Werner Damsch was a Hauptsturmführer

Hauptsturmführer

Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...

 (Captain) in the Waffen SS during 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...

, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

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...

, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 during 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...

.

Werner Dansch was born on the 22 July 1918. During World War II he was commander of the I.Battalion, 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment, 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, when he was awarded the Knight's Cross in April 1945. He survived the war and died on the 7 November 1994.

Further reading

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Mitcham, Jr.Samuel, Retreat to the Reich, Stackpole books 2007. ISBN 081173384X
• Henschler Henri & Fay Will, Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943-45 Stackpole Books, 2003. ISBN 0811729052
• Mitcham Samuel, The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45,Stackpole Books, 2007. ISBN 0811733718
• Meyer Hubert, The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Stackpole Books, 2005.ISBN 0811731987