Eichenlaubträger in Bundeswehr, how many?

[bratwurstdimsum]

A kind of extension to the thread on RKT in general in the Bundeswehr,

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ad.php?t=55196

I was wondering whether anyone can confirm an approach I'm taking to identifying a 1957 RK medal I'm acquiring.

I'm taking as fact...

• The 1957 genuinely belonged to a Vet
• A vet with a higher grade of RK will never buy/wear a lower one

I'm hoping:

• The vet served in the bundeswehr and that was his primary reason for acquiring a RK of this quality.

Now...I did a search on all Eichenlaubträgers on the web and found a list of 883.

I then did a search on :

• www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de
• www.das-ritterkreuz.de

and restricted the searches to specify "Bundeswehr" and I got the following list of 19:

Boege, Ehrenfried-Oskar Kommandierender General 43.Armeekorps
Brunner, Eduard Kommandeur I./GrenRgt 62
Dewes, Martin Kommandeur III./NJG 1
Ebeling, Werner Kommandeur GrenRgt 154
Frantz, Peter Kommandeur SturmGeschAbt "Großdeutschland"
Hax, Heinrich Kommandeur 8.PzDiv
Höhne, Friedrich Kommandeur III./JägRgt 204
Kemnade, Friedrich Chef 3.Schnellbootflottille
Kohler, Wilhelm Ordonnanzoffizier Kampfgruppe 9.PzDiv
Lange, Hans-Günther Kommandant U-711
Müller, Alfred Kommandeur SturmGeschAbt 191
Pestke, Hans-Gotthard Kommandeur I./GrenRgt 176
Rettemeier, Josef Kommandeur PzAbt 5
Schirmer, Gerhart Kommandeur FschJägRgt 16
Schmidt, Walter Kommandeur II./SS-PzGrenRgt 10 "Westland"
Schultze, Herbert-Emil Kommandant U-48
Seidemann, Hans Kommandierender General VIII.Fliegerkorps
Späte, Wolfgang Staffelkapitän 5./JG 54
Wittmann, Herbert Kommandeur II./KG 53 "Legion Condor"

Surely these aren't the only 19 Eichenlaubträger serving/have served in the Bundeswehr?

Any help would be appreciated!

BDS

[Denis]

Hello BDS

Interesting thread. I agree with you that we can reasonnably assume that a German veteran would have not bought a lower or higher 1957 RK. However, I think that your 2 other assumptions are not correct.

1 - "The 1957 genuinely belonged to a Vet " : in fact, the majority of the 1957 RK were bought by collectors rather by KC holders.

2- "The vet served in the bundeswehr and that was his primary reason for acquiring a RK of this quality" : it can be true but we cannot exclude the fact that some veterans bought their RK for civilian ceremonies or OdR meetings for example.

In my opinion, based on these 2 points, it is impossible to know who was the original owner. Have you tried to contact your seller to receive information from him ? I beleive this is the best way to obtain what you are looking for.

Regarding Ritterkreuzträgers in the postwar era, there is a book entitled "Die Ritterkreuzträger in der Bundeswehr" coauthored by Clemens Range and Andreas Düfel. Another one deals with KC holders belonging to the Austrian Army. This is : "Ritterkreuzträger im Österreichischen Bundesheer 1955-85".

About your inquiry and the list of 883 recipients, I think you can exclude all Eichenlaubträger who passed away before 1957. The list was narrowed to 484 recipients !!

Sorry not being more helpful.

Best regards

Denis

[Grant Broadhurst]

I know Martin Steglich won the oaks and served in the Bundeswehr .

So thats another one off the 808 RK winners who served in the Bundeswehr according to www.das-ritterkreuz.de

I Agree it does help if you know who the owner was , i had a RK which was owned by a winner but never found out who . It is better to get one with provenance but still nice to have one that has been worn by a man who earned it,s WW2 cousin .

[bratwurstdimsum]

I'd have to grudgingly agree on both your points Denis, ok, do we then have a list of RKT mit E that are still alive then?

BDs