Karl Alfred Thieme[Notes 1] (28 May 1914 – 6 June 2004) was a German officer serving during World War II and recipient of the coveted Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
↑The often publicized spelling of his first name with "C" is wrong according to his statement.[1]
↑Karl Thieme's nomination by the troop was received by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA — Army Personnel Office) on 10 April 1945 via teleprinter message. MajorJoachim Domaschk noted "By no means sufficient! Requesting statement from OB West", which was requested on 13 April. OB West responded on 24 April (entry date at the Heerespersonalamt (HPA — Army Personnel Office) on 28 April): "Statement from OB West not possible, since nomination was not made via OB West". Major Domaschk then decided on 28 April: "Heeresgruppe B, postpone!" In this instance the nomination was not processed due to AHA 44 Ziff. 572 but also because statements from his commanding officers could not be obtained anymore due to the capitulation. The nomination list for the higher grades of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross also contains a note from 10 April 1945: postponed. A bestowal thus didn't occur. The Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) claims that the award was presented in accordance with the Dönitz-decree. This is illegal according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) and lacks legal justification. The sequential number "156" was assigned by the AKCR. Fellgiebel assigned the presentation date.[8]
Berger, Florian (1999) (in German). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War]. Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) (in German). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches]. Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001) (in German). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2]. Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Thomas, Franz (1998) (in German). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z]. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
1 Knight's Cross with Schützen-Regiment 1 (1st Panzer Division), Diamonds with the 4th Panzer Army2 Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves with the Schützen-Regiment 113 (1st Panzer Division) 3 Knight's Cross with Panzer-Regiment 35 (4th Panzer Division) 4 Oak Leaves with Gruppe "Henze" (Feld-Division 21 (L)) 5 Knight's Cross with Panzergrenadier-Regiment 110, Oak Leaves and Swords with Panzergrenadier-Regiment 111 6 Oak Leaves with Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 901 7 Oak Leaves with Panzer-Brigade "Kurland"
Nazi Germany
