Kurt Schäfer

Kurt Schäfer
Born	19 August 1913 Magdeburg
Died	15 May 1992 (aged 78) Ludwigshafen
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1934–45
Rank	Major
Unit	2. Marine-Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Police officer

Kurt Schäfer (19 August 1913 – 15 May 1992) was a German officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was also awarded the very rare Close Combat Clasp in Gold—one of only 631 awards.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (11 November 1941) & 1st Class (31 January 1942)
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (18 February 1944)
• Close Combat Clasp
  • in Bronze (9 November 1943)^[1]
  • in Silver (30 January 1944)^[1]
  • in Gold (23 September 1944)^[1]
• German Cross in Gold on 21 February 1944 as Oberleutnant in the I./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 33^[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 12 August 1944 as Hauptmann and leader of the I./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 33^[3]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (3 August 1944)

References

Citations

1. Berger 2004, p. 452.
2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 399.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 655.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (2004). Ritterkreuzträger mit Nahkampfspange in Gold [Knight's Cross Bearers with the Close Combat Clasp in Gold] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-3-7.
• 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.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.