.1940-00.04.1940: anti-partisan fighting against a group of about 100 former Polish soldiers in the area of Kammienna–Konsky–Kielce, Poland
00.04.1940: SS-Ostubaf d.R., Kdr, 1. SS-Totenkopf-Reiter-Standarte, SS-Verfügungstruppe - campaign in Belgium and France
01.03.1941: SS-Ostubaf d.R., Kdr, 1. SS-Kavallerie-Regiment, SS-Verfügungstruppe after renaming
23.04.1941: faced court-martial charges for stealing money and luxury goods in 1940
23.06.1941: SS-Ostubaf d.R., Kdr, 1. SS-Kavallerie-Regiment, 87. Infanterie-Division, 9. Armee - Białystok
05.08.1941: SS-Ostubaf d.R., Führer, SS-Kavallerie-Brigade, Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer-Ost - Pripyat swamps
15.10.1941: slightly WIA as Kdr, SS-Kavallerie-Brigade, 9. Armee - moved to Toropets and then on to Rogachev
28.12.1941: SS-Ostubaf d.R., Führer, SS-Kavallerie-Brigade, 206. Infanterie-Division, XXIII. Armee-Korps - Rzhev
01.02.1942: promoted to SS-Standartenführer der Reserve and activated
05.02.1942: severe fightings northwest of Chertolino
14.02.1942: capture of Yershovo
03.03.1942: on leaves then Inspekteur des Reit- und Fahrwesens, SS-Führungshauptamt
01.12.1942: promoted to SS-Oberführer, Führer, Kampfgruppe "Fegelein", bend of the Don River
21.12.1942: WIA by a Soviet sniper
22.12.1942-23.12.1942: again WIA by a Soviet sniper
20.04.1943: SS-Oberführer, Kdr, 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division "Florian Geyer"
01.05.1943: promoted to SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS
00.05.1943-00.07.1943: Operation 'Weichsel', Operation 'Zeithen', and Operation 'Seydlitz' - region Novoselki, Gomel
26.08.1943: severe fightings near Bespalovka and Bol'shaya Gomol'sha
08.09.1943: counter attack to recapture Hill 199,0 at Verkhniy Bishkin
13.09.1943: WIA at Hill 208.5 in Kharkov to the lower part of his left arm
30.09.1943: severely WIA and sent to a lazarett
01.01.1944: Chef, Amt VI, Office for Rider and Driver Training, SS-Führungshauptamt and SS liaison officer to Hitler's headquarters staff
03.06.1944: married to Gretl Braun, Eva Braun's sister, Salzburg with Hitler, Himmler, and Martin Bormann as witnesses
10.06.1944: promoted to SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS
20.07.1944: slightly WIA to his left thigh from the bomb blast during the failed attempt on Hitler's life at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia
27.04.1945: arrested in civilian clothes in his Berlin apartment by Reichssicherheitsdienst deputy commander SS-Obersturmbannführer Peter Högl and taken back to the Führerbunker in Berlin
28.04.1945: court-martialed by SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke for flagrant desertion, demoted and executed in the garden of the Reich Chancellery
Awards and Decorations:
SS-Zivilabzeichen Nr. 24.180
Ehrenwinkel der Alten Kämpfer (02.1934)
Julleuchter der SS (16.12.1935)
Bronzenes SA-Sportabzeichen (01.12.1937)
DRL-Sportabzeichen in Bronze (01.12.1937)
Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft Abzeichen in Bronze
Deutsches Reiterabzeichen in Gold
Deutsches Olympia-Ehrenzeichen Erster Klasse (1936)
Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP 10 Jahre (01.04.1939)
Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP 15 Jahre (01.04.1939)
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938 (1939)
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 mit Spange (1939)
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (15.12.1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (28.06.1941)
Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber (02.10.1941)
Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen in Silber (02.10.1941)
SS-Dienstauszeichnung 3. Stufe (8 Jahre) (1941)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (02.03.1942) as SS-Standartenführer der Reserve and Kommandeur SS-Kavallerie-Brigade. In the brutal winter of January-February 1942 northwest of Rzhev, Fegelein’s mounted and motorized SS cavalry brigade held a vital defensive sector north of Mal.Nikulino—Polowinino—Saizewo—Dmitrowo—Sokolowo under constant Soviet pressure. Blizzards raged, temperatures plunged far below zero, and the terrain was a frozen quagmire of snowdrifts and icy roads. Wave after wave of Red Army infantry and cavalry attacked in an attempt to break through west of Rzhev and collapse the German front. Fegelein personally directed his regiments in a series of desperate counterattacks. On 05.02.1942 he led a lightning assault that encircled and smashed elements of the Soviet 381st Rifle Division at Chertolino, overrunning their positions in close-quarters fighting, capturing the key road junction and the railway station that supplied the enemy spearhead. Nine days later, on 14.02.1942, his troopers stormed and seized the village of Yershovo, sealing the pocket and destroying the trapped Soviet units. Through his iron will, personal bravery under fire and masterful use of cavalry mobility even in deep snow, Fegelein prevented any breakthrough, stabilised the entire sector and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers. These actions in the Rzhev meat grinder earned him the Ritterkreuz.
Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse mit Schwertern (01.09.1942)
Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille) (01.09.1942)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz (21.12.1942)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #157 (22.12.1942. Some sources list 21.12.1942) as SS-Oberführer and Kommandeur Kampfgruppe "Fegelein". By December 1942 Fegelein had been rushed back to the front to lead an ad-hoc battle group in the Don bend during the Soviet winter offensive. On 20 December, in a daring reconnaissance thrust deep behind enemy lines, Fegelein personally accompanied an Oberscharführer and just two Sturmgeschütze assault guns. Moving silently through the snow-covered steppe under cover of darkness and fog, the tiny force surprised a complete Soviet corps headquarters. In a short, sharp firefight they captured the commanding general, his chief of staff, several other senior officers and the entire staff intact – along with maps, orders and two additional assault guns. This spectacular coup decapitated Soviet command in the sector, threw the enemy offensive into chaos and saved the German lines from collapse. The boldness of the raid and the immediate strategic impact brought Fegelein the Eichenlaub while he was still recovering from sniper wounds received the same day.
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber (30.09.1943)
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (01.11.1943)
Nahkampfspange in Bronze (11.09.1943)
Nahkampfspange in Silber (05.12.1943)
Verwundetenabzeichen 20. Juli 1944 in Silber (26.07.1944)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #83 (30.07.1944) as SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS and Kommandeur 8. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Florian Geyer". As commander of the newly formed division throughout 1943, Fegelein led a string of hard-fought operations that earned the award. In May-July 1943 his horsemen conducted large-scale anti-partisan sweeps – Operations Weichsel, Zeithen and Seydlitz – southwest of Gomel and around Novoselki, riding through dense forests and marshes to root out partisan bands, clearing supply routes and securing the rear areas with ruthless efficiency. In August-September the division was thrown into the blazing defensive battles west of Kharkov. On 26 August near Bespalovka and Bol’shaya Gomol’sha the troopers repelled furious Soviet tank and infantry assaults in savage close combat. On 08 September Fegelein personally directed a fierce counterattack that recaptured the dominating Hill 199.0 at Verkhniy Bishkin, storming the height under heavy artillery fire and restoring the German line. Even after being seriously wounded in the left arm on 13 September while fighting for Hill 208.5, he refused evacuation until the position was secure. These repeated defensive victories and notable captures of enemy personnel and equipment in the Kharkov sector – achieved under his direct leadership – were cited when the Schwerter were finally awarded in 1944.
Stern des Ehrenzeichens des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes
1. Stufe vom Ehrenzeichen für Deutsche Volkspflege
Medaglia d'argento al Valore Militare
Ordinul Meritul Cultural (Officer)
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Hermann Fegelein, born Hans Georg Otto Hermann Fegelein on 30 October 1906 in Ansbach in the Kingdom of Bavaria within the German Empire, was a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS during the Nazi era who rose to prominence through a combination of equestrian expertise, frontline combat leadership and close personal ties to the inner circle of Adolf Hitler. He commanded cavalry formations on the Eastern Front, participated in brutal anti-partisan operations and later served as Heinrich Himmler's liaison officer at the Führerbunker in Berlin. Fegelein married Gretl Braun, sister of Hitler's mistress Eva Braun, in June 1944, which further elevated his status within the regime. His military career included notable bravery that earned him Germany's highest decorations, yet it ended in disgrace when he was arrested, court-martialed and executed by firing squad on 28 April 1945 in the Reich Chancellery gardens for desertion as Soviet forces tightened their grip on the capital. Fegelein had one younger brother, Waldemar, and his father Hans ran a prominent riding school that shaped his early passion for horses, though details of his mother remain scarce in historical records.
Fegelein's path into the military began in the interwar period when he enlisted in the Reiter-Regiment 17 of the Reichswehr in 1925 at the age of eighteen. By 1933 he transferred to the SS with the number 66 680 and the NSDAP membership number 1 200 158, quickly advancing through ranks due to his riding skills. He led the Reiter-SS equestrian group, organized events for the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and became head of the Haupt-Reitschule München in 1937. These early roles blended sportsmanship with paramilitary training, earning him various civilian and party awards including the German Olympic Honor Badge First Class and the German Riding Badge in Gold. When war broke out in 1939 Fegelein commanded the SS-Totenkopf-Reiterstandarte during the Polish campaign, where his unit operated from Warsaw and engaged in security duties that foreshadowed the more ruthless operations to come. In 1940 he saw action in Belgium and France with the SS-Verfügungstruppe before being reassigned to the East in 1941, first with reconnaissance elements attached to the 87th Infantry Division near Białystok and then taking charge of SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 1.
The brutal realities of the Eastern Front transformed Fegelein into a seasoned combat leader during Operation Barbarossa. In 1941 his brigade played a central role in the large-scale sweeps through the Pripyat Marshes, where mounted SS troopers conducted mass executions of suspected partisans and civilians under direct orders aimed at securing the rear areas for advancing German armies. These actions involved riding through swampy terrain, setting ambushes and coordinating with infantry to encircle villages, often resulting in thousands of deaths in what later historians described as early genocidal warfare tactics. By late 1941 Fegelein had risen to command the full SS-Kavallerie-Brigade, which was thrown into the defensive meat grinder northwest of Rzhev as part of the 9th Army in Army Group Center. The winter of 1941-1942 brought blizzards, temperatures plunging to minus forty degrees and Soviet assaults that turned the landscape into a frozen wasteland of snowdrifts and icy trenches, where horses and men alike struggled to move yet Fegelein maintained mobility through skillful use of mounted patrols and rapid counterattacks.
Fegelein's leadership at Rzhev directly secured his first major decoration when, in January and February 1942, wave after wave of Red Army infantry and cavalry hammered the German lines north of Malo Nikolskoye, Polovino, Saizewo, Dmitrowo and Sokolowo. On 5 February 1942 he personally directed a lightning assault that encircled elements of the Soviet 381st Rifle Division at Chertolino, with his troopers charging through deep snow in close-quarters fighting to overrun positions, seize a critical road junction and capture the railway station supplying the enemy spearhead. Nine days later, on 14 February, his regiments stormed the village of Yershovo under artillery barrages, sealing the pocket and annihilating trapped Soviet units in hand-to-hand combat amid burning buildings and drifting smoke. Through relentless personal bravery, iron discipline and clever exploitation of cavalry speed even in arctic conditions, Fegelein prevented any decisive breakthrough, stabilized the entire sector for the 9th Army and inflicted devastating losses on the attackers, actions that earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 2 March 1942 as SS-Standartenführer der Reserve.
By December 1942 Fegelein was rushed south to command an ad-hoc Kampfgruppe in the great bend of the Don River during the Soviet winter offensive following Stalingrad. In one of the most audacious operations of his career, on 20 December he led a tiny reconnaissance force consisting of himself, an Oberscharführer and just two Sturmgeschütze assault guns deep behind enemy lines through snow-covered steppe shrouded in darkness and fog. The group surprised an entire Soviet corps headquarters, bursting into the command post in a short, sharp firefight that captured the commanding general, his chief of staff, several senior officers and the full staff intact along with operational maps, orders and two additional assault guns. This spectacular coup decapitated Soviet command in the sector, plunged the enemy offensive into immediate chaos and bought vital time for German defenses to hold, even though Fegelein himself was wounded by a sniper the same day. The strategic impact and sheer boldness of the raid resulted in the award of the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 22 December 1942.
As commander of the newly formed 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer throughout 1943, Fegelein orchestrated a series of grueling anti-partisan sweeps and defensive battles that culminated in his final decoration. In May through July his horsemen cleared dense forests and marshes southwest of Gomel during Operations Weichsel, Zeithen and Seydlitz, riding at dawn to encircle partisan bands, burning hideouts and securing supply routes with ruthless efficiency amid ambushes and hand-to-hand clashes. Transferred to the blazing Kharkov sector in August, the division repelled furious Soviet tank and infantry assaults near Bespalovka and Bolshaya Gomolsha on 26 August in savage close combat. On 8 September Fegelein personally directed a fierce counterattack that recaptured the dominating Hill 199.0 at Verkhniy Bishkin under heavy artillery fire, his men storming the slopes through smoke and explosions to restore the line. Even after sustaining a serious wound to his left arm on 13 September while fighting for Hill 208.5, he refused evacuation until the position was secured. These repeated defensive victories and captures of enemy personnel and equipment were cited when the Swords to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves were awarded on 30 July 1944.
After his wounding in September 1943 Fegelein was reassigned to a staff role as Himmler's liaison officer at Hitler's headquarters, where he became a fixture in the shrinking inner circle of the Führerbunker by early 1944. His marriage to Gretl Braun on 3 June 1944 in Salzburg and the birth of their daughter Eva Barbara on 5 May 1945 tied him inextricably to the Braun family and Hitler's personal life. Yet as the Soviet offensive closed on Berlin in April 1945 Fegelein attempted to flee the capital, leading to his arrest on 28 April, immediate demotion and a summary court-martial ordered by Hitler himself. Executed by SS firing squad in the Reich Chancellery garden that same evening, his death symbolized the collapsing discipline of the regime in its final days. Fegelein left behind a legacy of combat skill intertwined with the atrocities of the Eastern Front campaigns, remembered both for battlefield audacity and for his proximity to the Nazi leadership's downfall.
The
Ritterkreuzträger of the Ordnungspolizei and Waffen-SS during the
"Fortsetzung folgt" (To Be Continued) event at the Berliner Rundfunk, 24
May 1942. From left to right: Oberstleutnant der Schutzpolizei Bernhard
Griese (Kommandeur Polizei-Schützen-Batallion 323 / 442.Spezial
Kommando), Heinz Goedecke (rundfunksprecher), SS Standartenführer der
Reserve Hermann Fegelein (Inspekteur des Reit- und Fahrwesens /
SS-Führungshauptamt), and SS-Sturmbannführer Rudolf Pannier (Kommandeur
I.Bataillon / Polizei-Schützen-Regiment 2 / SS-Polizei-Division).
From left to right: SS-Standartenführer Hermann Fegelein (Kommandeur SS-Kavallerie-Brigade) and SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich (Kommandeur SS-Kavallerie-Division). The picture was taken at the Eastern Front on 21 June 1942 by SS-Kriegsberichter Büschel. Other pictures from this meeting can be seen HERE.
Officers of 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division in April-May 1943. The three men on the left is, from left to right: SS-Standartenführer August Zehender (Kommandeur SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 3), SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Diergarten (Ia 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division), and SS-Oberführer Hermann Fegelein (Kommandeur 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division). Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.
Two brothers who were also a Ritterkreuzträger. From left to right: SS-Sturmbannführer Waldemar Fegelein and SS-Brigadeführer Hermann Fegelein. They came from a family involved in equestrian activities in Ansbach, Bavaria. The brothers' careers were tied to the Nazi regime's elite SS circles, with family connections boosting Hermann's proximity to Hitler. Their father ran an equestrian school, which helped launch their early involvement in SS cavalry units. Other pictures from these two brothers can be seen HERE.
From left to right: Major Friedrich Quentin (Kommandeur Kradschützen Bataillon 6 / 6.Panzer-Division), SS-Brigadeführer Hermann Fegelein (Kommandeur SS-Kavallerie-Division), and SS-Standartenführer Gustav Lombard (Kommandeur SS-Kavallerie-Regiment 1 / SS-Kavallerie-Division). The picture was taken on 23 September 1943 somewhere on the Eastern Front by SS-Kriegsberichter Fritsch.
Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht) congratulates SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Herbert Otto Gille (Kommandeur 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking") during the award ceremony for "Cherkassy Heroes" which were held at the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg, East Prussia, on 20 February 1944. At left is another recipient, SS-Hauptsturmführer der Reserve Léon Degrelle (Kommandeur 5. SS-Freiwilligen-Sturmbrigade "Wallonien"), while at right is SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein (Verbindungsoffizier der Waffen-SS zum Führerhauptquartier) and Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (Chef der SS und deutschen Polizei). Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.
This picture was taken by Walter Frentz, and it shows Adolf Hitler during a Hetzer tank destroyer demonstration on a closed section of highway near Salzburg, 20 April 1944. From left to right: Großadmiral Karl Dönitz (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine), Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), General der Artillerie Walter Warlimont (Chef Wehrmachtführungsstabes Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (Chef der SS und deutschen Polizei), Adolf Hitler (Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein (Verbindungsoffizier der Waffen-SS zum Führerhauptquartier), Konteradmiral Hans-Erich Voß (Verbindungsoffizier Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine zum Führerhauptquartier), and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe). Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.
Hitler
took a small walk with his "trusted people" in the Führerhauptquartier
Wolfsschanze (Rastenburg/East Prussia), the afternoon after the failed
bomb attempt on 20 July 1944. From left to right: Generalfeldmarschall
Wilhelm Keitel (Chef Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Reichsmarschall
Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe), Adolf Hitler (Führer
und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), and Reichsleiter Martin
Bormann (Leiter Parteikanzlei der NSDAP und Privatsekretär Führer und
Reichskanzler). Behind Göring is SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche
(Persönlicher Adjutant Führer und Reichskanzler), while behind Hitler
with a bandaged head is Generaloberst Alfred Jodl (Chef der
Wehrmachtsführungsamt). Between Hitler and Bormann is Oberst Nicolaus
von Below (Adjutant der Luftwaffe beim Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber
der Wehrmacht). The three men chatting in the right corner are, from
left to right: Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (Chef der SS und
Deutschen Polizei), SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS
Hermann Fegelein (Verbindungsoffizier zwischen dem Reichsführer-SS und
dem Führerhauptquartier ), and Generaloberst Ferdinand Schörner
(Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe Südukraine). Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.
The first, the last and the only award ceremony of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds) for Stuka ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel, which were held at the Führerhauptquartier Adlerhost near Langenhain-Ziegenberg, Hesse, on 1 January 1945 (Rudel had already received the announcement from 29 December 1944). He received the fifth grade of the Ritterkreuz after completing his 2,400th combat mission with his dive-bomber aircraft and destroying his 463rd tank! This picture was taken by Heinrich Hoffmann and it first published in "12 Uhr", 4 January 1945 edition. From left to right: Joachim von Ribbentrop (Reichsminister des Auwärtigen), Oberstleutnant Hans-Ulrich Rudel (Geschwaderkommodore Schlachtgeschwader 2 "Immelmann"), SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein (Verbindungsoffizier der Waffen-SS zum Führerhauptquartier), Generaloberst Alfred Jodl (Chef der Wehrmacht-Führungsamt)), Adolf Hitler (Führer und oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht), Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf (Leiter des Heeres-Personalamt), Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe), Großadmiral Karl Dönitz (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine), and Generaloberst Heinz Guderian (Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres). Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.
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Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.geni.com/
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
Padfield, Peter: Himmler: Reichsführer S.S. (1991)
Various archival documents from Bundesarchiv and unit histories on Waffen-SS cavalry formations.
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