List of Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves recipients ( 1940 – 1941 ) 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 . 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 ) . However , 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 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 . The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( OKW — Supreme Command of the Armed Forces ) kept separate Knight ' s Cross lists , one for each of the three military branches , " Heer " ( Army ) , " Kriegsmarine " ( Navy ) , " Luftwaffe " ( Air force ) and for the " Waffen - SS " . Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient . The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight ' s Cross , one list per grade . The recipients are ordered chronologically and numbered by the official sequential number assigned by the OKW . The rank listed is the recipient ' s rank at the time the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves was awarded .