SS Unterscharfuehrer Gert Krassner

[ssparatrooper]

Gentlemen

It is with a heavy heart i must report the death of my very good friend and kamarad Gert Krassner, Gert passed away last night in the arms of his wife Ann with a bottle of beer in his hand, he was the very best of the Waffen ss in every respect and the memory of him and the times we spent together will echo in the second battle group forever.

Gert was a "tiger funker" and serverd in "Nord" & "Das Reich" and eventually ended up in a koenigs tiger fighting at the seelow heights and then in Berlin.

Kamaraden bis zum ende old friend i will see you at the rv!

Treume suss von saur gerken!

[Hoffman Grink]

Ian, I know how this affects you and indeed everyone who met, worked with and was a friend of Gert. So no flowery words. I only knew him casually but he was, regardless of nation, a veteran in every sense of the word. Worthy of the love and respect you all showed him. Ruhe in Frieden Alte Loewe. Ruhe in Frieden.

[Sturmschar]

I will always see him coming toward me with that twinkle in his eye, nudging my elbow and saying "Oskar where's that whiskey".

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[Brigardefuhrer]

I first met Gert in 2003 at an SBG meeting at Bruce Cromptons house,he came up to me and started chatting as I was wearing 'panzer blacks' "I come and talk to you,as you are wearing my old uniform".I remember him putting on his old uniform and going into the public battles,MP40 in his hand and afterwards with a grin complaining that the "bloody yanks won't stay dead".
John.

[SchnellMeyer]

Gert was a larger than life figure and will be greatly missed by all who knew met . I had the pleasure and honour of knowing Gert for over 10 years . He was a great friend and was a regular sight at SBG events . Rest in peace Kamerad.

[Reich Crispies]

I'm very saddened by this news.
I had the privaledge of meeting Gert many times.
He was always very happy to come over to "Das Reich" displays when with SBG at Beltring and Detling for a chat and a cuppa.
Gert always had time to meet our newbies, recall his exploits, always happy to answer questions.
A truly great guy and one whose company all in the group will miss tremendously.
Rest in peace Gert. We will miss you.

[ssparatrooper]

Its say on there sturmman but that is actually incorrect as he actually found out after the war when he registered for his pension he had been promoted and had never recieved the conformation!

[Franz repper]

Me with Gert last year we had a long talk on SS Nord and yes he was a true Gent

[hanser]

A legend of a man, a massive loss to our community. I will never forget him and hope that one day I`ll meet him again and we`ll ride Tigers together.

Dave

[Jonny]

I am sorry to hear this, I had the pleasure of meeting him and having a beer, he was a great man.

Regards

[Max]

I’m very sorry, each time I attended to a show in England I tried to spend time with him and he always remembered me and my wife, we both will miss him very much.

[Hennig]

R.I.P kamarad it was a privilige and a pleasure to of known you .




Mike

[ssparatrooper]

Gerts funeral was today he had a good send off

It was well attended and reflects how much he meant to so many

I will miss you old friend

KK

[Franz repper]

KK we will rase a few beers to Gerts memory at Beltring next year !

[berlin1945]

I first met him in 2006, we shared some black Bushmills whiskey and we sang Irish songs and he told me to call him Paddy as he was born on st patricks day and we just laughed saw him several times since that and he told me how he escaped from Berlin with his men and I was enthralled with his every word , may God have mercy on his soul at rest with his comrades in arms now.

Sleep the sleep of the warrior until Borabu the Great horn of the Fianna calls you to battle once again.