Autograph - Colonel General Johannes Blaskowitz (1883–1948) - Colonel General, recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Autograph - Colonel General Johannes Blaskowitz (1883–1948) - Colonel General, recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Handwritten and signed greeting card addressed to a collector, 1941. The card (16.5 x 10.5 cm) contains a message of thanks to a "Frau Hoffmann," written in blue ink on both sides; it is dated December 1, 1941, and signed at the end, "Yours faithfully, Blaskowitz." Included is the original envelope, which was sent via military field post (opened; slightly stained). Blaskowitz joined the Prussian Army at the age of eighteen as an ensign (*Fähnrich*). At the outbreak of the First World War, serving as a captain and company commander, he was deployed exclusively on the front lines, participating in battles in Lorraine and Flanders, as well as in the fighting in Tyrol and the campaign against Serbia. For his service, he received decorations including both classes of the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords. At the beginning of the Second World War, he was tasked with the assault on Warsaw and, on September 28, 1939, accepted the city's capitulation. Subsequently, Blaskowitz was promoted by Hitler to the rank of Colonel General (*Generaloberst*) and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In 1939, he became Commander-in-Chief East—succeeding General von Rundstedt—and thus served as the head of the German occupation forces in Poland. During the Western Campaign, he held various commands, including that of the occupation forces. Later, he served as Commander-in-Chief of several army groups. His further decorations include the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross (awarded October 28, 1944) and the Swords to the Knight's Cross (awarded January 25, 1945).