Alfredo Carpaneto

Alfredo Carpaneto (4 January 1915 – 26 January 1945) was a highly decorated Unteroffizier in the Wehrmacht 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. Alfredo Carpaneto, an Italian volunteer, was killed in action on 26 January 1945 near Neuhausen, East Prussia. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 March 1945.

Other pursuits
Alfredo Carpaneto was not only a Wehrmacht Unteroffizier. He was primarily a great artist. As a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna ("Wiener Kunst Academy"), he was an Academy Professor Assistant and a member of the Vienna Secession as also had been Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and many other artists of his or previous eras. His Impressionist paintings are judged to have been of great interest and magnificent colours, despite his being only 30 years old when he died. He was a great opponent of the war and the German war regime and wrote multiple letters to the regime's headquarters, querying the actual meaning of the war. Drafts of these letters are still kept by his family and so are many pieces of art he created. His family intended to exhibit his work at the Academy of Fine Arts so as to restore Alfredo's name more in the world of art and culture that he loved.

Awards and decorations

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (24 June 1940)
 * 1st Class (3 October 1944)
 * Panzer Badge
 * Eastern Front Medal
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 March 1945 as Unteroffizier and panzer commander in the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502