Richard Kotz

Richard Kotz (12 September 1886 – 8 June 1960) was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Kotz was captured by American troops in May 1945 and was held until January 1947.

Richard Kotz
Born	12 September 1886 Waldau, Upper Lusatia, German Empire
Died	8 June 1960(1960-06-08) (aged 73) Bad Honnef, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1927) Nazi Germany
Branch	Army
Service years	1905–1927 1934–1945
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands	Grenadier-Regiment 389
Conflicts	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Siege of Leningrad Italian Campaign
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Military Advisor to Turkey Military Advisor to China

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross on 3 May 1918 as deputy officer in the 4. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Eastern Front Medal
• German Cross in Gold (13 January 1943)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 October 1943 as Oberst and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 389

References

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• 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.

External links

• TracesOfWar.com
• Richard Kotz @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived November 17, 2010)