Oberleutnant Rudi Wolfmüller: A Post-War Fraud?

     Luftwaffe Oberleutnant Rudi Wolfmüller is a man who has been cause for some debate amongst amateur historians. Certainly the images show someone highly decorated and in so doing, some feel he is too decorated and that Wolfmüller was never in the Luftwaffe, let alone World War II and is, in fact, a post-war fraud. Amongst the forums, evidence for and against Wolfmüller have been put forth, to include the sample of his soldbuch showing his decorations and another photograph of Wolfmüller. The latter two have been discredited by some, pointing out that the soldbuch is a forgery as evidenced by the fact the handwriting is identical despite spanning years and that the photograph was retouched. At least one detractor felt he shouldn’t be wearing all of the cuff titles on his sleeves. However, the forum poster was mostly incorrect (see below) as three of the four cuff titles are campaign cuff titles with the fourth being his actual unit cuff title. All in all, it appears that the consensus is that Rudi Wolfmüller is a post-war fraud. You can be your own judge. 

     So, what are all the decorations? Starting with the left breast pocket, the medals are: Frontflugspange (Front Flying Clasp) (possibly for Zerstörer (destroyers)) then another Frontflugspange for Jäger (fighters) with three pennants for missions flown, the African Campaign Medal, Wound Badge in Black, Iron Cross First Class, Pilot’s Badge, and the civil Gliding Proficiency Badge (“A” Achievement). The ribbon bar has the Iron Cross Second Class, what appears like the Austrian Annexation Badge (which would be odd to have crossed swords on it), Sudetenland Medal with plaque, two I am not sure about, and the last being the ribbon for the African Campaign Medal. Moving to the right breast pocket, the medals are: German Cross in Gold, the Spanienkreuz (Spanish Cross), possibly the Luftwaffe long service medal, and two other medals I am not able to make out. The ribbon through his button hole is the Iron Cross Second Class ribbon while around his neck is the Knight’s Cross. The campaign cuff titles are Afrika, Kreta, and Afrika Korps. The Afrika Korps cuff title was not a campaign title per se but was worn by troops who were fighting in the African Theater as a means of unit recognition. Curiously, the Heer (Army) version is being worn here rather than the official Luftwaffe one which only read “Afrika”. Once the fighting ceased in Africa and the DAK (Deutsche Afrika Korps) disbanded, ex-Afrika Korps soldiers continued to wear the cuff title against regulations. To make it official, the Afrika campaign cuff title was created and thus soldiers should have removed the Afrika Korps cuff title. The Kreta cuff title was awarded to those who took part in the Battle of Crete. The unit cuff title reads Geschwader Horst Wessel and was worn by those flying with Fliegergeschwader Dortmund (later Zerstörergeschwader 26).