Johann Thaler

Johann Thaler
Born	6 February 1920 Württemberg
Died	7 April 1945(1945-04-07) (aged 25) Vienna, Austria
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen SS
Years of service	1938–1945
Rank	Oberscharführer
Unit	2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class Wound Badge in Gold Panzer Badge in Silver

Johann Thaler (6 February 1920 – 7 April 1945) was an Oberscharführer, in the Waffen SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. This was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.^[1]

Johann Thaler participated in the Battle of Moscow, the capturing of Sevastopol, Rostov-on-Don, Case Blue, the Kharkov Counteroffensives, The Battle of Kursk near Prokhorovka, The Battle of Normandy, The Battle of the Bulge, and the Defense of Vienna. During his years of service he was credited with 22 tank kills and seventeen anti-tank gun kills. His company accompanied Guderian's leading tanks to within fifteen kilometers of Moscow. He was awarded the Iron Cross First Class when he destroyed ten enemy tanks and four anti-tank guns in two days at the Battle of Kursk. In 1944, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross when he pulled two of his crew members out of his burning tank, while he suffered moderate burn injuries, earning him the Wound Badge in Gold. In the Battle of the Bulge he led one of the leading formations in Kampfgruppen Peiper. Johann Thaler was killed in Vienna whilst battling Russian units as a tank commander on 7 April 1945.

Personal life

He married in 1940 to Amalia Brumme in the Catholic faith, and had one daughter, Nancy, born 1941, who immigrated to America in 1948.

Notes

↑ "frontkjemper".

References

Mattson, Gregory Louis (2002). SS—Das Reich: The History of the Second SS division, 1939–45. Spellmount. ISBN 1-86227-144-5.

Book: "Dying for Saint-Lo" ISBN 978-2-35250-035-3

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich

Staff	Otto Baum¹ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Paul Hausser² (Oak Leaves & Swords) Matthias Kleinheisterkamp³ Walter Krüger⁴ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Werner Ostendorff Herbert-Ernst Vahl

Units	Wilhelm Bittrich⁵ (Oak Leaves) Heinz Harmel⁶ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Heinz Macher (Oak Leaves) Günther-Eberhardt Wisliceny (Oak Leaves) Fritz Witt⁸ (Oak Leaves) Helmut Kämpfe Georg Keppler Ludwig Kepplinger Otto Kumm⁹ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Heinz Lammerding Sylvester Stadler¹⁰ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Ernst Barkmann Friedrich Holzer Dieter Kesten Fritz Langanke Karl Mühleck Adolf Reeb Albin Freiherr von Reitzenstein Johann Thaler Christian Tychsen (Oak Leaves) Johann Veith Karl Kreutz Hans Schabschneider Walter Kniep Fritz Klingenberg Ernst Krag (Oak Leaves) Fritz Rentrop Alfred Siegling Felix Steiner⁷ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Otto Weidinger¹¹ (Oak Leaves) Fritz Vogt¹² (Oak Leaves)

¹Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves with the SS Division Totenkopf). ²Oak Leaves with the II SS Panzer Corps, Swords with the 7th Army. ³Oak Leaves with the XI SS Panzer Corps. ⁴Knight's Cross with the SS Polizei Division, Swords with the VI Waffen-SS Army Corps. ⁵Oak Leaves with the II SS Panzer Corps, Swords with the SS Division Florian Geyer. ⁶Swords with the SS Division Frundsberg. ⁷Oak Leaves with the SS Division Wiking, Swords with the III SS Panzer Corps. ⁸Oak Leaves with the SS Division Leibstandarte). ⁹Oak Leaves with the SS Division Prinz Eugen. ¹⁰Swords with the SS Division Hohenstaufen. ¹²Oak Leaves with the SS Division Nordland).

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