August Zingel was a Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant), in the Waffen SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II. August Zingel was born on the 20 January 1922, at Heidmühle near Oldenburg. He volunteered to join the SS and took part in the Anschluss of Austria, the occupation of the Sudetenland and the annexation of Bohemia and Moravia.