| Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | |
|---|---|
The ultimate expression of the award: the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, awarded only to Hans-Ulrich Rudel. |
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| Awarded by Nazi Germany | |
| Type | Neck order |
| Eligibility | Military personnel |
| Awarded for | Awarded to holders of the Iron Cross to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership |
| Campaign | World War II |
| Status | Obsolete |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1 September 1939 |
| First awarded | 30 September 1939 |
| Last awarded | 11 May 1945 / 17 June 1945[a] |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Grand Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Next (lower) | Iron Cross 1st Class |
Divisional Emblem 1st SS Division LSSAH |
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The 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler's personal Bodyguard Regiment. In 1939 the SS-LAH became a separate unit of the Waffen-SS aside the SS-TV and the SS-VT.[1] The SS-LAH independently participated in combat during the Invasion of Poland (1939). Elements of the SS-LAH later joined the SS-VT prior to Operation Barbarossa in 1941 and by the end of World War II they had been increased in size from a Regiment to a Panzer Division, a number of the Division's members were awarded the Knight's Cross during World War II. 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[2] of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross 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[3] of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613[4] of September 28, 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 last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11[5] of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.
To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole.
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was divided into five grades, excluding the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross: