List of Knight's Cross of The Iron Cross Recipients of The Kriegsmarine

List Of Knight's Cross Of The Iron Cross Recipients Of The Kriegsmarine

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military of the Third Reich. Recipients are grouped by grades of the Knight's Cross. During or shortly after World War II, 318 German sailors and servicemen of the Kriegsmarine received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Of these, 316 presentations were formally made. Two recipients received the award after 11 May 1945, when Großadmiral Karl Dönitz ordered a cease of promotions and illegalized subsequent awards. The final two recipients are therefore considered to have received the medal without legal authority.

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz) and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed, some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten), based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of 29 December 1944, concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air force) and for the Waffen-SS. In each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade.

This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the Knight's Cross was awarded posthumously.
This along with the ? (question mark) indicates that historian Veit Scherzer has expressed doubt regarding the veracity and formal correctness of the listing.

Read more about List Of Knight's Cross Of The Iron Cross Recipients Of The Kriegsmarine:  Knight's Cross With Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Knight's Cross With Oak Leaves and Swords, Knight's Cross With Oak Leaves, Knight's Cross of The Iron Cross, Legally Disputed Knight's Cross Recipients

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