Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939. The Knight's Cross is a postwar manufacture with blackened iron core and silver frame, a typical production of the firm Steinhauer & Lück, after 1945. Reverse stamped "800" silver, the suspension ring also stamped "800" silver. Heavily worn on original worn neck ribbon. Complete with matching presentation case. Inside the lid of the case inserted the miniatures of Jochims' awards: 2 3-piece combinations Knight's Cross, Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, 9 mm, on long pin. Miniature of the German Cross in Gold, Wound Badge in Silver and Gold 9 mm, Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze, another Iron Cross 1939, 9mm enameled version and Reich Sports Badge. Also the preliminary award certificate for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross issued to "Hauptmann Jochims, Chief 7./Gr. Rgt. 90 (mot), dated "HQ at OKH, September 20, 1943". With original ink signature "Burgdorf" Major General. Newspaper clipping "Brave Schleswig-Holsteiner: The Führer awarded the Knight's Cross. Congratulatory letter from the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Center Field Marshal von Kluge on the Knight's Cross award, dated September 21, 1943, with the original envelope. Two very fine portrait photos as Hauptmann with freshly awarded Knight's Cross and all decorations. Also the small ribbon bar that Jochims wears in the photos with 4 awards: EK 2, Winter Campaign Medal, Wehrmacht Service Award 4 Years and Commemorative Medal 1.10.1938.
German Cross in Gold, lightweight version by Zimmermann, Pforzheim, with 4 hollow rivets, inside on the pin with maker "20". Worn, condition 2. Also the preliminary award certificate and the large award document, issued June 3, 1943. Furthermore the cover letter for the large document. Also a very fine portrait photo as Hauptmann with the freshly awarded German Cross. Furthermore the German Cross in cloth version. Heavily worn, with a great propaganda company photo on which Jochims stands in a trench in front of a destroyed Russian tank - with the German Cross in cloth version on the uniform! Newspaper clipping "With the German Cross in Gold decoration Hauptmann Jochims from Ratzeburg was honored…".
Iron Cross 1939 2nd Class, Schinkel design. Unworn in mint condition. Also the award document, issued "Brest-Litowsk, September 18, 1939".
Iron Cross 1939 1st Class. Very fine manufacture, maker "L/11", complete in matching presentation case. Unworn, condition 2+. Also the award document as Leutnant, Staff Company/I.R. 90, issued "Div.Command Post Ssutoki, July 25, 1941". Another EK 1, heavily worn.
Wound Badge in Silver, base metal version. Worn. Also the award certificate, issued after 3rd wound on 14.11.1941.
Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze. Fine zinc bronzed version. Worn, reverse with old repair of the catch. Also the award certificate, issued 31.3.1942. Winter Campaign Medal with award document as Major, II./Grenadier Regiment 90 -mot-, issued July 23, 1942.
Wound Badge in Gold. Base metal version, complete in presentation case, on the bottom with vignette "Hauptmünzamt Wien III.", complete with the 9 mm miniature on long pin. Also the award certificate for 5th wound, issued 29.4.1943.
Large certificate of appreciation to "Leutnant Hermann Jochims for his outstanding achievements on the battlefield at Wodosje on 12./15.1.1942", issued "Führer Headquarters, April 18, 1942", large embossed seal and facsimile signature "Der Führer - Adolf Hitler". Honor Roll Clasp of the Army. Worn piece, on ribbon. Also the large award document to "Major Hermann Jochims for his outstanding achievements on the battlefield at Letitschew-Weinniza on 20.3.1944", issued "Führer Headquarters, May 27, 1944", large embossed seal and facsimile signature "Der Führer - Adolf Hitler". Also the Honor Roll of the Army with Jochims named and the cover letter. Also 5 photos of the award ceremony of the Honor Roll Clasp by Lieutenant General Jauer at Field Hospital 20, where Jochims was recovering from his 14th wound. Also the front newspaper of Field Hospital 20 with the corresponding report.
Close Combat Clasp in Silver. Fine zinc silver-plated, reverse with maker "FEC. W. E. Peekhaus Berlin - FLL". Worn piece, the plate is missing. Worn, condition 2. Also the award certificate, issued as Major and Commander II./G.R. 90 (mot), dated 8.6.1944.
Close Combat Clasp in Gold. Fine zinc gold-plated, maker "FEC. W.E. Peekhaus Berlin - A.G.M.u.K. Gablonz", plate magnetic. Clearly worn, condition 2. Very likely not from Jochims' possession. The award document was issued 5 days before his death. It is questionable whether Jochims even received the Close Combat Clasp. Also the photocopy of the award certificate, issued 23.4.1945.
2 Tank Destruction Badges in Silver, both pieces worn, each without cloth backing.
Identity disc, circa 1939: "7./I.R. 90", aluminum, with original neck cord.
Certificate book for Reich Sports Badge 1930. German Life Saving Society examination certificate 1929.
Wehrmacht Marksmanship Lanyard 1st Class with large award certificate 1936.
Medal for the Commemoration of October 1, 1939 with award document, issued 1940.
Wehrmacht Long Service Award for 4 Years on single ribbon bar with award document, dated 1936.
Conscription and enlistment certificate from 1928. Promotion document to Feldwebel 1935, to Oberfeldwebel 1939 and to Major 1944. Enlistment certificate for unlimited service in the Wehrmacht, dated 1943. Letter from Weltbild GmbH. "To the family of Knight's Cross recipient Hauptmann Hermann Gustav Jochims" with request for a portrait photograph of Jochims for press purposes, with envelope. Also a very fine portrait photo with Knight's Cross. Handwritten letter to Jochims from his division commander Lieutenant General Jauer with wishes for recovery, dated 8.12.1943. Also the original field post envelope. Invitation from the NSDAP Local Group Ratzeburg to a comradeship evening with Knight's Cross recipient Herr Hauptmann Jochims on December 7, 1943. Christmas greeting letter from the NCOs to "their unforgettable battalion commander Hauptmann Jochims", dated "In the East 18.12.1943". Congratulatory letter from the NSDAP Local Group Leader of Ratzeburg on promotion to Major, dated 6.4.1944. Invitation from the NSDAP Local Group Ratzeburg to a comradeship evening, dated 18.4.1944. Newspaper clipping from a front newspaper circa 1944/45 about the defensive battles in Pomerania and the city of Stargard. The Major mentioned in the report with 6 Tank Destruction Badges is Jochims. With handwritten note by Jochims "comes from the commander of reconnaissance battalion 144 from Senftenthal". 5 field post letters from relatives of fallen soldiers to Jochims from 1942/43.
Letter from retired General Erich Jaschke to Jochims' widow, dated 1952 with his tribute. In the letter Jaschke describes Jochims as "brave officer who received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross upon his wounding..". We could not find the award of the Oak Leaves in the literature. Extract from the German Service Office from 1952 with Jochims' military career.
76 photos of Jochims throughout his entire military career: peacetime in Inf.Rgt. 6, Polish Campaign, Russian Campaign, very fine snapshots with Knight's Cross, destroyed tanks, combat photographs etc.
Also 29 war correspondent photos as Hauptmann in Gren.Rgt. 90: trench combat in Russia 1943. Fantastic photos in trenches during anti-tank combat etc.
Furthermore the personal visor cap of Lieutenant Colonel Jochims. An unworn piece, circa 1944 - in absolutely mint condition.
Lieutenant Colonel Jochims fell on April 28, 1945 in the final battle for Berlin 10 days before the end of the war. An impressive estate of a brave front-line officer who destroyed 6 Soviet tanks in close combat and was wounded 15 times in total.
We were able to acquire the estate in 2015 directly from the son, enclosed the original confirmation from the son Wolfgang. Enclosed the book "Oberstleutnant Hermann Gustav Jochims" with the biography and reproduction of all documents.

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The Estate of Oberstleutnant Hermann-Gustav Jochims: A Knight’s Cross and the Record of a Front-Line Officer

Among the military decorations of the Second World War, the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) holds a position of singular prominence. It was the highest standard combat decoration of the Wehrmacht, instituted by Adolf Hitler on September 1, 1939, through the Ordinance re-establishing the Iron Cross (Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes). Replacing the Prussian Pour le Mérite of the First World War, it bridged the gap between the Iron Cross First Class and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. The present estate of Oberstleutnant Hermann-Gustav Jochims offers an extraordinary documentary record of a front-line officer who earned this coveted decoration and fell in the final month of the war.

The Knight’s Cross: Design, Construction, and Award Criteria

The Knight’s Cross took the form of a cross pattée – a cross with arms narrow at the center and broader at the perimeter – suspended from a black-white-red neck ribbon reflecting the Reich’s national colors rather than the traditional Prussian colors. Wartime examples were of three-piece construction: a blackened iron core set within a two-piece frame of 800-grade silver. The obverse displayed a central canted swastika and the date «1939» on the lower arm, surrounded by a beaded silver border. The reverse bore the date «1813», marking the original institution of the Iron Cross, along with the «800» silver hallmark stamped on the upper arm and band ring.

It should be noted that the Knight’s Cross contained in this estate is explicitly identified as a postwar reproduction by the firm Steinhauer & Lück, not the wartime original. Authorized wartime manufacturers included Steinhauer & Lück (Lüdenscheid), Juncker, Klein & Quenzer, Otto Schickle, C.F. Zimmermann, and Gebrüder Godet.

The decoration was awarded for extreme battlefield bravery or outstanding military leadership, and typically required the prior possession of the Iron Cross First Class. It could be conferred upon personnel of all branches – Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine – as well as the Waffen-SS. The first presentation occurred on September 30, 1939, and the last legally valid award was made on May 8, 1945, at 23:01 CET, the moment of Germany’s surrender.

Grades of the Knight’s Cross

The Knight’s Cross comprised five ascending grades: the Knight’s Cross (base grade), the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves (instituted June 3, 1940), the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (July 15, 1941), the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (July 15, 1941), and the Knight’s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (December 29, 1944). An additional unique award, the Grand Cross, was bestowed solely upon Hermann Göring. Jochims received only the base-grade Knight’s Cross.

Hermann-Gustav Jochims: From Reichswehr NCO to Oberstleutnant

Hermann-Gustav Jochims was born on August 8, 1909, and entered the Reichswehr in 1929. His career trajectory exemplified the path of a proven front-line soldier rising through the ranks. Serving in Infantry Regiment 90 (motorized), he participated in the campaigns in Poland, France, and on the Eastern Front, including the Leningrad blockade and the fighting at the Kamenez-Podolski pocket.

On June 3, 1943, Jochims received the German Cross in Gold as a Hauptmann. The Knight’s Cross followed on September 20, 1943, awarded to him as commander of the 7th Company, Grenadier-Regiment 90 (mot.). The provisional award certificate bears the original ink signature of Generalmajor Burgdorf, and is accompanied by a congratulatory letter from the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Center, Generalfeldmarschall von Kluge, dated September 21, 1943.

His promotions traced a steady ascent: from Leutnant (1940) to Hauptmann and finally to Oberstleutnant on April 1, 1945. His last command was Panzergrenadier-Regiment 51 of the 18th Panzergrenadier Division.

The severity of Jochims’ combat service is starkly illustrated by his 15 wounds and the associated decorations. He received the Wound Badge in Silver after his third wound on November 14, 1941, and the rare Wound Badge in Gold after his fifth wound on April 29, 1943. The Honor Roll Clasp of the Army was awarded for actions at Letitschew-Winniza on March 20, 1944, and the estate documents show the clasp was presented by Generalleutnant Jauer at Field Hospital 20, where Jochims was recovering from his fourteenth wound. Additional decorations included the Close Combat Clasp in Silver (June 8, 1944) and the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze.

The Final Battle and Jochims’ Death

Oberstleutnant Jochims was killed in action on April 28, 1945, at Berlin-Pichelsdorf during the final battle for Berlin, just ten days before the war’s end. He was buried at the German War Graves cemetery in Berlin-Wedding, Plot N, Row 8, Grave 49.

Postwar History and Collecting Context

Following 1945, the wearing of Nazi-era decorations bearing swastikas was prohibited in Germany. In 1957, the Federal Republic authorized a denazified replacement version of the Knight’s Cross in which an oak leaf cluster replaced the swastika, permitting former recipients to wear this version on ribbon bars, including within the Bundeswehr. Manufacturers such as Steinhauer & Lück produced postwar reproductions for veterans and collectors – the Knight’s Cross in this estate is identified as such a postwar piece. The Association of Knight’s Cross Recipients (Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger) was founded in 1955; in 1999, the Bundeswehr prohibited official contact with the organization.

This entire estate was acquired in 2015 directly from Jochims’ son, Wolfgang, providing an unbroken chain of provenance from the recipient’s family. The breadth of award certificates, provisional possession documents, portrait photographs, war correspondent images, personal correspondence, and physical decorations makes this collection a remarkable archival ensemble documenting the service and sacrifice of a highly decorated German front-line officer of the Second World War.