Hans Seidemann was a World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 general. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...

. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Interwar years

Between the two World Wars Seidemann was trained as a Luftwaffe pilot at the secret training facility in Lipetsk

Lipetsk

Lipetsk is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow.-History:...

, Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 He also participated in the third and fourth FAI

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...

 International Tourist Plane Contest Challenge 1932

Challenge 1932

The Challenge 1932 was the third FAI International Tourist Plane Contest , that took place between 12 and August 28, 1932 in Berlin, Germany. The four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe.-Overview:...

 (7th place) and Challenge 1934

Challenge 1934

The Challenge 1934 was the fourth and last FAI International Tourist Plane Contest , that took place between August 28 and September 16, 1934 in Warsaw, Poland. The four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe...

 (3rd place).

Awards

• Spanish Cross
  Spanish Cross
  The Spanish Cross was an award of Germany given to Germans who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for Franco.- History :With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Germany sent the Condor Legion to give military aid to Francisco Franco's nationalist forces.On April 14, 1939, Germany...
  
   in Gold with Swords (6 June 1939)
• Iron Cross
  Iron Cross
  The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
  
   (1939)
  • 2nd Class (25 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (20 May 1940)
• Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
  Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
  The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
  
  
  • Knight's Cross on 20 March 1942 as Oberst
    Oberst
    Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
    
     im Generalstab and chief of the general staff of Luftflotte 2
  • 658th Oak Leaves on 18 November 1944 as Generalleutnant and commanding general of VIII. Fliegerkorps
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
  Wehrmachtbericht
  The Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....
  
   on 20 February 1944

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
20 February 1944		The 8th Air Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Seidemann has supported, in well proven weapons comradeship, our hard-pressed troops of the Army.

External links