◆ SpookStack

-1*5- four years in the suine regiment but cab never advanced beyond the . r rank of First Glass Private or Lance Corporal * The second is the Iron Croea Flrflt Class which ha constantly w*arat Tbie has be«a w I the topic of much diocufi3±on but the mystery haa never been solved* There is no mention of thb award In tha history of his regiment* • i .• i 1 nils ie rnthflt amazing inasmuch ae other awards of this kind are i, listed* Kitlor is isentioned^n a number of othar corniecticriB but. pot la this one, elthough i t ie allfrfi^ that i t we a awarded to for capturing twalve^ftreDcbmeJi, including an officer, sin Thie is certainly ;io ordinary feat in M13T regiment and one would ei- pect that it would at lwist w r i t ao»e mention, particularly in via* of the feet that Hitler bad considerable fame ac a politic!tn Then i • r the b&ofc went to press* '. The Nazi propaganda agencies have not helped to clarify the situation* Wot <}nly hftvt a number of different versions of the stc*y appeared in the preae, but €abh gives a different nuinbe? of Frenchmen he is alleged to have capt.urad. They haw ftlfio published alleged facsimiles of his w&V record which do,not agree. The lin Illmstrierte Zeitwg of August 10, 193B printed a facsimile in r which the'date of award for this decoration was clearly August 4, 1918, Yet the Yoelkisetae Beobachter of Aufjuat 14 > 1954 had pub- lished * facsimile in which the date of award wfls October 4* 131B* • Although theee alleged facsimilea mentioned other citations they did not include the date of award of the Iron Grose Second Qaafl, From all that can be lesrued the First CIPOS Croos wac never unless the recipient had already been awarded the tteconoV oration* REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES