Germany, Heer. A Thank You Letter & Photo From General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, Rc W/Diamonds

The letter was sent to a man named Erich Geidel in Berlin by Ramcke on December 30, 1942. In it, he thanks Geidel for congratulating him on his award and sends a picture of himself. The award in question is most likely the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross, awarded about six weeks prior. Ramcke signed the letter in black ink. Measuring 210x297mm, extremely fine condition with minor creasing of the corners and one folding crease.

The picture shows Ramcke in the uniform of a Generalmajor. He wears the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, the Iron Cross 1st Class with Clasp, the Parachute Badge, the Wound Badge (1918) in Gold, and what appears to be the Luftwaffe Ground Assault Badge. Ramcke signed the stock paper to which the photo has been affixed in black ink, stating his rank as “Lieutenant General of the Parachute Troops”. Stock paper measuring 175x255mm, photo measuring 120x170mm, very fine condition with light creasing, light scratching of the surface, and minor warping.

Footnote: Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was born on January 24, 1889 in Schleswig (northern Germany). He joined the Imperial navy in 1905. At the beginning of the First War, Ramcke served on the cruiser SMS Prinz Adalbert, but was redeployed to a navy infantry unit in Flanders in 1915. He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class and the Prussian Military Merit Cross (the NCO’s and EM’s equivalent of the Pour le Mérite) in 1916. Ramcke was promoted to Lieutenant in 1918. After the war, he was taken over into the Reichswehr.

By the time the Second War began, Ramcke was in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served as an observer in the 22nd Army Corps during he Poland campaign and was promoted to Colonel on March 1, 1940. In August of the same year, Ramcke received training to join the parachute troops of the Luftwaffe and as such took command of Group West during the Battle of Crete. After the island was conquered, Ramcke was promoted to Major General on August 1, 1941 and received the Knight’s Cross on August 21. His next assignment led him to Italy where he took command of Fallschirmjäger Brigade 1, with which he was stationed in North Africa. During the Second Battle of El Alamein, Ramcke and his unit were cut off from the German Panzer army. They had to undertake a 130 km march back to their own lines, during which they managed to free 100 German prisoners. For this feat, Ramcke received the Oak Leaves on November 13, 1942, and on December 21 he was promoted to Lieutenant General. In February of 1943, he took command of the newly established 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division.

After D-Day, Ramcke was tasked to defend the Fortress Brest during the Battle for Brest. For his devotion and fervour in the ultimately unsuccessful defending of the city, Ramcke was promoted to General of Parachute Troops on September 1, 1944, and was awarded the Swords and the Diamonds in an unusual double awarding on September 19. Part of the reason was him recommending his subordinates Rear Admiral Otto Kähler and Major General Hans von der Mosel for the Oak Leaves. When he surrendered, Ramcke and 35,000 of his men became prisoners of the victorious US troops. Ramcke was placed in American POW camps where he broke out twice to decry the maltreatment of his troops. Both times he used his time out of prison to write a letter to the US senate, after which he voluntarily gave himself up and went back into captivity. After the end of the war, Ramcke was extradited to France where he was tried and convicted to five years imprisonment due to war crimes during the Battle of Brest. He died on July 5, 1968.