Nickname(s) "Pepi" Name Josef Jennewein | ||
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Battles/wars World War IIBattle of BritainOperation Barbarossa Died July 26, 1943, Oryol, Russia Unit Jagdgeschwader 26, Jagdgeschwader 51 | ||
Josef Jennewein (21 November 1919 – 27 July 1943) was a German alpine skier and world champion. During World War II, he served in the Wehrmacht and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Jennewein was born on 21 November 1919 at St Anton in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria. He became a world champion in the combined event in Zakopane in 1939, and received silver medals in slalom and in downhill. In 1941 Jennewein participated at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1941 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and won Gold Medals in downhill and the combined event. In 1946, the results were cancelled by the FIS because of the limited number of participants from only German-friendly countries during World War II. Jennewein flew 271 missions in claiming 86 victories, with five on the Western Front and 81 on the Eastern Front. He went missing in action following combat east of Orel on 27 July 1943.