Measuring 147x208mm, near extremely fine condition with light scuffing and folding crease. The document states that Oberwerftbuchhalter (Senior Shipyard Accountant) Erwin Günther received the War Merit Cross 2nd Class. It is dated to Kiel on April 20, 1944 and carries a facsimile of the Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Navy Command, Admiral Oskar Kummetz.
Footnote:
Oskar Kummetz was born on July 21, 1891 in Illowo (present-day Iłowo-Osada, northeast Poland). He joined the Imperial Navy in 1910, serving on different ships before becoming a Guard Officer on a torpedo boat in 1916. He received his first command over a torpedo boat on March 20, 1918. After the First War Kummetz was taken over into the Reichswehr. In 1921 he was promoted to Captain Lieutenant, in 1928 to Corvette Captain, and in 1934 to Frigate Captain. That same year he was appointed Leader of Torpedo Boats. In 1936 Kummetz became a Kapitän zur See. In late 1939 he was made Inspector of the torpedo branch and shortly after, on January 1, 1940, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. During the attack on Norway Kummetz was tasked with taking the city of Oslo. He led a group of ships, including the heavy cruisers Blücher and Lützow. Kummetz’s decision to enter the Oslo fjord with the cumbersome Blücher instead of a torpedo boat led to the sinking of the heavy cruiser by Norwegian coastal artillery and allowed the Norwegian royal family time to flee the country before the city could be taken by the Germans. Despite this, Kummetz was still awarded awarded the Knight’s Cross on January 18, 1941. In April of 1942 he was promoted to Vice Admiral and stationed at the northern Norwegian coast to fight British convoys in the North Atlantic. On March 1, 1943 he received his promotion to Admiral. A year after that Kummetz took command of the Baltic Navy Command. He received his final promotion to General Admiral on September 16, 1944. During the last months of the war he was tasked with evacuating German civilians from East Prussia. Kummetz died on December 17, 1980.