9. Armee Christmas Celebration

This picture was taken during the Christmas celebration at the headquarter of 7. Flieger-Division in Rzhev region, December 1942. From left to right: General der Infanterie Hans Jordan (Kommandierender General VI. Armeekorps), Generaloberst Walter Model (Oberbefehlshaber 9. Armee), Generalmajor der Luftwaffe Richard Heidrich (Kommandeur 7. Flieger-Division), and General der Infanterie Ehrenfried Oskar Boege (Kommandeur 197. Infanterie-Division). When the picture was taken, 7. Flieger-Division and 197. Infanterie-Division were under the command of VI. Armeekorps, which itself was part of 9. Armee.

 

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2012/02/album-foto-terbaik-walter-model.html
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Heeresgruppe_Mitte

Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke with His Family in the Christmas of 1941

Generalmajor Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (Kommandeur Ergänzungseinheiten und Schulen des XI. Fliegerkorps) in a formal picture with his family on Christmas Day of 1941. The mother of the children is Ruth Göldner - daughter of Generalleutnant Paul Göldner - who is 20 years younger than her husband. The couple had eight children, with the youngest being Volker Ramcke, who was born in 1952, a year after his father was released from an Allied prison camp. In the photo itself General Ramcke is wearing a Luftwaffe kleinerrock suit, with a bunch of medals pinned to the chest. Of course the most prestigious medal is the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in his neck, which he got on August 21, 1941, four months before this photo was taken. Ramcke himself then completed his Ritterkreuz "collection" with three more of even higher tiers: Eichenlaub (13 November 1942), Schwerter (19 September 1944), and Brillanten (19 September 1944). The latter made him one of only 27 soldiers in the entire Wehrmacht and SS to have it! The couple's six children make the mother, Ruth Ramcke, eligible for the Mutterkreuz (Mother's Cross), a special medal bestowed by the German government on every mother who gives birth to five or more children, as a token of appreciation for their dedication and sacrifices in raising so many children.

Source:
https://twitter.com/x3892555/status/1220459234988646411

Christmas Celebration at Home

This picture is a personal collection of ravrick, and he bought the photo many years ago at a flea market in Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany. There is no information about what's going on in the picture - maybe Christmas celebration - or the identity of these two member of the Wehrmacht. There is at least two version about the ID of the Ritterkreuzträger from Luftwaffe who sat at left: Helmut Kahle or Werner Stein. The strongest option is for Werner Stein, because he have a very similar facial fixture with the man in the picture, and also lived in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, not far from Hannover. Stein received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 August 1943 as Feldwebel and Bordschütze in 1.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Stukageschwader 2 "Immelmann". He flew a total of 727 sorties (of which around 150 were during the battle of Stalingrad) as a Ju 87 radio operator, mostly with Stuka pilot and fellow Ritterkreuzträger Armin Thiede.

Source ;
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=231309
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/27067/Stein-Werner.htm
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/wehrmacht-era-militaria/photos-and-paper-items-forum/492360-luftwaffe-rk-holder-id-help