DENAZIFICATION UNIFORM
Oberst Walther Sievers (1902-1982) was born on 15 June 1902 in Halstenbeck and died on 12 July 1982 in Bad Pyrmont. Serving as a reserve officer in the Heer, he rose through the ranks from Oberleutnant der Reserve to Hauptmann der Reserve, Oberstleutnant der Reserve and finally Oberst. He received the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 15 May 1940 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 22 July 1941. As Oberleutnant der Reserve in the 9./Infanterie-Regiment 415 he was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 2 January 1942, followed by the Ostmedaille on 23 August 1942. In mid-December 1942, during the fighting south of Lake Ilmen near the Demyansk corridor, Hauptmann der Reserve Sievers, as Kommandeur of the III./Infanterie-Regiment 415, threw back strong Soviet forces supported by tanks that had broken into the German lines and successfully defended against further attacks. On 11 December his battalion was encircled on the northern front of the corridor; he formed a hedgehog position together with elements of the III./Grenadier-Regiment 161 in the strongpoint Schwebekopf and held off all assaults until the encirclement was broken on 13 December by the I./Grenadier-Regiment 161. For these actions he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 December 1942. He later received the Ehrenblattspange des Heeres on 15 November 1943. As Oberstleutnant der Reserve and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 415 of the 123. Infanterie-Division, Sievers distinguished himself in the bridgehead over the Dnieper at Zaporozhye in October and early November 1943, mastering multiple critical situations during some of the hardest fighting in that sector. For this leadership he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 29 January 1944 as the 379th recipient. He ended the war as Oberst.
Oberstleutnant Franz Pöschl in a portrait taken in August 1945. Note the non-existence of breast eagle. The Wehrmacht in Norway post 8 May 1945 never had the status of POWs and remained a functioning military organisation under its own administration, albeit under strict restrictions and orders of the allies. This helps explain why we get these awards and promotions carrying on as well as some remarkable photos of their time in Norway during the summer of 1945 prior to them being shipped out of the country. They were required to remove the Wehrmacht Reichsadler insignia from their uniforms. However, unlike many other German POWs, especially those held by the Soviets or the French, the British were relatively lenient in certain cases—particularly where former Wehrmacht officers were seen as potential assets in the emerging Cold War. In Norway, where a significant number of German troops had surrendered at the end of World War II, the British oversaw the internment of German POWs, including high-ranking officers. What makes this situation especially notable is that the British permitted these prisoners—especially those deemed politically useful or cooperative—to retain their military decorations and insignia (apart from symbols explicitly tied to the National Socialist regime such as the Reichsadler). This leniency stemmed from early postwar plans to possibly enlist former German military personnel in the event of a conflict with the Soviet Union. Although this strategy was never formally enacted, its consideration shaped how some POWs were treated. This is precisely why Pöschl was able to keep his awards intact. Unlike countless other Wehrmacht POWs whose decorations were stripped, lost, or destroyed during captivity, Pöschl’s awards were preserved. His case stands out as a rare example where geopolitical pragmatism intersected with postwar military protocol, allowing him to emerge from captivity with his personal military honors undisturbed.
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UNUSUAL MEDAL
Oberstleutnant Walther Neuer (1910-1999) was born on 9 February 1910 in Pankow near Berlin in Brandenburg, Germany, and died on 21 December 1999 in Burgwedel in Lower Saxony. He joined the police in 1931, was promoted to Polizeileutnant in 1934, and transferred in 1935 to Infanterie-Regiment 84 of the Heer, taking part in the campaigns in Poland, France and Russia. He advanced steadily through the ranks to Oberleutnant in 1937, Hauptmann in 1940 and Major in 1942. As Major and Führer of a Kampfgruppe formed from alarm units of various Wehrmacht branches in the Ploesti oil region of Romania in the autumn of 1944, following Romania’s change of sides and the collapse of German positions there, he assumed command in a desperate situation after local leadership had failed; when many men prepared to surrender he rallied approximately two thousand soldiers, refused to abandon their weapons, and led them on a grueling multi-day foot march northward through the Carpathians without maps or compass, successfully extracting the force from encirclement and bringing it to safety on Hungarian soil near Klausenburg, an action for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 November 1944. Later promoted to Oberstleutnant, he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 29 April 1945 as Kommandeur of Panzer-Abteilung 118 of the 18. Panzergrenadier-Division. Near the end of the war he was taken prisoner by Soviet forces in the Ketzin-Nauen area and remained in captivity until 1950. After his release he joined the Bundeswehr in 1956 and retired on 31 March 1966 as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of Verteidigungskreiskommando 452 in Mainz. He was buried on 28 December 1999. In this picture, Major Neuer is wearing Luftwaffe Fallschirmschützeabzeichen, while he served in the Heer Panzertruppen!
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OFFICER WEARING SOLDIER'S BELT
Oberleutnant
Viktor Lindemann (1916-1942) was born on 23 November 1916 in Koblenz in
the Rhine Province of Germany and served as an officer in the Heer
during the Second World War. As Leutnant and Adjutant of the III.
Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 124 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des
Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 September 1941 for his conduct during operations
on the Eastern Front in the opening phase of the German campaign against
the Soviet Union. He later received promotion to Oberleutnant and was
appointed Chef of the 4. Schwadron of Radfahr-Abteilung 72 in the 72.
Infanterie-Division. In addition to the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes
he was decorated with the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse and the Eisernes
Kreuz 2. Klasse. Lindemann was killed in action on 9 September 1942 near
Dubakino on the southern sector of the Eastern Front while serving in
his command role with the bicycle reconnaissance unit. The precise
action or series of actions that led to the award of his Ritterkreuz des
Eisernen Kreuzes is not described in detail in the available
biographical entries on the internet, which record only the date, his
rank and his assignment at the time of the bestowal.
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WHITE STUG-WRAP
Major Rupert Gruber (1914-1968) was born on August 22nd, 1914 in Nürnberg, Germany, and died on February 1st, 1968 in Stuttgart, Germany. He served as an officer in the German Army during the Second World War, rising to the rank of Major and serving as Kommandeur of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 209 from 24 September 1942 until late October 1943. Prior to assuming this command he had been Chef of the 1. Batterie of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 243. His decorations included the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, the Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42, and the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, which was awarded to him on 14 August 1943 while he held the rank of Major and commanded Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 209. The action that earned him the Ritterkreuz occurred during the Soviet offensive against the Mius River line in mid-July 1943. A rapid penetration was achieved against the sector held by the 304. Infanterie-Division, allowing Soviet forces to seize the Redkina ravine together with Hills 223.2, 278.5 and 289.9. German reserves were insufficient, and successive counter-attacks launched in a piecemeal fashion by the available units were all bloodily repulsed. The Korps therefore committed artillery assets and Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 209 under Major Gruber. He assembled a Kampfgruppe from the infantry forces at hand and launched a renewed, carefully coordinated counter-attack on 19 July 1943. The combined-arms assault, strongly supported by artillery fire, made steady progress; within the first hours five enemy tanks were destroyed. The Sturmgeschütze operating in close cooperation with the accompanying infantry succeeded in resolving the crisis, recapturing the former German main line of resistance and thereafter holding it firmly against all subsequent Soviet attempts to regain the lost ground. For this decisive leadership and the successful restoration of the defensive position Gruber received the Ritterkreuz. He continued to lead the Abteilung through further heavy fighting until he was wounded in mid-October 1943 and relinquished command, his final wartime rank remaining Major.
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ZIPPERED UNIFORM
Oberleutnant
der Reserve Hans-Babo von Rohr (1922-1945) was born on 9 October 1922
in Wolletz in Brandenburg and entered the Panzerwaffe as a Fahnenjunker
in June 1941, being posted to the I. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment 25 of
the 7. Panzer-Division as a tank commander. Promoted to Leutnant der
Reserve in early 1943, he earned the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 6
December 1943 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 28 January 1944 while
serving on the Eastern Front. As Zugführer of the 2. Kompanie / I.
Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 25 he particularly distinguished himself
during the defensive battles for the Memel bridgehead between 10 and 14
October 1944 against superior Soviet armoured forces, and for these
actions he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5
November 1944. Later taking over as Führer of the same Kompanie, he
continued to fight with exceptional success in East and West Prussia,
raising his personal total of destroyed enemy armoured vehicles to
fifty-eight, of which six were knocked out in close combat. On 14
February 1945 during the battle of Konitz a part of the armoured
Kampfgruppe of the 7. Panzer-Division, including the Panzer-Kompanie led
by Leutnant von Rohr, penetrated into the built-up area of the city,
attacked a Soviet tank group of the 3rd Guards Tank Corps from all sides
and completely destroyed it, thereby thwarting the enemy’s attempt to
break through to the north. In this engagement von Rohr personally
destroyed eight tanks with his own Panzer and two more in close combat
before being severely wounded; he died the following day from his
injuries. He was posthumously promoted to Oberleutnant der Reserve and
on 24 February 1945 received the 754th Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz for
his decisive leadership and bravery at Konitz. Hans-Babo von Rohr was
credited with destroying 58 armoured vehicles during World War II.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2014/12/foto-seragam-di-luar-regulasi-langka.html
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