Erich Walther

Erich Walther
Born	5 August 1903
Died	26 December 1947 (aged 44) Soviet Special Camp 2
Allegiance	Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	2nd Parachute Panzer Division Hermann Göring
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Erich Walther (5 August 1903 – 26 December 1947) was a German paratroop general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Walther commanded the Hermann Göring 2nd Parachute Panzer-Grenadier Division in East Prussia. Promoted to Generalmajor on 30 January 1945 he was taken prisoner of war by the Red Army on 8 May 1945. He died at Soviet Special Camp 2 on 26 December 1947.

Awards

• Fallschirmschützenabzeichen^[1]
• Wound Badge in Black^[1]
• Cuffband "Crete"^[1]
• Narvik Shield^[1]
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (18 April 1940) & 1st Class (26 April 1940)^[2]
• German Cross in Gold on 31 March 1942 as Major in the I./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 24 May 1940 as Major and commander of the I./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1^[4]
  • 411th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Oberst and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 4^[4]
  • 131st Swords on 1 February 1945 as Oberst and leader of Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier-Division 2 "Hermann Göring"^[4]

References

Citations

1. Berger 1999, p. 364.
2. Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 348.
3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 495.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 767.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). 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] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1986). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil II: Fallschirmjäger [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part II: Paratroopers] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-1461-8.