Josef Beckmann

Josef Beckmann
Born	4 May 1920 Gelsenkirchen
Died	6 December 2001 (aged 81) Breidenbach
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1940–45
Rank	Unteroffizier
Unit	Grenadier-Regiment 39 / 26. Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Josef Beckmann (4 May 1920 – 6 December 2001) was a highly decorated Leutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Josef Beckmann was captured by Soviet troops in July 1944 during the Lublin–Brest Offensive and was released in 1949.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Eastern Front Medal
• 4 Tank Destruction Badges for Individual Combatants
• Infantry Assault Badge
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 7 September 1943 as Obergefreiter in the Stab III./Grenadier-Regiment 39^[1]

References

Citations

1. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 108.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Huß, Jürgen (2009). Ritterkreuzträger im Mannschaftsstand 1941 - 1945. Zweibrücken: VDM Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-042-9.