List of Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the Waffen - SS The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( German : " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) and its variants were the highest award in the military of the Third Reich . During or shortly after World War II , 457 German servicemen of the " Waffen - SS " , including volunteers and conscripts from Belgium , Croatia , Denmark , Estonia , France , Hungary , Latvia , Netherlands and Norway , received the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Of these , 411 presentations were formally made and evidence of the award is still available in the German National Archives . One recipient , Hermann Fegelein , was court - martialed and executed on 29 April 1945 . According to German law he was deprived of rank and all awards previously . Fegelein must therefore be considered a de facto but not de jure recipient . A further 46 Knight ' s Cross , 8 Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves and 4 Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords recipients are either lacking the evidence to sustain their listings or received the award under questionable legal terms . However , all of them were accepted by the Association of Knight ' s Cross Recipients ( " Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger des Eisernen Kreuzes e . V . " ) as legitimate recipients . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four enactments . The first enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 1573 " of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross 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 ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) 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 last and final grade , the Knight ' s 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 . The " Oberkommando der Wehrmacht " 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 . Recipients . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 1573 " of 1 September 1939 " Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes " ( Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross ) . The list is initially sorted alphabetically .