August Schmidt (Luftwaffe)

August Schmidt (1 February 1883 – 23 November 1955) was a highly decorated General der Flakartillerie in the Luftwaffe 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. August Schmidt was captured by British troops on 8 May 1945. In October 1947 he was sentenced to life imprisonment because of war crimes committed against captured British airman. His sentence was later reduced to ten years, and in 1950 he was released for health reasons.

August Schmidt
Born	1 February 1883 Hildesheim, Hanover, Prussia, German Empire
Died	23 November 1955(1955-11-23) (aged 72) Rotenburg an der Wümme, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1922) Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Prussian Army (1901–18) Reichsheer (1918–22) Army (1935–36) Luftwaffe (1936–45)
Years of service	1901–22 1935–45
Rank	General der Flakartillerie
Commands	Luftgau VI
Battles / wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Defense of the Reich
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (17 September 1914)
  • 1st Class (14 March 1917)
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (12 April 1917)
• Knight's Cross Second Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with Swords (8 September 1917)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1 November 1935)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (1 October 1939)
  • 1st Class (21 May 1940)
• German Cross in Gold (6 March 1944)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 February 1945 as General der Flakartillerie and commander of Luftgau VI
• Order of the Cross of Liberty 1st Class with Swords (23 August 1942)

References

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.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• 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.

External links

• "August Schmidt @ Axis Biographical Research". Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
• August Schmidt @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht