I was reading up on die Wehrmacht and came across the story of Günther Nowak, who never existed but managed to win a Knight's Cross anyway.
Günther Nowak, Hitlerjugend, was awarded the Knight's Cross on 14 February 1945 for the destruction of eleven tanks in Hindenburg, Oberschlesien. It was always assumed that he was the youngest recipient of the Knight's Cross; however, Günther Nowak never really existed — a deserting Commander of the Volkssturm was caught and claimed that, after the retreat of the Wehrmacht, he had destroyed five tanks single-handedly. Because of this, he was taken to a Gauleiter. Fearing that his lie would be unveiled, he created the story of Günther Nowak in order to lessen his own "feat". This report was then sent to Reichsleiter Martin Bormann. Bormann immediately awarded the German Cross in Gold to the Volkssturm-Commander Sachs and the Knight's Cross to Nowak.
