Major German Pilots of World war two which have signed aviation art prints. including Adolf Galland, Gunther Rall, Erich  Hartmann, Dieter Hrabak, walter Kreupinski,  Fritz Obleser, Adolf Dickfield, Siegried Koitsdchschika, Erhard Nippa, Gunter Hielscher, Hans Henning  Johanne Naumann, Walter Wolfrum, Kurt Schade, Peter Duttman, Walter Schuck, Erich Rudorffer  Franz Kieslich, Kurt Kulmey, Hans Karl Steep  Dieter Hrabak Heinz Meyer, Fritz Rudolf Schultz, Josef Werth  Gunter Hielscher, Hans Henning von Schultz  and Hermann Buchner

After success in the Battle of Britain, Hans-Ekkehard Bob took over leadership of 9./JG54 in 1940.  The following year he was awarded the Knight's Cross.  Transferring to the Eastern Front his victories rose steadily to 50 by September 1942.  His Group later transferred back to the West for a short period, where in April 1943, he rammed a B-17 Fortress.  Returning to the Eastern Front as Kommander of IV./JG3, he ended the war as Adjutant of Galland's JV44 in the West.  In his 700 missions he scored 60 victories.

Vital to all fighter units are the pilots who make such superb wingmen that their leaders are loath to part with them.  Hugo Broch was one such wingman.  Having joined VI./JG54 in January he flew first with Horst Adameit (166 victories), and later with 'Bazi' Sterr (130 victories), but soon demonstrated his own skill in combat.  By the end of 1944 he had lifted his personal score to 71 victories.  One of JG54's great Fw190 Aces, Hugo Broch saw combat on the Eastern and Baltic Fronts, and completed the war having flown 324 combat missions, and claiming 81 victories.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross.

Erich Rudorffer joined I./JG2 'Richthofen' in November 1939, and was soon flying combat patrols.  He took part in the Battle of France, and the Battle of Britain, becoming Adjutant of II./JG2 in June 1941.  In December 1942 he was transferred to North Africa.  In July 1943 he was posted to command II./JG54 in Russia.  In February 1945 he took command of I./JG7 flying the Me262.  Erich Rudorffer was the master of multiple scoring - achieving more multiple victories than any other pilot.  This included 8 RAF aircraft in 32 minutes in December 1943, 7 in 20 minutes a few days later.  In Russia he shot down 5 aircraft in only 4 minutes.  He ended the war with 222 victories from over 1000 missions.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross, with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Franz Woidich was posted to North Africa to join II./JG27 in July 1941.  In April 1942 he transferred to 3./JG52 in Russia.  In August 1944 he was selected as one of a group of elite fighter pilots for training on the Me163 Komet, and joined Erganzunstaffel 400 at Gutenfeld, near Breslau.  A month later he joined II./JG400 as Staffelkapitan.  Franz Woidich served with JG400 until the end of the war.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross in June 1944, flew over 1000 combat missions and achieved 110 victories.

At the outbreak of war Wolfgang Falck was Staffelkapitan of 8,/JG132 flying the Bf110 Zerstorer in the Polish Campaign.  In Feb 1940 he became Kommandeur 1./ZG1 and led it during the Western campaign.  From June 1940 Falck was appointed Kommodore NJG1, the largest Geschwader in the Luftwaffe.  During this time the greatest Luftwaffe night Aces were under his command.  In July 1943 he joined the staff of Luftflotte Recih where he was responsible for the day and night fighter defence of the Reich.  In the autumn of 1944 he was made Fighter Leader in the Balkans, and later became head of staff for flying training.  Wolfgang Falck flew 90 operations and was awarded the Knight's Cross

Originally a transport pilot, Paul Zorner flew in North Africa, the Mediterranean and southern Russia before retraining as a nightfighter pilot, joining II./NJG2 in 1942 flying the Ju88.  In December he took command of 2./NJG3 operating first the Do217 and then the Me110.  At the beginning of 1943 he was squadron commander of 3./NJG3 and then 8./NJG3, which he led until April 1944, when he took command of III./NJG5, re-equipping with the Ju88G-6.  In October 1944 he was promoted to become Kommander of II./NJG100.  Paul Zorner was credited with 59 victories and was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

During the Battle of Britain Helmut Bennemann was Gruppenadjutant with I./JG52 on the Channel Front.  In April 1942 he was Staffelkapitan of 3./JG52 in the east and was appointed Kommandeur of I./JG52 from June 1942 until October 1943.  Posted to Italy in November 1943, he was promoted to Kommodore of JG53 (Ace of Spades) in this theatre and in the defence of Germany.  He commanded JG53 on Operation Bodenplatte.  Helmut Bennemann flew over 400 missions, scoring 92 victories and was awarded the Knight's Cross.

Helmut Ballewski was one of the 'younger' generation flyers, not joining the Luftwaffe until November 1942.  Posted to JG53 PIK AS he flew all of his 47 missions in the west.  With IV./JG53 from January 1945, Helmut Ballewski was Helmut Bennemann's wingman on Operation Bodenplatte.  He also flew fighter bomber operations on the Bridge at Remagen operation.  He was awarded the Iron Cross.

Walter Krupinski first saw combat against the RAF on the Western Front.  Transferring to the east, he became a Squadron Commander in the legendary JG52.  In 1943 his victories reached 150 but, in March 1944 with 177 victories to his name, he was transferred to Germany to command JG11.  Flying high altitude Me109s, he chalked up another 12 victories before being wounded.  In September 1944 he was promoted Kommandeur of III./JG26 and led them on Operation Bodenplatte before joining Galland's famous JV44.  He completed the war with 197 victories in over 1100 missions.  He received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

Werner Hohenberg joined JG52 in July 1942, flying with 8th Staffel.  On July 9th 1942 he was badly wounded when his aircraft was hit by Russian flak, causing him to be in hospital until November 1st, 1944.  He was then posted to JG2 'Richtofen' on the Western Front.  On January 1st, 1945 he took part in Operation Bodenplatte, and was again shot down, this time by US flak.  Landing behind British lines he was taken POW.  Werner Hohenberg flew over 200 combat missions, scoring 33 air victories.  He was awarded the Iron Cross.

A formidable figure in the Luftwaffe, Hajo Hermann was originally awarded the Knight's Cross in 1940 as a bomber pilot.  He flew over 320 operations with KG4, and later II./JG30, where he sank 12 ships.  In 1942 he was appointed to the Luftwaffe Operational Staff.  In July 1943 he was responsible for the formation of JG300 and founded the highly successful Wilde Sau (Wild Boar) tactics of free roaming FW190 night fighters.  In December 1943 ge was appointed Luftwaffe Inspector of Aerial Defence.  At the end of 1944 he led the 9th Flieger division and created the famous Rammkommando Elbe.  At the end of the war he was captured by the Russians, spending long years in captivity.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross, Oak Leaves and Swords.

At the outbreak of war Heinz Lange was with I./JG21 scoring his first victory in October 1939.  He flew 76 missions in the Battle of Britain with 8./JG54, and never lost a wingman.  After flying in the Balkan campaign he took part in the invasion of Russia, scoring 7 victories during the first week.  In October 1941 he was given command of 1./JG54 and in 1942 command of 3./JG51.  In January 1944 Heinz Lange returned to JG54 to command 1.Gruppe and then back to JG51 where he was appointed Kommodore of JG51 Molders, leading IV./JG51 at the same time.  Heinz Lange flew over 628 missions and achieved 70 victories.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross.

One of the outstanding younger Luftwaffe pilots, Willi Reschke was one of the leading members of JG300 Wilde Sau flying the Fw190A in the 'Defence of the Reich'.  Towards the latter months of the war he transferred to the Stabsschwarm of JG301, still flying the Fw190A.  Awarded the Knight's Crossin April 1945, he was credited with 26 victories - all in the west - including 18 four engined bombers.

Emil Clade joined the Luftwaffe in April 1937.  At the outbreak of war he was with 1 Staffel JG27 and took part in the Battle of France, the fighting over Dunkirk and then in 1940, based in the Pas de Calais, in the Battle of Britain, where he scored his first victory flying the Me109E.  In early 1941 Emil was posted with JG27 to North Africa where he flew continually until the German forces were eventually defeated at the end of 1942.  By the end of the war he had survived 6 bail outs and scored 26 air victories.  He was awarded the German Gold Cross, and Iron Cross 1st Class.

A veteran of the Spanish Campaign, Edward Neumann, at the start of the war, was leading 4./JG26 in France, later promoted Adjutant of I./JG27.  He took part in the Balkan Campaign before moving in 1941 to North Africa, where I./JG27 was the only German fighter unit for the first nine months.  In 1942 he became Kommodore of JG27, a position which he held throughout the remainder of the Desert Campaign.  He was credited with moulding the careers of many outstanding pilots, the best known being the young Hauptmann Marseille.  Following the defeat of Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein JG27 covered their retreat back to Tunisia.  When his wing left the desert, 'Edu' Neumann was transferred to the Staff of General of the Fighter Arm, where he remained until 1944.  Promoted to Oberst in the autumn of that year, he took over as Fighter Commander of Northern Italy.  Edu Neumann ended the war as one of the Luftwaffe's most highly respected Commanders.

In February 1940, Gunther Seeger was an Unteroffizier with 3./JG2, scoring his first victory in the early days of the Battle of Britain.  he served on the Channel Front until December 1942, including several months with the Geschwaderstabsschwarm.  He transferred to the Mediterranean theatre with II./JG2 before joining 6./JG53.  In February 1943 he joined 7./JG53 becoming Staffelkapitan in September 1944.  Awarded the Knight's Cross, Gunther Seeger scored 56 victories.

Joining the Luftwaffe in October 1940, Ernst Scheufele was posted to Norway in June 1942, to join 4./JG5.  There, flying Me109s he carried out a total of 67 escort missions for the German battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz.  In October 1943 he joined II./JG5 flying over Arctic waters, in Finland, and on the Russian Front, before transferring to the defence of the Reich in June 1944.  On 3 December 1944 he was shot down by an American flak battery near Saxony, wounded and taken prisoner.  He had a total of 18 victories.

Heinz Radlauer learnt to fly gliders in 1940, aged 17, and joined the Luftwaffe in August 1941.  After Fighter School, in June 1944 he was posted to join JG51 Molders then fighting on the Eastern Front near Minsk, scoring his first victory in October of that year.  Heinz Radlauer fleew the Bf109G, the Fw190A, and at the end of the war the Fw190D, by which time he had notched up over 100 combat missions, flying his last combat mission on 30th April 1945.  Credited with 15 air victories, all on the Eastern Front, he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class.

Born in 1923, Erich Brunotte joined the Luftwaffe and started immediate pilot training in June 1941.  He flew on the Eastern Front with 1./Gruppe Nauhaufklarungs Geschwader 102, and later transferred to fly with IV./Jagdgeswader 51 Molders, in the 13th Staffel.  Promoted to Unteroffizier in December 1944, and Feldwebel in April 1945, he flew most marks of the Bf109, and the Fw190.  His very last combat mission was in the Fw Dora 9 on 3rd May 1945 at Flensburg in northen Germany.

Born in August 1925, Johannes Oesterhelt joined the Luftwaffe in July 1943 and was one of the youngest pilots to fly with JG51 Molders. Joining IV./JG51 he flew his first combat mission in January 1945, aged 19, flying with the 13th Staffel against the advancing Russians in the area around the northern city of Danzig, and protecting the retreating German army.  He flew against Russian II-2s, Yak-3s, Airacobras, and also against Russian tanks.  He scored 2 confirmed air victories before the war ended.

Siegfried Bethke joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and was posted to II./JG2 shortly before the Battle of France.  During the Battle of Britain he was Staffelkapitan of 2. Staffel JG2, and by the end of 1940 his tally had reached 10.  He flew on the Channel Dash but later a serious accident halted his flying career.  Awarded the Iron Cross I and II Class, he had a total of 14 victories.

Julius Meimberg joined JG2 Richthofen in December 1939 and during the Battle of France flew as wingman to Assi Hahn.  An Ace during the Battle of Britain, Meimberg flew with Wick on the day that he was fatally shot down over the Isle of Wight.  In 1944 Meimburg was appointed Gruppenkommandeur II./JG53.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross and achieved 53 victories in 600 combat missions.

After seeing action in the Spanish campaign, Gunther Scholz flew with 7./JG54 in Poland and France, and during the Battle of Britain.  Transferring to the Eastern Front he flew with III./JG5 from February 1942, later with Geschwaderstab JG5.  In July 1944 he was posted to Norway.  Scholz was awarded the Iron Cross I and finished the war with 33 victories.

Erwin Leykauf flew with JG27 at the beginning of the Battle of Britain, then with JG54 where he scored his first 7 victories.  Transferring to the Balkans and later the Eastern Front, in 1943 he joined JG26 flying the Fw190.  At the end of the war he was with JG7, flying the Me262.  Erwin was awarded the Iron Cross I and II and his victories had climbed to 33.

Herbert Kaiser joined the Luftwaffe before the war, and by 1938 he was a fighter pilot with II./JG186.  He flew in the invasion of Poland and then during the Battle of France, scoring his first victory in May 1940.  He took part in the Battle of Britain before transferring to the Balkans.  In August 1941 he was posted to the Russian Front, then North Africa followed by Italy and the Dolomites.  In March 1944 he joined JG1 in the defence of the Reich.  Seriously wounded in a parachute jump in August 1944 he was hospitalised until February 1945.  he then joined Adolf Galland's JV44.  He flew over 1000 missions and achieved 68 victories.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1943.

Alexander Uhlig joined the first German Parachute regiment in 1937 and saw action during the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and the Polish Campaign.  In May 1940 he jumped during the Battle of Narvik in Norway after which he transferred to flying duties with the Ju52.  Between 1941 and 1943 he took part in over 170 Ju52 operations including the landings on Crete.  In June 1944 he was again in action on the ground commanding the 16 Kompanie Parachute Regiment 6.  Ordered to lead a small company of 30 Paras against positions of the US 90th Infantry Division, Uhlig's company defeated the entire US battalion taking over 230 prisoners, including the nattalion commander.  For this he was awarded the Knight's Cross.  Uhlig was eventually taken prisoner of war and taken to England.  In April 1947 still under guard despite the end of hostilities, he escaped and made his way back to Germany.  He was never recaptured; so at least one German did escape from a POW camp and made it back to Germany - even if the war was over.

Theo Gerling was born in 1916.  During the war he flew the Ju52 with the Luftwaffe's Transportgruppe, taking part in combat operations in virtually every theatre, first as an observer and later as a pilot.  In January 1943, flying a Ju52, he undertook one of the very last flights into Stalingrad, before the capitulation of General Paulus and the 6th Army garrison.  He flew a total of 528 combat missions during the war and was awarded the German Cross in gold.

Helmut Schwarz joined the German Armed Forces in September 1939 becoming a Leutnant in 1941.  From April 1941 as Staffelkapitan of the Sonderstaffel (Special Staff), to Ocrober 1944, by then Oberleutnant, he commanded transport planes in action over the Mediterranean flying Ju52 and SM92.  From then until 1945, he was involved with night fighter training.  With around 1500 flying hours to his credit, Helmut Schwarz flew in more than 300 missions, and was awarded the Iron Cross Class I.  After the war he was involved with the air defence sectors.  He retired as Brigadegeneral.

Claus Semmelhaack was a pilot and captain with the Luftwaffe's KGrV106, flying the Junkers Ju52.  He took part in the airborne invasion of Norway during April 1940, including the Narvik Campaign.  He flew on the Eastern Front, flying in the Smolensk region.  Later in the war he became a flight instructor.  He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class.

Flying with 6./JG26, Hugo Dahmer was one of II Fruppe's most successful pilots.  Transferring to 1./JG77 he was awarded the Knight's Cross during the invasion of Russia.  For a short while back with JG26, then III./JG2.  He scored 57 victories.

Ernst Wilhelm Reinert flew with JG77, before transferring to the Eastern Front in 1941.  He was posted to Tunisia in January 1943 where he became the most successful Luftwaffe Ace in North Africa during that period.  On January 2nd 1945 he was given the leadership of IV./JG27.  In March he transferred to III./JG7 flying the Me262.  In his 715 missions Reinert scored 174 aerial victories.  he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Alfred Grislawski joined 9./JG52 in 1940, quickly becoming an Ace.  An outstanding fighter pilot, his air victories were 133 in over 800 combat missions until he was severely wounded.  he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

Adolf Glunz served with 4/JG-52 on both the Channel Coast and then in Russia.  Returning to the English Channel with II./JG-25 he became one of the most successful fighter pilots on the Western Front.  Adolf Glunz saw combat continuously right up to the war end and, remarkably, was never shot down or wounded in over 574 missions, many whilst flying the Fw190.  Awarded the Knight's Cross in 1943, he acheived a personal score of 71 victories.

Rudolf Miese flew the Me109 with 4./JG2 "Richthofen' during the Battle of Britain and was awarded the Iron Cross.  On August 23rd 1940 he was shot down by John Glendenning of 74 Squadron and badly wounded.  Taken POW he was repatriated back to Germany in 1944.

Flying the Ju88, Herbert Thomas fought as a night fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain with I./NJ62.  On 8th May 1942 he was shot down and badly wounded over Yorkshire, England.  He had 7 victories and was awarded the Iron Cross I and II.

Rudolf Trenkel flew with JG52 during the Battle of Britain.  From February to June 1942 he was with JG77 and afterwards transferred to 2./JG52.  In 1944 he was forced to bail out five times within ten days.  In August 1944 he became Staffelkapitan of 2./JG52 but in 1945 was taken into Russian confinement.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1943, and his final tally was 138 victories.

In late 1941 Heinz Marquardt was with a training squadron south of Paris.  In August 1943 he was posted to join IV./JG51 in Russia, achieving his first victory two months later.  Shot down eight times, he once achieved twelve victories in a single day.  Awarded the Knight's Cross in November 1944, he flew a total of 320 missions, and scored 121 victories.

With III./JG26 at the outbreak of war, Johannes flew in all the campaigns of 1939 - 40, including the Battle of Britain.  He led 6./JG26 on the Channel Front, and later 7./JG26.  In March 1944 he became Kommandeur of II./JG26, and in August Kommandeur II./JG6.  He flew 450 missions, scored 45 victories, all in the West, and was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1944.

Erhard Nippa served first with 10./JG2 'Richthofen', one of the most successful fighter bomber units attacking the British shipping on the Channel Front, amalgamating with 15./SK210 in 1942.  Erhard then fought in the Mediterranean theatre before joining II./SG10in Russia.  He flew over 300 missions and was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1944.

Gerhard Schopfel was Staffelkapitan of 9./JG26 at the outbreak of war, and became Kommandeur of III./JG26 in August 1940.  In December 1941 he succeeded Adolf Galland as Kommodore of JG26 until Januray 1943.  Later, Kommodore of JG4 and JG6.  He flew over 700 combat missions, achieving 40 victories, all in the West.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1940.

Heinz Kern qualififed as a Luftwaffe pilot and was posted to join III./JG5 Eismeer.  He flew both the Me109 and Fw190, and saw action in France, Austria, Norway and Finland.  Flying with II./JG5 he flew escort missions in the northern Arctic waters to the Tirpitz, and later flew with IV./JG5

Gunther Kolb joined I./JG5 in the autumn of 1944 under the command of Major Weissenberger.  A few weeks later, at the end of that year he was posted to join IV./JG5 in norway, where he flew both Me109s and Fw190s on coastal and shipping patrols until the end of the war.

Helmut Ruffler joined 9./JG3 in February 1941 and was soon to prove himself a masterful fighter pilot.  His scores began to mount quickly and by the end of 1942 his tally had risen to 50 victories.  Surviving being shot down in 1943, he was posted as a much needed fighter instructor but was soon back in the fray - joining 4./JG3 in the home defence of the Reich.  In March 1945 he was promoted Staffelfuhrer of 9./JG51.  Shot down 5 times during the war, Helmut Ruffler fleww over 690 missions and scored 98 victories.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross in December 1942.

Born in 1922, Hans Weik was one of the younger Luftwaffe Aces who, after commissioning, was posted to Russia in the spring of 1943 as a young Leutnant flying with the Geschwaderstab JG3.  In the spring of 1944 he was promoted Staffelfuhrer 10./JG3 and as such was to become one of the most respected Staffel commanders in the home defence of Germany.  In the final weeks of the war he transferred to Lechfeld for training on the Me262.  Hans Weik flew over 100 combat missions and achieved a total of 36 victories, 24 of them in the west.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross in July 1944.

Heinz 'Esau' Ewald joined 5./JG52 in Russia as a young Unteroffizier in the late summer of 1943 and flew with them for the entire duration of the war.  Always regarded as one of the finest of the young pilotsof JG52, he flew as wingman to Major Gerhard Barkhorn, Kommandeur of II./JG52 and second highest scoring Ace in history.  Heinz Ewald scored his 50th victory on December 29th 1944 when at Veszprem in Hungary.  He flew a total of 396 missions and scored 84 victories.  He was awarded the Knight's Cross in April 1945.

Helmut Heckes joined the Luftwaffe in August 1941, and in October 1943 was posted to I./JG52 based at Novo-Saporozhe in the southern Russian sector.  He flew combat in most variants of the Me109.  He joined 12./JG11 in 1944. Shortly afterwards, following 72 successful combat missions, he was shot down by a Lagg 5 on June 26th 1944.  Spending six months in hospital his wounds were so severe that he was unable to fly again for the rest of the war.  He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class.

Joining the Luftwaffe in the autumn of 1940, Friedrich Schelker was posted to I./JG52 at Dnepropetrowsk a year later, flying the Me109F.  Later when serving with 7./JG51 in the southern sector of Mariupol he was shot down and badly wounded.  After hospitalisation, in 1943 he was transferred to fly the Fischler Fil56 Storch.  Friedrich served throughout the Eastern Front, in Russia, Rumania and Hungary.  He scored 22 victories and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class.

Luftwaffe Nightfighter Pilot, who flew mostly the famed Junkers 88 G1 with the 1/NJG2 in Germany and later in France.  He was awarded the Ritter Kreuz (Knights Cross) and Oak Leaves.  Heinz Rokker shot down Thomas Harvell on the night of 28/29th July 1944 over Domremy, the birthplace of Joan of Arc.  The Lancaster No.LM206 crashed into a farm and the River Meuse.  One of the engines can be seen in the museum near Neuf Chateau.  His final total was a staggering 64 kills (63 at night)

Tank Commanders

Called up in 1941 when he reached 18, Henry Metelmann was posted to join the 22nd Panzer Division and was in training as Operation Barbarossa commenced in June.  Shortly after the Division was sent to the Crimea for the winter of 1941 as part of Mannesteins 11th Army, fighting the first of many tank battles in the early spring of 1942.  He took part in the push to the River V, and the approach to Stalingrad.  Wounded, he spent time in hospital before rejoining his unit for the Battle of Stalingrad.  Detached from his unit during the chaos of the fighting, he walked west for days before crossing back into the German lines.  Wounded again, he was captured but escaped, and in early 1945 was sent to join a Panzer unit in the West defending the Rhine from the advancing US army under General Patton.

Born in January 1925, Ernst Wilhelm Kufner joined the army on 30th April 1943, becoming a Tiger tank commander in the SS Panzer divisions.  He fought on the Western Front throughout the D-Day landings and the subsequent battle for Normandy, later at the hard fought Battle of the Bulge, in Hungary and Austria.

Werner Wendt was born in Naugard / Pommern, today in Poland, in 1921.  He joined the ,military at the outbreak of war in September 1939, and served first with an SS Artillery Regiment during the Battle of France3.  In August 1940 he joined the SS Artillery Regiment Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler and fought in the Yugoslavian and Greek campaigns.  Becoming a Tiger tank commander, he took part in the invasion of Russia, and in 1943 fought in a Tiger at the Battle of Kursk during Operation Citadel.  Later in 1943 he fought in Italy, and then in 1944 at the Battle of Normandy, followed in December of that year by the Battle of the Bulge.  Werner Wendt was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class.