Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony (Video)

-1941-


Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 585 - 20 November 1941: On 21 August 1941, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, personally presented the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross) to six outstanding officers and men of the Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) at his headquarters. The recipients—Oberst Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, Oberstabsarzt Dr. med. Heinrich Neumann, Oberst Hans Kroh, Oberleutnant Heinrich Welskop, Leutnant Erich Schuster, and Feldwebel Wilhelm Kempke—were honored for their extraordinary bravery, leadership, and sacrifice during the Battle of Crete (Operation Merkur) in May 1941. Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.

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-1943-


Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 654 - 17 March 1943: SS-Sturmmann Gerardus Mooyman, Geschützführer in 14.Kompanie (Panzerjäger) / SS-Freiwilligen-Legion “Nederland”, received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes from Generalleutnant Johann Sinnhuber (Kommandeur 28.  Jäger-Division) on 20 February 1943. He became the first non-German soldier in the entire Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS to receive this prestigious award. The medal was formally presented for “the destruction of thirteen enemy tanks in a single day of combat while taking command of the gun after the death of its leader and personally eliminating an enemy anti-tank gun at night.” He also received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (4 February 1943) and Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (10 February 1943) in rapid succession for the same fighting. By the end of his service on the Eastern Front, Mooyman was officially credited with twenty-three tank kills. Nazi propaganda immediately turned the teenage Dutch volunteer into a poster boy for foreign recruitment: newspapers, magazines, and newsreels across occupied Europe carried his story, and Heinrich Himmler personally congratulated him. Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.

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-1944-

Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 700 - 2 Februari 1944: Following the two intense days of combat in the Eastern Front on 8th and 9th January 1944 which had seen the destruction of nine enemy Panzers and an anti-tank gun, on 10 January 1944 panzer ace SS-Untersturmführer Michael Wittmann (Zugführer in 13.Kompanie [schwere] / SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 / 1.SS-Panzer-Division LSSAH) was recommended by his divisional commander SS-Oberführer Theodor “Teddi” Wisch for the prestigious Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. This video - which was taken in Vinnitsa, Ukraine - shows Wittmann and his four-man Tiger crew being congratulated by his regimental commander, SS-Obersturmbannführer Joachim “Jochen” Peiper, followed by congratulations from his comrades-in-arms. The medal ceremony itself had been held a few hours earlier, presided over by Divisionskommandeur, SS-Oberführer Theodor “Teddy” Wisch. In the background is Wittmann's Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I Ausf.F “S04” with 88 victory rings (the reporter of ‘Die Deutsche Wochenschau’ had misstated the number as 89). Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.

Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 720 - 21 June 1944: Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Hoffmann (Chef 5. Torpedobootsflottille) and Korvettenkapitän der Reserve Dr.-ing.Victor Rall (Chef 15.Vorpostenflottille) of the Kriegsmarine. The following excerpt stands as a written tribute to the Ritterkreuz action of Heinrich Hoffmann: “From the very start of the Invasion Korvettenkapitän Hoffmann and his unit were present in combat against the allied fleet from one night to the next in an area that was heavily guarded by strong enemy naval formations. In this time he led his ships with great bravery and daring. Thanks to his strong will and outstanding naval acumen, he was able to overcome every difficulty and conduct multiple successful attacks with his unit. At least 3 enemy destroyers were torpedoed during these missions, of which one was almost certainly sunk.” The following press article (dated 10 June 1944) describes why Rall would receive the Ritterkreuz: “The Führer was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes to Korvettenkapitän d.R. Viktor Rall, commander of a VP-Flotille on the Invasion front, for his bravery in the fighting against the enemy landing fleet. Korvettenkapitän Rall launched a raid into the Allied fleet on the first night of the Invasion, leading his own force of converted fishing boats. He fought against enemy landing craft of all types successfully while avoiding enemy 38-cm salvoes. On the second night he and his heroically fighting crews fought in further battles against overwhelming numbers of enemy destroyers and light craft, while still inflicting considerable damage to the enemy landing formations. In the following nights Rall and his Flottille continued to fight in numerous battles in the most intense moments of the fighting. Rall was born on 27 November 1896 in Reutlingen (Württemberg) and has already participated in the First World War as a Seeoffizier. Before the fighting on the Invasion front he operated with his Flottille in the English Channel for a long time, where he protected valuable German convoys in many hard-fought night battles, safely bringing them into their intended destination harbours.” Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.

Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 746 - 21 December 1944: A video of the awarding of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes to two experienced platoon leaders of the Panzergrenadiere, late 1944 in Italy. The general is Schwerterträger Ernst-Günther Baade, who later fell on 8 May 1945. He was the commander of the 90. Panzergrenadier-Division, which was fighting at Rimini and Bologna. He wears a neck decoration of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern and a reversible camouflage jacket with the special insignia on the sleeve. The two decorated men are Oberfeldwebel Hugo Heinkel, a Zugführer in 15.Kompanie / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 361, and Feldwebel Martin Mitschke, a Zugführer in 2.Kompanie / Panzergrenadier-regiment 200. Heinkel formally received the Ritterkreuz on 16 November 1944. He later joined the Bundeswehr and reached the final rank as Hauptmann. In the other hand, Mitschke received the same medal on 16 October 1944. There is an interesting anecdote about this sequence from "Die Deutsche Wochenschau" newsreel: It does not actually show Feldwebel Mitschke receiving the Ritterkreuz, because he received the award one month before Oberfeldwebel Heinkel. When Generalleutnant Baade wanted to hand over the Ritterkreuz to Heinkel, members of a propaganda company were also present, who were filming for the newsreel. Martin Mitschke was also filmed on this occasion. When the sequence was shown in the "Wochenschau" of the 21 December 1944 edition, it was intended to show Heinkel and Mitschke receiving the Ritterkreuz from their division commander at the same time.  In reality, Mitschke had already received the award from Divisionskommandeur Baade a month earlier. There are recordings of this.  Baade, for example, is wearing different clothing, not this winter jacket. Mitschke had to take off the neck medal again for the "Wochenschau". There was probably only the "new" Ritterkreuz for Heinkel to hand.  That's why you can only see him being presented with the medal. Only he wears it on a long ribbon. You can see it very clearly at the end of the sequence. Mitschke wears his Ritterkreuz the way he had made it suitable for daily wear weeks before.... For the "newsreel", two simultaneous Ritterkreuz ceremonies within a division to sub-commanders were apparently much more interesting, so there was a bit of "trickery". Of course, if you know the background, you will notice it! Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.

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-1945-

Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 755 - 22 March 1945: The start of Altdamm offensive operation near Stettin by the Soviets in 18 March 1945 were halted by intense German resistance. In this clip, we can also see Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel Willi Schmückle (Zugführer in 6.Kompanie / II.Bataillon / Fahnenjunker-Regiment 1241 / Panzergrenadier-Division "Kurmark"), who received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 March 1945 for his tenacious defence in the Oder Front. Other pictures from this award ceremony can be seen HERE.