List of Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves recipients ( 1945 ) 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 during World War II . This military decoration was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks , from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low - ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) was introduced on 3 June 1940 to further distinguish those who had already received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and who continued to show merit in combat bravery or military success . 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 award . This total is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight ' s Cross Recipients ( AKCR ) , but 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 received the award in 1945 , when the deteriorating situation of the Third Reich during the final days of World War II left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process . Hermann Fegelein 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 . Background . 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 . Recipients of 1945 . The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( Supreme Command of the Armed Forces ) kept separate Knight ' s Cross lists for each of the three military branches — Heer ( Army ) , Kriegsmarine ( Navy ) , and Luftwaffe ( Air Force ) — and also for the Waffen - SS . Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient . The same numbering was applied to the higher grades of the Knight ' s Cross , one list per grade . Of the 194 awards made in 1945 , 19 presentations were made posthumously . Heer members received 127 of the medals , 5 went to the Kriegsmarine , 37 to the Luftwaffe , and 25 to the Waffen - SS . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to one of the 194 Oak Leaves recipients of 1945 . However , Viet Scherzer has disputed the listing of General der Infanterie Hermann Niehoff on the basis of poor record keeping associated with the deteriorating situation of the Third Reich during the final days of World War II . The sequential numbers greater than 843 for the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and 143 for the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are unofficial and were assigned by the Association of Knight ' s Cross Recipients ( AKCR ) and are therefore denoted in parentheses . The recipients are ordered and numbered chronologically . The rank listed is the recipient ' s rank at the time the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves was awarded .