Grote, Freiherr, Horst

Date of birth:: May 12th, 1912 (Gleiwitz/Silesia, Germany)
Date of death:: June 5th, 2008 (Hannover/Lower Saxony, Germany)
Nationality:: German

Biography

Horst Freiherr Grote finally reached the rank of Major im Generalstab. After the Seconr World War he served with the Bundeswehr until 30th September 1970 and finally there reached the rank of Oberst (RDA May 1st, 1966).

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Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)

Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)

Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Oberleutnant (Flying Officer)
Unit:: Staffelkapitän, 4. Staffel, II. Gruppe, Lehrgeschwader 2, Luftwaffe
Awarded on:: July 21st, 1940

The following wartime excerpt (dated 30.08.1940) describes why Grote received the Knight’s Cross…

“Oberleutnant Freiherr von Grote has distinguished himself as a Staffelkapitän in a Schlachtgruppe because of the outstanding bravery and excellent leadership he has demonstrated while commanding his Staffel. His bold devotion to duty enabled his Staffel to accomplish decisive feats-of-arms on the battlefield. Our ground troops had a much easier time of pushing back the enemy thanks to the intervention of the ground attack flyers. This fact is attributable to the singular bravery of this Staffelkapitän, as he was always the first one to brave the enemy’s combined defensive firepower.”

Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Hauptmann (Flight Lieutenant)
Awarded on:: February 15th, 1943

Sources

Photo 1: Known to STIWOT
- FELLGIEBEL, W.P., Elite of theThird Reich, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003.
- OBERMAIER, ERNST, Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe, Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz, 1976.
- Luftwaffe Officer Career
- Die Tapfersten.