Bodo Spranz Prof . em . Dr . Bodo Spranz ( 1 January 1920 – 1 September 2007 ) was a highly decorated Hauptmann in the Wehrmacht during World War II and one of the leading researchers of preclassic meso - american history . He was a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . 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 . Early life and military career . Bodo Spranz was born on 1 January 1920 in the town of Nordhausen , in the German Harz . After completing his basic military training , he served as " Fahnenjunker " and Geschützführer with the 8 . Batterie / Artillerie - Regiment 12 in Rostock during the Polish campaign , between 16 November 1938 and 10 October 1939 . He received a promotion to " Gefreiter " on 1 April 1939 . On 1 August 1939 he was promoted to " Fahnenjunker " - " Unteroffizier " and on 26 January 1940 was promoted again to " Fahnenjunker " - " Wachtmeister " . After attending the Waffenschule in Jüterbog and being promoted to Leutnant , he was assigned as Zugführer IV . Abteilung Artillerie - Regiment 209 , participating in the Battle of France . Between 21 July and 9 August 1940 , he underwent training for duty on a Sturmgeschütz with the VI . Artillerie - Lehrregiment at Jüterbog . Upon successful completion of his training , he was assigned to Sturmgeschütz - Abteilung 185 as a Zugführer with the Heeresgruppe Nord on the Eastern Front . On 30 September 1941 , he was transferred to Schweinfurt as a Batterieoffizier with the Sturmgeschütz Ersatz - und Ausbildungsabteilung 200 . He was once again serving on the Eastern Front between 15 January 1942 and 13 January 1943 as a Zugführer and later Batteriechef with Sturmgeschützabteilung 185 and on 1 April 1942 he was promoted to " Oberleutnant " . For a short time he returned to the Sturmgeschütz Ersatz - und Ausbildungsabteilung 200 at Schweinfurt but transferred back to the Eastern Front on 2 June 1943 as a Batteriechef with Sturmgeschütz - Brigade 237 . As a consequence of being decorated with the Knights Cross and the Oakleaves , both on 3 October 1943 , he received a promotion to " Hauptmann " . He served with the Sturmgeschütz - Brigade 237 until 2 April 1944 , after which time he was assigned as Hörsaalleiter with the Sturmgeschütz - schule at Magdeburg . From the beginning of 1945 until the end of the war , Bodo Spranz was assigned as an " Ordonnanzoffizier " ( Aide - de - camp ) with the Chef Generalstab des Heeres , Generaloberst Heinz Guderian , with the 29 . Panzergrenadier - Division in Italy and finally with Army Commander General Wenck in Berlin . He was captured by the Americans on 6 – 7 May 1945 , trying to escape Soviet captivity and transferred to a British POW camp until his release . Post war . From 1947 to 1950 Spranz attended the Art Academy in Bremen and in 1951 was hired as a technical assistant at the Übersee - Museum Bremen ( Ethnological Museum in Bremen ) . With the approval of the Bremen Senate he could study ethnology , folklore and history at the University of Hamburg , without neglecting his museum duties . Professor Franz Termer supervised him in pre - Columbian America and presented him a dissertation topic in this direction . In 1958 he received his doctorate in Hamburg with the thesis " The Codex Borgia ; studies the iconography of a Mexican picture manuscript in the Vatican Library in Rome . " After graduation , he remained at the Bremen Ethnological Museum . On 1 June 1962 he became the full - time director of the ethnological museum in Freiburg . He qualified in 1969 with a publication " The Pyramids of Totimehuacan / Puebla ( Mexico ) and their integration into the development of the Preclassic pyramid building in Mesoamerica " and received the Habilitation Ethnology . He held the position of director until 1984 .