Rudolf "Rudi" Schmidt (15 March 1914 – 23 February 2000) was a highly decorated Major in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was also a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Despite being half Jewish, or

Mischling (; "Miscegenation, mix-ling"; plural: ) was a pejorative legal term used in Nazi Germany to denote persons of mixed "Aryanism, Aryan" and non-Aryan, such as Jews, Jewish, ancestry as codified in the Nuremberg racial laws of 1935. In German, t ...

under the

Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and Racism, racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag (Nazi Germany), Reichstag convened during ...

, Schmidt enlisted in the Luftwaffe and served with distinction.The Surreal Reich
By Joseph Howard Tyson, page 205Hitler's Jewish Soldiers: The Untold Story of Nazi Racial Laws and Men of Jewish Descent in the German Military
Bryan Mark Rigg, page 39

Awards and decorations

* Flugzeugführerabzeichen *

Spanish Cross The Spanish Cross (german: Spanien-Kreuz) was an award of Nazi Germany given to German troops who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for nationalist general, later Spanish caudillo, Francisco Franco. History With the outbreak o ...

in Gold with Swords *

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe (german: Frontflugspange) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational flights flown. It was instituted by ...

in Gold with Pennant *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold (13 August 1942) *

on 28 March 1945 as ''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

'' and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Kampfgeschwader 26Fellgiebel 2000, p. 310.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

TracesOfWar.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Rudolf 1914 births 2000 deaths People from Plauen Military personnel of the Kingdom of Saxony Luftwaffe pilots Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichsmarine personnel Kriegsmarine personnel Condor Legion personnel German World War II pilots Military personnel from Saxony