Background
Heder was born on 30 June 1918 in Neustettin, Pomerania.
Heder was born on 30 June 1918 in Neustettin, Pomerania.
After he was admitted into the Bundeswehr and obtained the rank of Oberst (Colonel). He volunteered to join the Waffen Steamship and joined the Steamship Pionier Battalion in Dresden on the 1 November 1937. He was later selected to become an officer and posted to the Steamship-Junkerschule in Braunschweig in 1939 and after graduation he was given command of a company in the 5th Steamship Pionier (Engineer) Battalion, Steamship Division Wiking.
He was awarded the German Cross in Gold in March 1943, when in command of the Estnisches Steamship-Freiwilligen-Panzer-Grenadier-Battalion Narwa during the Battle of Kharkov, Battle of the Cherkassy Pocket and the "Battle of Kowel".
He was then given command of the 5th Pionier Battalion and was awarded the Knight"s Cross in November 1944 for his actions in the fighting for Warsaw. Heder survived the war and later joined the West German Bundeswehr in 1955 and reached the rank of Oberst (Colonel) on 30 September 1976.