Germany, Ss. A Rare Award Document For The Tank Destruction Badge, Ss Recipient

A very rare award document for the individual tank destruction badge to SS-Sturmmann Hans Eggerstedt of Kampfgruppe Keitel. Measuring 147 mm (w) x 209 (h), very fine condition with light creasing and period repair along the folding creases. The document states that SS-Sturmmann Hans Eggerstedt of the 2nd Company of Kampfgruppe (Fighting Group) Keitel received a silver-grade tank destruction badge. It is dated to April 23, 1945 and signed in green ink by a Major and Adjutant, his name could be Schmidt. The stamp is of a Grenadier Regiment, most likely 594.

Footnote: Kampfgruppe Keitel was part of the 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division, which was formed in February of 1945. In March Kampfgruppe Keitel was sent to aid the 6th SS Panzer Army in their desperate defensive battles against the Red Army, retreating from Hungary to Austria. The Kampfgruppe was named after its leader, SS-Obersturmbannführer Karl-Heinz Keitel, son of Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, with a strength of around 2000 men. However, at the end of the war this number had fallen to under 200.