List of Knight's Cross recipients 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen

The 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen. was a German Waffen-SS mechanised infantry division which saw action on the Western Front during World War II. The Division was raised near Poitiers, France in October 1943. It was formed from scratch, with the majority of its original cadre coming from replacement units and conscripts, many of Romanian extraction. The division was granted the honour-title Götz von Berlichingen. The name referred to the 15th century German knight who had, after losing his right hand in battle, worn an iron prosthetic hand. In keeping with this, the division's emblem was a clenched iron fist.

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.

Prerequisites
To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole.

Grades
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was divided into five grades, excluding the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross:
 * Knights Cross
 * Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and swords
 * Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
 * Knights Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

Knight's Cross with Oakleaves

 * Bruno Hinz, 23.08.1944 SS-Obersturmführer Commander 2nd Company, 38th SS Panzer Grenadier Rgt
 * Kurt Wahl, 01.02.1945 SS-Sturmbannführer Commander 17th SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion

SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 38

 * Kurt Wahl, 23.08.1944 Hauptsturmführer Adjutant 38th SS Pz Gren Rgt

SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 17

 * Ortwin Kuske, 26.11.1944 Untersturmführer Commander 3rd Company
 * Fred Papas, 27.12.1944 Untersturmführer Company Commander

SS Flak Battalion 17

 * Heinrich Gottke, 27.12.1944 Unterscharführer 3rd Battery