The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest military award in Nazi Germany. Recipients are grouped by grades of the Knight's Cross. During World War II, 133 German soldiers and officers of the Fallschirmjäger (Paratrooper) service, which was a part of the Luftwaffe, received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Among them, 22 officers received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), seven the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern), and one won the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten).

Background The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment, of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (). Article 2 of the enactment mandated that the award of a higher class be preceded by the award of all preceding classes. As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (), was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment of 3 June 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords () and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (), based on the enactment of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.

Recipients The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) 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. Within 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. The sequential numbers greater than 843 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and 143 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are unofficial and were assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) and are therefore denoted in parentheses.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds is based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Ultimately, it would be awarded to twenty-seven German soldiers, sailors and airmen, ranging from young fighter pilots to field marshals. One recipient was a member of the Fallschirmjäger.

Number Name Rank Role and unitFor an explanation of the various naming schemes used by the Luftwaffe, Heer, Kriegsmarine and Waffen-SS refer to nomenclature used by the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. Date of award Image 20 Generalleutnant Commander of fortress Brest

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords is also based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The sequential numbers greater than 143 are unofficial and were assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) and therefore denoted in brackets. The number of the 160 Sword recipients, including seven Falschirmjäger listed here, is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the (AKCR). Author Veit Scherzer has challenged the validity of 13 of these listings, including the Fallschirmjäger Eugen Meindl.

Number Name Rank Role and unit Date of award Notes Image 55 19-LGeneralleutnant Commander of 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division 67 17-LOberst Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 3 96 17-LOberst Leader of 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division 99 + 19-LGeneralleutnant Commander of fortress Brest Awarded 20th Diamonds 19 September 1944 112 17-LOberst Leader of 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division 131 17-LOberst Leader of Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier-Division 2 "Hermann Göring" ? 20-LGeneral der Fallschirmtruppe Commanding general of II. Fallschirm-Korps

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940. The last officially announced number for the Oak Leaves was 843.

Number Name Rank Role and unit Date of award Notes Image 145 + 18-LGeneralmajor Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Brigade "Ramcke" Awarded 99th Swords 19 September 194420th Diamonds 19 September 1944 305 20-LGeneral der Flieger Commanding general of the XI. Fliegerkorps (Luft-lande-Korps) 382 + 19-LGeneralleutnant Commander of the 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division Awarded 55th Swords 25 March 1944 411 + 17-LOberst Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 4 Awarded 131st Swords 1 February 1945 412 + 17-LOberst Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 3 Awarded 67th Swords 15 May 1944 443 + 16-LOberstleutnant Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2 Awarded 96th Swords 12 September 1944 459 + 17-LOberst Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 Awarded 112th Swords 18 November 1944 510 16-LOberstleutnant Leader of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 4 564 + 20-LGeneral der Fallschirmtruppe Commanding general of the II. Fallschirmkorps Awarded (155th) Swords 8 May 1945? 584 17-LOberst Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 7 585 15-LMajor Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 11 586 18-LGeneralmajor Commander of the 4. Fallschirmjäger-Division 617 In German a Doctor of Law is abbreviated as Dr. iur. (Doctor iuris) or Dr. jur. (Doctor juris) and a Doctorate of Economics is abbreviated as Dr. rer. pol. (Doctor rerum politicarum). 16-LOberstleutnant Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6 654 14-LHauptmann of the Reserves Leader of the III./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 15 657 16-LOberstleutnant Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 16 662 15-LMajor Commander of the I./Fallschirm-Pionier-Regiment 21 664 15-LMajor Leader of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1 693 16-LOberstleutnant Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 15 780 16-LOberstleutnant Commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5 ? 19-HGeneralleutnant Commander of the 6. Fallschirmjäger-Division ? 15-LMajor Commander of the Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 20

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes (Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross). The distribution of presentations made to Fallschirmjäger is closely linked to the engagements in which they fought. In 1940 the Battle of France (10 May – 25 June 1940) played a predominant role, in 1941 the Battle of Crete (20 May – 1 June 1941), and in 1944 the Battle of Monte Cassino (17 January – 18 May 1944) in Italy and the Allied Invasion of Normandy (6 June 1944 – mid-July 1944) dominated the events for the Fallschirmjäger. The presentations made therefore match these engagements. A total of 23 awards were made in 1940; 25 in 1941; only 3 in 1942 and 4 in 1943; the peak of 59 was reached in 1944, and 18 in 1945, giving a total of 132 recipients.