Paul Conrath

Paul Conrath (22 November 1896 – 15 January 1979) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

He would command the Panzer-Division Hermann Göring from regiment to division (1 June 1940 – 14 April 1944).

World War I Conrath was born in Berlin-Rudow, then Kingdom of Prussia, on 22 November 1896. Conrath joined the German Army with the 4th Guards Field Artillery Regiment (4. Garde-Feldartillerie-Regiment) on 10 August 1914 as a war volunteer and officer candidate, being assigned to the Reserve Field Artillery Regiment No. 44 (Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 44) in October 1914 after his basic training.

This regiment occupied a brand new purpose-built barracks complex at Berlin-Reinickendorf, which was constructed to the highest standards and with the most modern of facilities. The complex boasted over 120 buildings and included gymnasia, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, sports areas and its own post office. The General Göring soldiers dressed in their distinctive uniforms with white collar patches and special unit cuffband (Ärmelstreifen), and became a regular sight on the streets of Berlin. Paul Conrath was awarded the Knight's Cross on 4 September 1941 for leading the regiment in the first week of the Russian campaign. The division was also reinforced with infantry, including up to 5,000 paratroopers - among them remnants of the Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5, decimated in the airborne Battle of Crete. amid its reorganization, as the Afrikakorps was desperately attempting to cling to its holdings in North Africa. The division would serve alongside Army units such as the 334th Infantry Division, 10th and 15th divisions in continuous heavy fighting with British, French and American troops. On 21 August 1943, Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross on 4 September 1941 as Oberst and commander of Flak-Regiment (motorized) "General Göring" 276th Oak Leaves on 21 August 1943 as Generalmajor and commander of Fallschirm-Panzer-Division "Hermann Göring" Ärmelband Afrika