Third Reich War Service Cross 2nd Class Award Citation Signed by Generalfeldmarschall Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, Commander of the 1st Panzerarmee Tried for War Crimes in Yugoslavia and Soviet Union and Who Died in Custody at Vladimir Central Prison in 1954, the original award citation for Gefreiten Schmidt 2./Bau Batl 51, awarded on 11th April 1942 with signature of von Kleist as Generaloberst. Some fold lines and some wear to the edges of the citation. Signature remains clear. Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, was from a Prussian noble family. He served with the Imperial German army and the Reichswehr before being released in 1938, then being recalled up to serve once war was declared. He was assigned to be commander of the 1st Panzer Armee, under his command the unit utilised the Blitzkrieg tactics to storm through Belgium and France in 1940. His unit was later moved to the East and he took part in operations in Yugoslavia and then during the invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. He was placed in command of Army Group A on the Eastern Front, in 1944 he was dismissed by Adolf Hitler due to disagreement in the orders from Berlin and after the defeat of the German forces in Ukraine. Captured originally by the American forces, he was handed over to the British for evidence in the war trials at Nurnberg. He was later extradited to Yugoslavia where he was tried and sentenced for War Crimes, then sent to the Soviet Union for another trial and sentencing for war crimes against the Soviet Russian people and destruction of land etc. He died whilst serving his prison sentence from Heart Failure. He was the highest ranking officer to die in captivity in Russia.