|
|
|
|
Special Entry
Knight’s Cross Award Document to a Panzer Regiment Hero, Friedrich Banach
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Knight’s Cross Award Document to a Panzer Regiment Hero (Item WEHR 33-11; SPECIAL ITEMS) |
| DESCRIPTION: Here is a very special document awarding the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross to a Panzer group sergeant. This Ritterkreuz was awarded to Oberfeldwebel Friedrich Banach (1916-1943.) Banach was a highly decorated Wehrmacht recipient of this coveted award and it was presented to recognize extreme battlefield bravery and successful military leadership. Friedrich Banach was born 01/02/1916 in Gelsenkirchen. He served in the Reichsarbeitsdienste (Labor Service) in the group known as RAD 3/208 and there he served as Obervormann 3/11/1937. Then he joined the Volunteer 7th Company of Panzer Regiment 5 in Wunsdorf and it was there that he was promoted on 01/10/1938 to corporal. He was transferred on 11/10/1938 to the 4th Company of Panzer Regiment 36 in Schweinfurt. Banach participated in the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia campaigns from the time of initial invasions and also fought in 1939 in the campaign against Poland. After the fighting ended, he was promoted to sergeant on 10/01/1939 and received a much-needed relaxing holiday to Witten/Ruhr. After his return to duty, he took part in the antipartisan campaign in the Balkans and then the campaign in France. In the meantime, he had been treated at the military hospital in Schweinfurt for acute varicose veins, a common problem with armored-unit soldiers, especially tankers. At the beginning of the campaign in the east he participated in the 14th Panzer Divisions attack in the south of the Eastern Front starting in summer 1942. He participated in the offensive of the 6th Army’s advance on Stalingrad on 07/08/1942. He was 8 kilometers southwest of Tinguta after being wounded at Stalingrad by shrapnel below both eyes. He was among the few fortunate soldiers to survive that horrible conflagration. When fighting with the division between 25/11 and 15/12/1942 during the attack on a Soviet cavalry division, he decided to lead what was a leaderless unit and quickly trained its regiments. He then exploited the terrain with the left flank of the enemy in front and as a fortunate result he destroyed five enemy tanks which made impossible the enemy’s frontal attack and thereby destroying hundreds of enemy infantry that were to follow up the tank assault. Then without hesitation and without waiting for backup assistance to join him he further destroyed a Soviet scout car that had been sent to analyze the situation with an eye to necessary correction. He and the other Panzer leaders broke into the heart of the enemy defenses where unholy panic arose among the Russians and scores of them surrendered. It is duly noted that Friedrich Banach greatly contributed to the success of this mission and attack. Banach had to date already destroyed 43 tanks and numerous field guns so therefore it was proposed that he would receive the Knight’s Cross and it was awarded to him on 30/11/1942. The actual decoration was presented to him 17/12/1942 by Colonel Doerr, head of the German liaison to the 4th Royal Hungarian Army. At the time of the award, Banach was no longer in Stalingrad; when he actually left, however, is unknown. At least he must have been in the “hell” of all the action that he received the RK for probably between 25/11/1942 and 12/01/1942. Our soldier fell brave to the end on 23/02/1943 in the fierce fighting at Haupt Zaporizhia in the area of Slavgorod. He was 28 years old. In his military career he won the medal commemorating the victory of 10/01/1938 Iron Cross Second Class 11/04/1939 Tank Assault Badge in silver 18/05/1940 Iron Cross First Class 9/30/1940 Wound Badge in black 14/08/1942 Medal for Service in the East 17/08/1942 German Cross in gold 11/24/1942 Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross 30/11/1942 Here was a true hero of the Reich and this sergeant of the Panzertruppe certainly deserved the great honor of the bestowal of this the greatest honor the German nation could give. The preservation of this document is important so that all may know that these young Teutons gave their lives so that Soviet Communism plans were set back by a century or so in their evil agenda to invade Europe all the way to Normandy and then across the waves to Britain and then???? It was the soldiers of the Third Reich that prevented this and someday, if the West survives, great thanks will be evident in history. RIP Friedrich Banach; „Deutschland über Alles.” The document is in the red-leather cassette with the gold national Reich’s eagle embossed on its cover. There is some damage on some of the corners—top and bottom. The entire written area is done in hand calligraphy by Frieda Thiersch, the lady who was called “Hitler’s bookbinder.” She was the daughter of the renowned Munich architect Friedrich von Thiersch. Her first great works under the National Socialists were her handmade certificates and special binder groupings that conferred honorary citizenship to the Free State of Bavaria presented on April 20 (Hitler’s birthday) to Hitler, Ritter von Epp, and Reich’s President von Hindenburg. Because of her exemplary work on these certificates, Frieda was chosen to craft a certificate and award it to Benito Mussolini during his visit to Munich. The red-leather cover of the book commemorating Mussolini’s visit features an embossed eagle with gold-leaf accents, and Frieda’s design led to the creation of the special Knight's Cross Eagle which was used for the first time in 1937 and became a standard N.S. award theme, thereafter. Hitler personally commissioned Frau Thiersch to be the official calligrapher on these awards from that time on. She employed several calligraphers that produced these meticulously hand-crafted documents. Frieda Thiersch’s firm was the only company that was authorized to produce them. All of these documents were made using India-ink calligraphy (obviously labor intensive). Since all of them were handmade, a backlog of orders for award documents soon developed, especially on the Knight’s Cross documents. Some recipients waited months or even years before receiving their award documents even though they had received the actual medal in the field. Often, a field-issue certificate was given along with the medal, but this was only a temporary paper item that sufficed until the day the soldier would receive the Gross Urkunden. The name of Frieda Thiersch appears in small, embossed gold letters in the bottom of the inside of the rear cover. The extremely rare presentation folder containing the document measures 14 1/8 x 17 5/8 inches. The boards are covered in grained burgundy red leather and of course the front cover bears the eagle that we have earlier mentioned. The string attachment that holds the parchment document between the covers is there, but broken away. The document bears the signature of Adolf Hitler, but we honestly do not know if it is hand signed or with auto-pen, but our price will be based upon the theory that it is a facsimile signature unless we do get the chance to hook up with an expert who may shed some light on it. The greatest importance of course is the rare document to a loyal soldier of the German Wehrmacht. There are some stains on the backs of the parchment, but thankfully the actual award sheet is in very fine condition. The folder has various abrasions, nicks, and scratches and the worst being at the top and bottom of the piece, but in general, it is sound and definitely collector desirable. We can number about 100 years full time in this relics field specializing in Third Reich items if one were to figure up the years for all of us and I can say that in all that time we have never acquired one of these ultrarare items and now to have one that was to such an illustrious hero does beget a particular thrill indeed! PRICE: $22,000.00 |
Contact Us
Please E-mail for any additional information you may need.
If you prefer, contact 'Germania' at PO Box 68, Lakemont, GA 30552
or call at 706.782.1668.
Please! do not call during the wee hours of the morning. The best time for calling us is between 10 am and 12 noon and between 9 and 11 pm eastern time.