Kholm Pocket the third one was successful, with the German forces in the pocket reduced in number to 1,200 by then. In July 1942, the Cholm Shield was awarded to the German defenders of the pocket, upon the suggestion of Generalmajor Theodor Scherer, similar to the Demyansk Shield. Scherer was personally awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves by Adolf Hitler for the command of the defense of Kholm. Kholm was eventually liberated by the Red Army on 21 February 1944. Members of the Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon 65, a police unit from Gelsenkirchen, were questioned after the war by the
Karl Elsener (inventor) his grandson Carl Elsener senior (1922-2013) and his great-grandson Carl Elsener Jr. (born 1958) led the Victorinox company. Karl Elsener (inventor) Karl Elsener (9 October 1860 - 26 December 1918) was a Swiss cutler, inventor and entrepreneur. Karl Elsener completed an apprenticeship as a knife maker in Zug. After some journeyman years he opened a factory in Ibach, Switzerland in 1884 for the manufacture of knives and surgical instruments. He invented the Swiss army knife in 1891 and developed his knife manufacturing company into what has become Victorinox. From 1912 to 1918 Elsener was a member of the cantonal parliament