Kurt Wahl was a Sturmbannführer

Sturmbannführer

Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

 (Major) 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 with Oakleaves

Knight's Cross

Knight's Cross refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield....

 . 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.

Career

He was born 20 August 1914 in Meiningen

Meiningen

Meiningen is a town in Germany - located in the southern part of the state of Thuringia and is the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is situated on the river Werra....

 near Thüringen

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

. During World War II, he joined the Waffen SS and was posted to the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen

17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen

The 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen was a German SS panzergrenadier division which saw action on the Western Front during World War II.-Formation and training:...

, he was awarded the Knight's Cross while serving as the Adjutant of the 38th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment in August 1944 and received the award of the Oakleaves in February 1945, while in command of the 17th SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion.
Wahl survived the war and died on the 28 December 1988 at Oyten

Oyten

Oyten is a municipality in the district of Verden, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km northwest of Verden, and 15 km east of Bremen.Oyten belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...

, near Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

.

Further reading

• Thomas M. Durante (2007), The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II, ISBN 978-90-81230-11-7
• Manfred Dörr, Die Träger der Nahkampfspange in Gold, Heer-Luftwaffe-Waffen-SS 1943 - 1945 ISBN 3-7648-2585-5
• Walther-peer Fellgiebel The makers of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, 1939–1945, ISBN 3790902845