Talk:List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients (G)

Umlaut
I have just counted names with and without an 'umlaut' (ä, ë, ö and so on). Just on this page there were some twelve 'Gö's, followed by two 'Goe's, then nine more 'Gö's, one 'Goe', four more 'Gö's and then finally a single 'Goe'. To add a bit more confusion, everyone's entry has their surname followed by christian name except Herman Goering's (or should that be Göring's?)

MisterBee, as you seem to be quite involved in this article, can you shed any light on this apparent mish-mash?

The MOS mentions 'consistency' as being 'key', so I would suggest the names here (and probably on other pages as well), should include the umlaut. What do others think? RASAM (talk) 19:09, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

A few comments. First, I am in the process of converting the article from a surname, first name format to a first name last name format using the sortname template. So this is the cause for some inconsistency which will be resolved soon. Second, whether the name contains an Umlaut or not is not lack of inconsistency but rather a tribute to the way the respective individual chose to spell his name and how the name was officially written according to their birth certificate. I don't think that MOS is applicable here. MisterBee1966 (talk) 20:41, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * To add to the confusion, names of people with a (possible) umlaut in their names could happen to be written differently at any time. Some dropped their umlaut at a certain time, some began to use it at a certain time, and some, or I may say many, wrote their own name differently from how other people wrote it (up to street names!). Therefore even the birth certificate, while for sure being a document to be followed in Wikipedia, cannot tell the whole truth! (Believe me, I am from that country. Stop talking of "the orderly Germans".) Wschroedter (talk) 07:11, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Links to self
Merrily followed a link to a person and returned to here, disappointed. There are many such links from names to pages which only redirect to here. I understand that there is a hope that such pages may be built in full later. Then again, there are many names without such a link. Is there a hidden strategy behind it which needs clarification? Wschroedter (talk) 07:18, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
 * There is a bit of history and Wikipedia evolution behind this topic. In the earlier days of Wikipedia, all recipients of the highest military award, irrespectively of country of origin, were given the benefit of doubt and were considered presumed notable to Wikipedia under guidelines of WP:SOLDIER. Over time, this interpretation has changed and WP:SOLDIER was deprecated. Today, WP:BIO and WP:BASIC are the governing guidelines for Wikipedia inclusion. In consequence, many of the articles created during the early days have either been redirected or deleted. Cheers MisterBee1966 (talk) 08:43, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Brilliant reply, thank you so much! Wschroedter (talk) 13:50, 4 December 2023 (UTC)