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The 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division ''Maria Theresia''. was a German Waffen SS cavalry division which saw action on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. The ''Maria Theresia'' was composed primarily of Hungarian Volksdeutsche. The bulk of the soldiers were Hungarian Army volksdeutsche conscripts, transferred to the Waffen-SS following an agreement between Germany and Hungary. The division was organized in absolute secrecy; this led many of the new recruits to incorrectly assume that they were part of Adolf Hitler's much vaunted Wunderwaffe program. The division was designated 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division ''Maria Theresia''.. The title referred to Maria Theresa from the House of Habsburg, who had ruled Austria, Hungary and Bohemia in the 18th century. The symbol of the division, a cornflower, is emblazoned on the divisional shield. It was adopted as it was the favourite flower of Empress Maria Theresa.〔Encyclopædia Britannica〕 The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 1573; 1 September 1939 )〕 of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 849; 3 June 1940 )〕 of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 613; 28 September 1941 )〕 of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11'' 〔@ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11; 29 December 1944 )〕 of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross. ==Prerequisites== To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「List of Knight's Cross recipients 22nd Volunteer cavalry Division Maria Theresia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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