Alfred Schneidereit

Alfred Schneidereit
Alfred Schneidereit
Born	29 October 1919 Insterburg, East Prussia
Died	22 February 1999 (aged 79) Nördlingen
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen SS
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	Untersturmführer
Unit	1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Battles/wars	Second World War
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class Infantry Assault Badge Close Combat Clasp Wound Badge

Alfred Schneidereit (29 October 1919 – 22 February 1999) was an Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

He was born on the 29 October 1919 at Insterburg in East Prussia. On the 15 November 1939, he joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe and was posted to Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Regiment.^[1]

Then in 1940 he was posted to the 8th Company LSSAH in time for the Balkans Campaign. After the Balkans the LSSAH was moved to the east for Operation Barbarossa where Schneidereit was involved in the battles at Lutsk, Kherson, Taganrog and Rostov. In early 1943, he participated in the Third Battle of Kharkov. In November 1943 Schneidereit was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class and the Knight's Cross.

Schneidereit was promoted to Scharführer (Staff Sergeant) and posted to the officer training school at Bad Tölz. He graduated from in October 1944 as a senior officer candidate (SS-Standartenoberjunker). In January 1945, he was promoted to SS-Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) and from April - May 1945, was involved in operations east of Berlin as a company commander within the replacement battalion LSSAH. He surrendered to the Red Army on 12 May 1945.

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 December 1943 as SS-Rottenführer and Panzer-Büchsentruppführer in the 8./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 1 "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler"^[2]

References

Citations

1. Infantry Aces By Franz Kurowski p.307
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 677.

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.
• Krätschmer, Ernst-Günther (1999). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen-SS [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Waffen-SS]. Coburg, Germany: Nation Europa Verlag. ISBN 978-3-920677-43-9.
• 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.