The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded by Nazi Germany to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Kraiß was an anti-semite, as is evidenced by his repeated mentions of allegedly hostile Jewish elements among the Soviet political officers in his orders and field diaries. He was a commander of the 90th Infantry Regiment (from September 1939 to March 1941), 168th Infantry Division (from July 1941 to March 1943) and 355th Infantry Division until May 1943.
In November 1943 he took command of the 352nd Infantry Division which was in 1944, with six other divisions, located in Normandy in front of the Allied invasion.
His 352nd Infantry Division had 7,409 soldiers and kept defensive positions around Saint Lô. He died on August 6, 1944 of injuries sustained 2 days earlier.
Wehrmachtbericht reference Bibliography.