On 6 June 1940 he received the Iron Cross First Class. He wrote about his experiences at the front (Tanks Break Through!, 1940).[5] In August 1940 Berndt returned to the Propaganda Ministry, but left administrative work mainly to his previous deputies. Berndt was first head of the Propaganda Ministry Offices in Paris.[6] In May 1941 he went back to the front; this time as a lieutenant on the staff of the German Afrika Korps under then Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel.