The document is named to Oberst (Colonel) Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, “for recognition of his especially outstanding achievements as a volunteer in the Spanish Fight of Liberation”. It is dated to Berlin on June 6, 1939 and signed in black ink by A. Hitler. Measuring 254mm (w) x 355mm (h), with minimal scuffing of the edges and light fraying of the bottom right corner, remaining extremely fine. The Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords & Diamonds was awarded only 28 times. An extremely rare and highly important award document.
Footnote:Wilhelm Thoma was born on November 11, 1891 in Dachau (Bavaria). (Some sources state September 11 instead.) He joined the Bavarian army as an officer cadet in 1912 and served in the 3rd Infantry Regiment “Prinz Karl von Bayern”. In August of 1914, he was promoted to Lieutenant. Thoma served on both the Western and Eastern front during the First War, being wounded multiple times. In June of 1916, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order, which meant that he joined the ranks of Bavarian nobility, receiving the title of Ritter (knight). From this day on, he was known as Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma.
Thoma ended the war in the rank of Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) and as an American POW, having been captured shortly before the war’s end. After returning home, he was taken over into the Reichswehr, the army of the Weimar Republic. He was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) in 1925. During the early days of the Third Reich, Thoma was promoted to Major in 1934. Later that year, he took command of the 2nd Battalion of Panzer Regiment 4.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Thoma commanded the Panzer unit of the Condor Legion. In August of 1936, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel). The Germans trained the Spanish fascist troops in the handling of the armoured vehicles. In February of 1937, Thoma commanded his unit during the Battle of Jarama, just south of Madrid. After it was won, he was awarded the Spanish Medalla Militar with Diamonds, as well as the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds. Thoma was promoted to Oberst (colonel) in 1938. After his return to Germany, he was given command of Panzer Regiment 3 in Vienna.
During the Second War, Thoma saw action in the Polish campaign. He was promoted to Generalmajor (major general) in August of 1940. In the attack on Russia, Thoma commanded the 17th Panzer Brigade. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on December 31, 1941. Thoma was promoted to Generalleutnant (lieutenant general) in August of 1942. A month later, he took command of the German Afrika Corps and was eventually promoted to General of the Panzer Troops.
Thoma was captured by the British during the Second Battle of El Alamein in November of 1942 and became a POW at Trent Park, among other places. Here, he inadvertently gave away the existence of the V-1 and V-2 rocket program. The subsequent bombing of the test site in 1943 severely disrupted progress of German rocket development. After the end of the war, but still in captivity, Thoma had to have one of his legs amputated before he returned home. Thoma died of a heart attack in his home town of Dachau on April 30, 1948.