Alfred Schneidereit

Alfred Schneidereit 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 the 18th Company of Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Regiment.

He was attached to the Guard Battalion in Berlin and did not see active service in the Polish Campaign or the Battle of France.

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 1942 - 1943 the Division was sent to France to refit and Schneidereit now in the 8th Company, II./1st SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment, returned to the Eastern Front to participate in the Third Battle of Kharkov, where Schneidereit was awarded the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze.

For his part in Operation Citadel he was awarded the Close Combat Clasp in Bronze and the Wound Badge in Black.

In November 1943 Schneidereit's Division was returned to the Eastern Front for the Battle of Kursk where he was wounded twice more and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class and the Knight's Cross from Adolf Hitler. Schneidereit, in command of a Panzerschreck anti-tank weapon knocked out five T34 tanks and two personnel carriers and also commanded a counterattack against Russian Infantry that was threatening to overrun his company's position. Schneidereit was also promoted to Scharführer (Staff Sergeant) for bravery in the face of the enemy, and posted to the officer training school at Bad Tölz, which 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. Once again he was wounded and surrendered to the Russians 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"