SMGQ-0296 Karl Heinz Lichte Knights Cross winner Signature X2 with Letter

This is an authentic Post War signature on a Kodak Matte finish card stock copy from a period publication. 5×3.5in. You also get a Signed Letter dated 1988. The letter is a generic response which he had made up and then just put the name of the person requesting the photo. You can see the ink is slightly different color.  “Happy to comply with your request for a signed photo.” This was common back before these vets died. You could write to them and many of them would send you a signed photo in return or you could provide a photo for them to sign. In the letter it also says “your questions: 2.no, 3.Hospital, 4. no”. This is pretty lack luster of a response and I guess this could be expected from an old man who got asked a million personal questions. The real question we have now is…What was question #1 and why didn’t he respond? Was that question to ask for the phot? We will never know.

He died in 2005. There is unsolved information as to when and how he was awarded the Knights Cross since he isn’t listed in the German Archives as receiving the award, which was a common problem at the end of the war.

From Military wiki:

Karl Heinz Lichte (28 August 1920 – 24 January 2005) was a Hauptsturmführer (Captain) in the Waffen-SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.

Karl Heinz Lichte was awarded the Knight’s Cross while in command of the 5th Company, 5th SS Panzer Regiment, 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking on the 6 May 1945.^{[1][Note 1]}

The award was for his actions during the battle for Budapest in January 1945 and the support he gave to the assaulting Division. He advanced from Tata with his company into the Soviet flank, destroying 40 guns and 6 tanks without loss to his own force.