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21-797: Kammerhofer was born in Turnau , in Styria , the son of a farmer and mill owner. He attended elementary school, but left vocational school in May 1915 at the age of sixteen to join the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War . He was wounded three times and in early November 1918 was captured while fighting on the Italian front . Released from captivity in August 1919, he returned to Austria and found employment as

42-514: A German-Croatian Police force to help maintain order. On 1 July 1943 Kammerhofer was promoted to SS- Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of Police. On 5 December 1944, he was made Befehlshaber (Commander) of all Wehrmacht forces in Croatia. Kammerhofer also was engaged in recruiting Croatians into service in the Waffen-SS . Technically "volunteers," they were coerced to enlist, most serving with

63-665: A construction laborer in Hanover and was found dead in a boarding house in Oberstdorf on 29 September 1958. Turnau (Styria) Turnau is a market town at the foot of the Hochschwab in the Styrian District of Bruck-Mürzzuschlag . Turnau has five boroughs: Turnau, Göriach, Seewiesen, Stübming, and Thal. Turnau's mayor is Stefan Hofer of the SPÖ . In its municipal council (15 seats)

84-880: A wine merchant in Graz . In 1921 Kammerhofer joined the Austrian Nazi Party , and the Austrian SA in November 1933, becoming a brigade leader in Obersteiermark . Following the unsuccessful July 1934 putsch and the assassination of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss , Kammerhofer fled Austria via Yugoslavia and arrived in Nazi Germany in December 1934. Kammerhofer worked in Berlin under Alfred Rodenbücher from January to March 1935 at

105-701: The Anschluss in March 1938, Kammerhofer became the first commander of SS- Abschnitt XXXI, based in Vienna, and would hold this posting until 1 October 1942. He applied for admission to the Nazi Party and was admitted on 1 May 1938. He was also elected to the Reichstag as a deputy from Austria, and served as a city councilor in Vienna from 1939 to 1944. On 30 January 1941, Kammerhofer

126-826: The Prinz Eugen Division in ruthless anti- partisan activities. For his services in the war, he was awarded the Iron Cross , 1st and 2nd class and the War Merit Cross with Swords, 1st and 2nd class. Shortly after the end of the war, Kammerhofer was captured near Salzburg by American forces on 11 May 1945. He gave testimony at the Nuremberg trials and was interned until 1947. The authorities in Yugoslavia convicted him of war crimes in absentia and, when Austria began legal proceedings against him, he fled to Germany. He worked as

147-656: The War Merit Cross (each one with and without Swords): Walter Brugmann , Julius Dorpmüller , Karl-Otto Saur , Albin Sawatzki , Walter Schreiber , and Walter Rohlandt . Closely related to the War Merit Cross was the War Merit Medal ( German : Kriegsverdienstmedaille ), designated on 19 August 1940 for civilians to recognize outstanding service in the war effort. It was usually awarded to those workers in factories who significantly exceeded work quotas. The War Merit Medal

168-525: The War Merit Cross 2nd Class could be worn like the ribbon of the Iron Cross 2nd Class (through the second buttonhole ). Nonetheless combat soldiers tended to hold the War Merit Cross in low regard, referring to its wearers as being in 'Iron Cross Training'. The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross was a neck order and worn the same way as the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. There was one extra grade of

189-510: The War Merit Cross replaced the swastika on the obverse central disc of the cross with the date "1939" (as on the reverse disc of the original version), the reverse disc being blank. The wearing of Nazi era decorations in any form continued to be banned in the German Democratic Republic until German reunification in 1990. The ribbon of the War Merit Cross was in red-white-black-white-red; the red and black colors being reversed from

210-509: The War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 by the Bundeswehr for its veterans . This award was created by Adolf Hitler in October 1939 as a successor to the non-combatant Iron Cross which was used in earlier wars (similar medal but with a different ribbon). The award would recognize bravery or service in the furtherance of the war effort that fell short of the award of the Iron Cross. The award

231-488: The War Merit Cross, which was created at the suggestion of Albert Speer : The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross in Gold ( German : Goldenes Ritterkreuz des Kriegsverdienstkreuzes ). However, this was never officially placed on the list of national awards, as it came about in late 1944, and there was no time to officially promulgate the award before the war ended. The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross in Gold (without swords)

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252-427: The award compared with the grades of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, it took on "extra meaning" it did not necessarily deserve, as it ranked below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. For example, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring made a concerted effort to get Hitler to award him this order, much to Hitler's annoyance. In response, Hitler outlined a series of criteria governing the awarding of this decoration and

273-711: The furtherance of the war effort. Recipients had to have the lower grade of the award before getting the next level. The wearing of Nazi era decorations was banned in Germany after the war, as was any display of the swastika. Veterans awarded the War Merit Cross were therefore unable to wear it, either in uniform or – publicly – on civilian dress. In 1957 the Federal Republic of Germany authorised alternative 'de-nazified' replacement versions of World War II period war decorations. These could be worn both on Bundeswehr uniform and in civilian dress. The new version of

294-411: The party mandates are as follows: This Styria location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross ( German : Kriegsverdienstkreuz ) was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II . By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award . A " de-Nazified " version of

315-426: The philosophy of such awards, and directed that "prominent party comrades" were not to be awarded with the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross (or similar decorations), and withdrew the proposed awards of this order to Gauleiter Erich Koch and Herbert Backe . Directing his comments at Göring personally, Hitler ordered that such attempts to gain this award be stopped. Also, six persons received two Knights Crosses of

336-514: The position was abolished. From Baku, Kammerhofer was transferred to Zagreb to become the Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) "Kroatien" in March 1943, serving as Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler 's personal representative to the Croatian puppet state . He was the sole holder of this position, remaining there until the end of the war. There he worked with Croatian dictator Ante Pavelić to create

357-578: The relief organization set up to assist Austrian Nazi refugees. He joined the Allgemeine SS on 15 February 1935 with the rank of SS- Oberführer . From April 1936 to October 1937, he was the commander of the 25th SS- Standarte , based in Essen . He next headed SS- Abschnitt (District) XXV, headquartered in Bochum from October 1937 to mid-March 1938. A strong supporter of Austria's unification with Germany, after

378-476: The ribbon of the World War II version of the Iron Cross. The ribbon for the War Merit Medal was similar, but with a narrow vertical red strip in the center of the black field. Soldiers who earned the War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords wore a small crossed-swords device on the ribbon. The War Merit Cross 1st Class was a pin-backed medal worn on the pocket of the tunic (like the Iron Cross 1st Class). The ribbon of

399-469: Was awarded "on paper" to two recipients on 20 April 1945: Franz Hahne and Karl-Otto Saur . The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross was considered to be ranked higher than the German Cross in silver, but below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. A total of 118 awards of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with swords, and 137 awards without swords were awarded. Considering the relative rarity of

420-509: Was graded in the same manner as the Iron Cross: War Merit Cross Second Class , War Merit Cross First Class , and Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross . The award was authorized for both military personnel and for civilians. The award had two variants: with swords and without swords . Those with swords recognized bravery not directly connected to front-line activities, while awards without swords were for service in

441-865: Was promoted to SS- Brigadeführer . He was also placed in charge of the SS- Abschnitt "Flandern" in Brussels from July 1941 to April 1942 and helped to establish the Flemish Legion . He trained in police duties with the Ordnungspolizei office in Berlin between April and August 1942, being granted the rank of Generalmajor of Police. He then was posted to Russia as the SS and Police Leader (SSPF) of "Kaukasien-Kuban" from August to November 1942, and of "Aserbeidschan", with headquarters in Baku , from November until 21 April 1943 when

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