List of Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross recipients The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( German : " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) and its variants were the highest awards in the military of the Third Reich . Recipients are grouped by grades of the Knight ' s Cross . Within each grade the recipients are ordered chronologically . An exception is the lowest grade , here the recipients are ordered alphabetically by last name . The rank listed is the recipient ' s rank at the time the Knight ' s Cross was awarded . Broken out into sub lists are the recipients of the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves , one list for every year between 1940 and 1945 the award was presented . Also listed separately are the alphabetical lists of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross recipients . The foreign recipients of the Knight ' s Cross and the foreign recipients of the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves are listed separately as well . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments . The first enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 1573 " of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross ( " Eisernes Kreuz " ) and the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . As the war progressed , some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade , the Oak Leaves to Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , was instituted . The Oak Leaves , as they were commonly referred to , were based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 849 " of 3 June 1940 . In 1941 , two higher grades of the Knight ' s Cross were instituted . The enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 613 " of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) and the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub , Schwertern und Brillanten " ) . At the end of 1944 the final grade , the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves , Swords , and Diamonds ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub , Schwertern und Brillanten " ) , based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S . 11 " of 29 December 1944 , concluded the variants of the Knight ' s Cross . Grand Cross of the Iron Cross . The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 1573 " of September 1 , 1939 " Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes " ( Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross ) . This grade was awarded only once . The sole recipient was " Generalfeldmarschall " Hermann Göring , who at the same time was promoted to Reichsmarschall . Knight ' s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds . The " Knight ' s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds " is based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S . 11 " of 29 December 1944 . This grade of the award was to be awarded twelve times only . The sole recipient was " Oberstleutnant " Hans - Ulrich Rudel . Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds . The " Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds " is based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 613 " of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Ultimately , it would be awarded to only twenty - seven German soldiers , sailors and airmen , ranging from young fighter pilots to field marshals . Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords . The " Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords " is also based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 613 " of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . The sequential numbers greater than 143 are unofficial and were assigned by the Association of Knight ' s Cross Recipients ( AKCR ) and therefore denoted in brackets . The number of the 160 Sword recipients is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the ( AKCR ) . Author and historian Veit Scherzer has challenged the validity of 13 of these listings . The majority — 12 recipients — of these disputed recipients have received the award in 1945 . The deteriorating situation of the Third Reich during the final days of World War II has left the nominations unfinished in various stages of the approval process . Hermann Fegelein had received the Oak Leaves in 1942 but was sentenced to death by Adolf Hitler and executed by SS - Gruppenführer Johann Rattenhuber ' s Reichssicherheitsdienst ( RSD ) on 28 April 1945 after a court martial led by SS - Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen - SS Wilhelm Mohnke . The sentence was carried out the same day . The death sentence , according to German law , resulted in the loss of all orders and honorary signs . Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves . The Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves was based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 849 " of 3 June 1940 . A total of 7 awards were made in 1940 ; 50 in 1941 ; 111 in 1942 ; 192 in 1943 ; 328 in 1944 , and 194 in 1945 , giving a total of 882 recipients — excluding the 8 foreign recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . The number of 882 Oak Leaves recipients is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight ' s Cross Recipients ( AKCR ) . Author and historian Veit Scherzer has challenged the validity of 27 of these listings . With the exception of Hermann Fegelein , all of the disputed recipients had received the award in 1945 , when the deteriorating situation of the Third Reich during the final days of World War II left the nominations unfinished in various stages of the approval process . Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 1573 " of September 1 , 1939 " Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes " ( Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross ) . Foreign recipients . Foreign soldiers and servicemen who did not serve in one of the four branches of the German Wehrmacht during World War II and were awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross or its higher grade the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves are listed in the List of foreign recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross .