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German Cross in Gold and the „Dotted“ Story

Hi Guys,

A while ago I read an article about  German Crosses in Gold and their different makers. Interesting information about the Juncker, Godet, C.F. Zimmermann and so on.

German Cross in Gold Zimmermann light full view

Later that day I found a posting / a discussion in a Forum which German Cross in Gold is the best to collect or the best to put in your own collection.

Some collectors say that the rarest is the best German Cross in Gold to keep, other say that the condition is deciding for keeping or buying a cross.  Some refer to the story behind it (yes I know….never buy the story just the badge ;-)) but in this case the story behind it stands for the whole grouping or the estate.

I can remember a time where I bought a huge Uboat grouping form a family here in Germany. The Kriegsmarine Soldier was from 1939 until 1945 on Uboats as a mechanic and served the whole war on these steel tubes.

Zimmermann left /Juncker right – cased

Finally he was on a Monsun UBoat and went all the way to Japan. In 1945 he earned the German cross in Gold.

As the war ends he stayed in japan until 1947 and came back to Germany…..He went a long way on Uboats and as you all know, a lot of german Uboat men died during war time but he survived it. That’s the story behind my German Cross in Gold and I put the whole grouping in my collection. That Cross was made by Junker, it was cased and in good (but worn) condition

About two years later I put my hands on a German Cross in Gold made by Zimmermann (a light one) in the best condition I have ever seen. It came along with the case, also in very nice condition.

Zimmermann left /Juncker right – cased II

I went to the bank and opened my bank deposit, took my Juncker cross out and went home. I put the side by side and thought about them.

Should I keep the unworn minty Zimmermann or the worn Juncker……keep them both and sell some other stuff.…….

Finally I made my decision and I kept the Juncker. I had a name to it, I had a face to it and (yes I know….) I had the story to the cross.

Another thing which made my decision easy was the fact that you see ten Zimmermann a year and only one Juncker. So not always that hard to get a Zimmermann cross in a decent condition.

But let`s stay with the Zimmermann. As you all know there is the number “20” for the Zimmermann company on the needle (inside) of the cross. Easy to identify but there is a problem. Have you ever heard of the „dotted“ German Cross in Gold from Zimmermann?

It is not a secret but there might be somebody out there who didn`t know. So let bring some light in this dark area.

The “dotted” Zimmermann was a long time described and handled as a fake cross. It took a long time to proof that they are original „pre“ war time made.

But fact is, that you have three things to look for to identify these “dotted” crosses.

The first thing is the Number 20 ( Präsidialkanzleinumber “20”) on the inside of the crosses needle. If the 20 is in full shape and on a straight line, that is a normal Zimmermann. If the upper area of the number 2 is cut off and the whole number 20 is not in a horizontal line, you have the indication of a “dotted”. At least it looks like a false or incorrect marking.

The second thing is the number “1941” on the outer golden wreath. On a normal Zimmermann cross the number is on a normal metal underground. On a dotted German cross the date numerals are filled with little holes, which means that there are little dots inside the numbers.

Last thing is the production mistake on the 11 O´clock area of the wreath. The first „dotted“ which were examined didn`t have the „flaw“ but now some Crosses were found with the „Zimmermann Flaw“.  If you see that, the cross should be a good cross.

Mr. Dietrich März is on this subject and he searched for more evidence on the dotted mystery. I think if he finds out something new, we will know it soon.

 

Under the line it comes down to facts and evidence. If you have a normal Zimmermann or a „dotted“ one, don`t get nervous. Just read about the facts and keep the dotted in you collection.

Finally and as always, you have to know certain things in our hobby, so you don´t lose money or pay twice.

Best

Sascha

 

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Combat Damaged Badges of World War II

Well Friends,

today I want to go back a little bit in time. I think it is about two years ago when a family contacted me and offered a little estate of a World War II soldier. Not a real big grouping with paperwork and pictures, just two badges and a story behind it. I told them to send me pictures and I will tell them how much I can pay.

A few days later the pictures of the badges came via Email on my computer. I opened them and saw that the badges were damaged. Ok, we see that more often as collectors that a catch is missing or the hinge is broken off. But in this case the damage severe, looked like bullets went straight trough the badges.

If you see that on the screen you come to a “full stop” and you start thinking about your hobby. A hobby where you collect badges from brave soldiers who fired their weapons to win the battle and…..to kill or to wound soldiers from the other side.

Some of you might know it that I am a soldier on active duty, so I think always different when it comes down to battle or war. In 25 years of service I went 5 times in war areas to do what I have to do. Mostly in special units with special orders….that way you see things you don’t want to see.

Anyway, that´s the job and I am still here.

Iron Cross 1st class battle damaged A

There must be a story behind that two badges, so I started digging for more information. I wrote an Email to the family and asked them about the fate of the soldier.

LC Black Battle Damaged A

All they knew was that he served in the Germany army on the eastern Front, was heavily wounded but survived the war.

 

We all know where a wounded badge and an Iron cross 1st class is placed on the uniform, with the damage on that badges I would say that these were bullets of a machine gun. However he survived this wounds is not comprehensibly. Maybe he had a book in his breast pocket or his ID Tag somewhere in between. Or he was in a special move or jumped when he was hit…….

 

Here you see another strong hit, this time  on a Knights Cross

Orig Knight Cross Battle Damaged

About three weeks ago a Kriegsmarine grouping was offered with a dog tag of the soldier who got a lung shot through his Erkennungsmarke / ID Tag. In the email the seller wrote that the brave navy soldiers survived that too. Sadly I didn´t get the tag and the paperwork to study the story.

By scanning the net and also the Wehrmacht Award Forum I found some more battle damaged badges and what happened on the battlefield.

Some damages are made by bullets and some made by splinters. Also these little bastards can do a lot of damage. Back in 1999 I was on a busting course with some german navy seals. Just a basic course for blowing up everything we found. After a week of training we had to blow up a part of an old American tank. For cover we had to climb in a troop carrier about 500 meters away from the explosive area. Sitting in the tank and waiting for the bang, you think for yourself: I am 500 meters away, good spot….. no danger. But after we pulled the trigger a lot of metal splinters flew around like hell and also hit our cover tank with such a high energy…..deadly velocity.

So it dosen`t mater if it is a bullet or an explosive splinter, always enough to hit you hard and wound or kill you.

Soldbuch + ID Tag Battle Damaged

Some time ago there was a Soldbuch and an ID Tag on display in the WAF where a bullet or a splinter went straight through the book and some tiny metal things hit the ID Tag. Here you see some pictures of it.

 

 

Another interesting part is, why the soldiers kept their damage badges? Nice souvenirs from the war or maybe to tell their family “how close it was”?

On day I saw a TV report about army medics in Bagdad during the Iraq war. All wounded soldiers who came in that hospital with several injuries told the doctors :”Whatever you take out of my body, put it in a plastic pot and let me take it home!”

Knights Cross Hans Klärmann, Hauptmann A

The next badge we have here is a Knights Cross L/12 from the WAF User ErikN. The soldier, Hauptmann Hans Klärmann, was killed in action by wearing that cross………. He was awarded the Knights Cross as a Hauptmann and Führer II./PzGrenRgt 361 on 19.09.1942 and died on the Eastern Front / Poland on 06.09.1944.  Whatever went trough his Body had so much energy to damage his cross on the backside.

 

 

If this would not be an serious subject we handle here, the next badge would be considered a funny thing.

Wounded Badge in Black Battle Damaged 1

As you all know you get the wounded badge after you were hit by a bullet or by a splinter.  Here we have a soldier who was really “in the middle” and got another hit from whatever crossed his path. We will never know the story but that looks like a real big shrapnel which went through the edge of that badge.(Pictures came from WAF user Urza 1)

 

I can remember when I was hit by a “thing” after an explosion some time ago some where in the world. I had a protective vest on and a Kevlar helmet, I was kneeling down for cover. I was not in the direct line with the point where the explosion was, but somehow something went up in the air and came down balistic, hit me in the chest and pushes me back on my butt. For me as 190 cm tall and 108 Kg heavy guy you need some energy to push me somewhere……..

German Cross in Gold melted in Fire

The last badge I want to show you has really no story behind it. The German Cross in Gold (134) is melted from extreme heat. So maybe a battlefield pick up or it was in a house which burned down. Another collector told me that he had a similar German Cross which came out of a destroyed german tank in normandy…..We will never know it for sure.

 

Finally we have to look twice on badges and documents from the war, always behind all the heroism and bravery we have the other side of injury, pain and death. I won`t forget that and hopefully that blog entry let you think about it.

If you combat damaged badges in you collection feel free to send me pictures and stories for Part II of that subject.

You can always find all pictures here:

Best

Sascha

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Kassel Show Autumn 2017

Hello Collector Friends,

After a week on the Kassel Military Show autumn (name in German is `Waffenbörse Kassel / WBK`) I have a lot to tell you. For those guys who missed it: You really missed something!

For those guys who have been there: Yeah….you were at the right time at the right place. Mr. Wolf Rüdiger Krey from the Company Expo Management Kiel who manages the whole Kassel Show gave me some numbers about Dealers and Visitors, so you get an idea how big it was.

About 282 Dealers on the show and 18245 Visitors !!

Mese Kassel all in 2017

For me a really good event where I met old friends and found new friends. But let’s start at the beginning. This year was my first year on the other side of the table! That means, I was there with the team of Trave Militaria and responsible for buying and selling military, public relations, networking, meetings, English speaking customers, building new connections and finally present the company in all areas. That’s the way you get in the fair hall early during that time where all dealers unpack their stuff and design their sales booth. We arrived on Wednesday at 11.00 O´clock and started unloading our transport car. It took us about two hours until our sales “corner” was build up the way we liked it. During that time you saw dealers with “dealer cards” around their neck and collectors with “dealer cards” around their neck!!!! Almost everyone was hunting for nice badges or high end estates for good prices. So that way some things were sold on Wednesday before the fair even started (start for all others is Thursday).

I had not that much time to go around and look for good stuff and old friends, but most people knew where I was and stopped by for a little military chat and we had interesting conversations.

Later that day I met Mr. Christian von Eicke from the company Militaria-Berlin and Mr. Frank Scholz from Militaria-Scholz. Sadly they had no sales booth on that fair but enough time for an exchange of the latest news, information about the hottest badges and best deals of the day. Really good guys and they know “who is who in the Zoo!”

Finally I met old collector comrades like Thomas K., Gerd S., Marco S., Frank H. face to face which was almost time. Sure we write via Email more than once, but that way on the show in Kassel is much better.

Also I met some guys from around Europe and Russia….First time eye to eye after we made good deals the last years. There where Hubert from Poland, Ivan from Russia and Stefano from Italy. Felt good to finally shake hands, always a good fundament for further business. After a long day we hit the Hotel Bar for a few Beer as a little reward.

On Thursday I went over the fair to see some of the German Dealers and Owners of some Auction Houses. I talked to them about the development in the collector area and why the prices went up (or down).

Auktionshaus Andreas Thies Area

I met Mr. Andreas Thies for the company Auktionshaus Andreas Thies EK, who had a really nice sales booth build up with high class medals and badges and also a Generals tunic on display. Mr. Thies is a real old school gentleman who knows the game and it was a short but very interesting conversation.

 

Hermann Historica Area

Later on I went to Hermann Historica and met Mr. Sascha Zimmerman. Very friendly person who is also responsible for customers who sell and buy high class military objects from all over the world. Nice talking there and a professional for sure in his field. Here I found also high end weapons and military of different decades from all over the world.

That was enough for the first day when the fair was open for anybody. Lot of collectors in the hall, but also some pick pockets who stole about 50 wallets and two money boxes from dealers. That’s really bad and I hope the loss was not that high for the people who lost their wallet.

On Friday there were less people there and I had the chance to walk around again and see what the other dealers do. I talk to Andy, a military dealer from Austrian and his friend Mel who was from Belgium.

Running around I saw good things and bad things on the tables. Some estates extremely overpriced and also repaired or damaged badges in bad condition. I found copies which were offered as originals and really bad reproductions. Fantasy items and reenactor stuff……Lots of guns and rifles from all epochs and ammunition…so much you can start world war III.

Carsten Baldes Sales booth

Later on I went to see Mr. Carsten Baldes from Militaria Archiv Carsten Baldes e.K. With the principle less is more he had not so much but very nice badges and medals on Display. He told me that most of his new Military Items are sold fast and that way there is not so much left for a big sales booth in Kassel.  All medals and badges as always with a good sense of price finding. A real polite and pleasant dealer with a good reputation. Always a good place to buy from and to talk to.

 

Ratisbon Area

An hour later I stopped at the booth from Ratisbon to take a picture and check the “hardware”. Nice stuff which are in the online auctions and only for Kassel on display. They were really busy with customers and I decided to try it again later. Finally I had some things for the next ratisbon auction and then I had the opportunity to talk to Andreas and Michael. Nice guys, very friendly and they offered good conditions for the military items I brought. So looks to me like a professional Team with a good reputation and an inherent part of our military collector’s world.

Helmut Weitze 100 about a third of the whole sales area

We had our sales area from Trave-Militaria close to the company of Helmut Weitze, and I had the chance to talk to most of his employees who worked in special fields of Mr. Weitzes Company. I think I met Mr. Weitze about three times and we had good talks about military items and also about my active navy time and Mr. Weitzes navy time on destroyer’s years ago. Real hanseatic salesman and gentleman with a professional team and the biggest sales area in the fair hall of Kassel.

 

Well, know you want to know what I bought in Kassel…….not that much. Only an infantry assault badge, cut out, hollow in good condition and for my cuff title collection a Panzer Afrikakorps cuff title which is always hard to get.

Under the stroke we had 4 hard days of work, but when you love what you do it is not work….it is fun. After the fair hall closes on 18:00 we went to our Hotel close by and relaxed by good dinner and some long drinks….not too much long drinks because the next day is also a long day. And again collectors will need some advice and maybe a good hint not to buy this or better buy that.

Part of the Trave Militaria Team: left to right: Myself, Peggy, Dennis, Jonas, Christian

Thanks to Mr. Dennis Suitner as the Head from Trave Military for such a good time in Kassel and hopefully we will meet you all there in 2018.

 

Good hunting!

Best

Sascha

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Pilot and Observer Badge 1st Form 1935

Dear collectors,

Sit down and grab a coffee. This time I have something for you what I haven´t seen in 25 years of collecting. A real stunner, so I hope you sit by now.

For some collectors this badge is the “Fliegerschaftsabzeichen” , for others it is the Pilot Badge with the funny wreath or the Air Crew Badge. But like Dietrich März wrote on the WAF, it is the Pilot and Observer Badge 1. Form “…..documented in the LVBl as „Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer und Beobachter Abzeichen“, founded on 19 January 1935 Form“.Pilot Badge first form 1935 cased (3)

Sure there were few of these “holy grails” in auctions around the world or old sales catalog, but not in the content of a whole estate of a Luftwaffe Pilot.

Well, now you think about the “second” form…..mmmhhh have I seen that one before? Sure you have , think about the Pilot Badge with the golden wreath, that’s the second form but the term “second form” got lost……somehow.

OK, back to business, to get the term right we talk about the “Flugzeugführer und Beobachter Abzeichen 1. Form“.

Pilot Badge first form 1935 cased (1)

But we want to have a close look on this bird over here. You see the badge with the large Eagle on it, looks like an attacking bird, in his fangs the swastika as always with Luftwaffen badges. The wreath in this case is not “egg shaped”  vertical like the Pilot Badge 2nd Form, it is oval and in my opinion very big.Pilot Badge first form 1935 backside

The Wreath is about 60,48 mm x 41,55 mmm. The weight is about 27,2 gramm. The pin is a round pin and about 48,8 mm long. On the backside you see a soldered round wire catch and a tube hinge, also soldered to the wreath in vertical manner. The 3 !!! rivets are like Juncker rivets used to be and they surly hold this big bird in place. The marker mark says “CEJ” on the backside of the bird, for most collectors THE company to collect Luftwaffen badges from.

Another nice feature is the blue case without any writing on it. Also a tough one to get but in this estate the badge came with it and so we have a nice combination.Pilot Badge first form 1935 case blue

Short excourse to the life of the pilot:

The man who archieved this badge was Hauptmann Günther Klünder, born on the 4th of August 1904. He served on Board of several ships of the Reichsmarine from 1927 – 1932. To name just a few of them : “Berlin” (light cruiser WW1), “Schlesien” (Battleship WW1), as well as the Torpedoboot “Albatros”.

Later on his career brought him to the “Seeübungsstaffel” (October 1933 – October 1934) and the “Erprobungsstelle Travemünde”

In 1937 he was Staffelkapitän with the Aufklärungsgruppe See 88 (A.S. 88) in the Legion Condor from February 1937 until July 1937, equipped with He-59 seaplanes.
On September 5th, 1939 – at the age of 32, he was shot down with a Junckers Ju 52 – D – AGZG by friendly fire (navy flak).

Let`s have look in the Soldbuch of the soldier. Here we found the entry for the badge with the number 1414 / 35 as you can see on the picture below.Pilot Badge first form 1935 Soldbuch

Together with the Pilot Badge there were different badges in his estate.

They were:

  1. Italian military pilot badge
  2. Medaille de la campana
  3. Wehrmacht Dienstauszeichnung 4. Klasse
  4. Deutsches Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern
  5. Cruz de guerra
  6. Officerscross Crown of Italy

We can also have a look on the historical background of the badge:

The combined pilot’s/observer’s qualification badge was originally introduced by Hermann Göring on January 19th,  1935, and featured a horizontally oval wreath encompassing a stylized national eagle in flight. On March 26th, 1935 the badge was redesigned (after 205 days) by altering the wreath to the vertical position as with the other Luftwaffe qualification badges. The badge was intended for award to personnel who had qualified for both the military pilot’s and the observer’s badges and had held at least one of the awards for a minimum of one year. This second pattern badge took the same form as the pilot’s badge, but with a golden wreath.Pilot Badge first form 1935 swas

Pilot Badge first form 1935 rivet

Pilot Badge first form 1935 catch

Pilot Badge first form 1935 tube hinge

Just to get it all together, in the summer of 1935 Hermann Göring established the combined pilot’s/observer’s badge with diamonds which was the highest Luftwaffe non-combatant award of WWII. It is estimated that roughly forty of the diamond badges were awarded.

We will never know why Hauptmann Klünder kept the first form and did not get the second form….or maybe had the second form on his uniform and it was lost when he shot down by friendly fire….

Finally said that the is one on the best estates I have seen in years and I like to quote Mr.  Dennis Suitner, the Boss of Trave-Militaria: THE HOLY GRAIL OF THE LUFTWAFFE. A big thanks in that direction to the Team of Trave-Militaria, who supported me with all the pictures and data to bring this topic in my blog.Pilot Badge first form 1935 whole estate

 

Subscribe for more … Kind Regards,

Sascha

 

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Close Combat Clasp GOLD cased

Dear collectors,

today I like to show you a close combat clasp. Ok, now you think you have seen a lot of them in different conditions and from different markers. But mostly we found on the market the bronze type close combat clasp or the silver type close combat clasp.

Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold cased

In this case we have a gold clasp in a really nice condition. As you can see on the pictures that this one was made by the company Friedrich Linden Lüdenscheid (marked FLL on the backside). Magnetic backing plate behind an eagle, a bayonet and a grenade motif.

Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold

Back plate is held in place by crimped sides at reverse. Also on the backside a broad, tapering horizontal pin, solid soldered hinge and a flat wire catch. Reverse well marked with embossed designer’s name and address, „Fec. W.E. Peekhaus Berlin“.

Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold backside

 

What really flashes me is the box. Just a card board box, at the edges put together by iron claws. On the top you can read “Nahkampfspange vergoldet ” – That means “Close Combat Clasp gilded” .

case – box Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold

The clasp was in a sort of protective paper in red color.  I know some medals which are wrapped in brown or nearly white protective paper, but red in not very often found.

 

case – box Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold

As far as we know, only the company Friedrich Linden Lüdenscheid made these boxes for their clasps. There a know card board boxes with „Nahkampfspange bronze“ / „Nahkampfspangen bronze“ / „Nahkampfspange versilbert“ on it.

For me a stunning set which is not very often for sale or even to see in the collector’s scene.

case – box Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold

To the history of close combat clasps:

The close combat clasp was introduced on November 25th, 1942 for award to personnel who fought in hand-to-hand combat situations unsupported by armor.

case – box Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold

The clasp was issued in three grades, bronze, silver and gold, with each successive grade signifying more days spent in hand-to-hand or close combat. Criteria for award of the clasps consisted of fifteen days of hand-to hand combat for bestowal of the bronze clasp, thirty days of hand-to-hand combat for bestowal of the silver clasp and fifty days of hand-to-hand combat for bestowal of the gold clasp.

case box Close Combat Clasp FLL Gold

There was also a prescribed, combat to time served ratio, enabling long serving personnel to be eligible for award of a clasp.

 

Subscribe for more … Kind Regards,

Sascha

 

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Cuff title Großdeutschland

Hello Collectors,

Today I like to show you a cuff title from the Grenadier Regiment “Großdeutschland” which grew up to Division size in May 1942.

Cuff Title Großdeutschland front view

Cuff titles from special units were worn on the right side of the uniform. Remember the combat cuff titles like Afrika, Kreta, Metz 1944 and Kurland were worn on the left side of the uniform sleeve!

This one you see here came from a soldier who died in 1944 on the eastern front.  In his estate were only this cuff title and the letter to his father from the unit commander that his son died for the fatherland.

Cuff Title Großdeutschland front view

We see here a hand embroidered cuff title, black doeskin with aluminum thread letters in sütterlin writing on it. The upper and lower border is named soutache.  This soutache is also made from aluminum thread and woven by machine in an opposite direction, meeting in the middle of the border / soutache.

Cuff Title Großdeutschland size high

The cuff title is about 32 mm high and 375 mm long. The soutache is 3 mm strong. The letters are in different sizes, so you cannot compare one and another Großdeutschland cuff title…hand embroidered make that impossible. On the backside the cuff title is closed by a up and down stiching with a black thread. This will prevent the backside to open up and it is easier to sew it to the uniform. If you carefully open the backside, you will see a fabric backing which stabilized the letters.

Cuff Title Großdeutschland size soutache

Introduced on October 11th, 1940 this is the most common version. There are several font types and production variants.

I would also like to lay an old fairy tale to rest. This variant is popularly dubbed as the „exemplary officer“ cuff title and is offered commercially as such to maximise profits. It was by no means only for officers…….the hand-embroidered version was worn by all ranks, as evidenced by a large number of examples either handed-down or shown in photos.

Here some facts about the wording in the institution which you can find  in the excerpt from the Army-Prescription-Journal on 10.11.40 / 59th Issue:

„Cuff title of the Inf.-Rgt. Großdeutschland and Führer-Begleit-Bataillon

Instead of the cuff title as described in H.-V.-Bl. (Heeres Verodnungs Blatt ) 1939, Part B / S. 179 No. 271 para. 1c2, a 3.2 cm wide cuff title of black cloth with GROßDEUTSCHLAND in German cursive hand embroidered with aluminium thread is introduced for the Großdeutschland infantry regiment and for the army units of the Führer-Begleit-Bataillon. A sample of the cuff title will be sent separately.

The cuff title shall be worn as before on the field jacket, tunic and coat.

After the troops have been supplied with the new cuff title, the previous cuff title must be removed.

Cuff Title Großdeutschland Letter in Sütterlin
Cuff Title Großdeutschland Soutache

 

I hope you got a little inside view of the field “cuff titles” and the next time you have a Großdeutschland CT in hand, you know how to look at it !

Subscribe for more … Kind Regards,

Sascha

 

 

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Para Badge Assmann

Hi Collectors,

today I like to show you one of my favorite Para Badge (Fallschirmschützenabzeichen der Luftwaffe) made by the company Assmann.

Para Badge – Fallschirmschützenabzeichen der Luftwaffe

It is in a superb condition and never worn on the uniform. I had the chance to meet the owner in Person in 2003 in his house. He showed me all his pictures from his time as a Fallschirmjäger and about the moment when he was wounded in 1944 on the eastern front. He had two para badges, iron cross 2nd class and wounded badge is silver. Sadly he died in 2005 and his son sent me all his paperwork, pictures and this Para Badge.

So a special one for me in my collection which I would never give away.

Para Badge – Fallschirmschützenabzeichen der Luftwaffe

The badge size is  54 mm high and 43 mm width. The weight is 33 Gramm. The eagle is golden all the way and holds on to the wreath with the typical Assmann rivets. The catch is a round wire catch which sits directly on the wreath (made from tombak). The barrel hinge is also directly attached to the wreath.

It comes in a blue case which has the “Fallschrimschützen=Abzeichen” in gold on the top of the case. The inlet is made from high quality material and the badge fits perfectly in it.

Para Badge – Fallschirmschützenabzeichen der Luftwaffe

About the history of para badges:

As a result of observations of the Russian experimentation with the newly developing paratroop personnel in 1928 the Germans began serious consideration of also developing paratroop units and plans were drawn up for formation of such units in late 1935. Both the Luftwaffe and Army eventually established paratrooper units, consisting of voluntary personnel, on January 29th,  1936 and March 31st, 1937 respectively and a paratroop training school was established at Stendal in early 1937.

Para Badge – Fallschirmschützenabzeichen der Luftwaffe

The Paratrooper’s qualification badge was instituted by Hermann Göring on November 5th, 1936 for award to Luftwaffe personnel who had written the required tests and completed six parachute jumps. Individuals who were awarded the badge were obligated to re-qualify annually in order to retain it. On May 2nd, 1944 award of the badge was extended to include Luftwaffe medical, administrative and legal personnel who had passed the required tests and completed one parachute jump.

Subscribe for more … Kind Regards,

Sascha

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Panzer Assault Badge Silver made by Hymmen

Hi Collectors,

today I like to show you a special Panzer Assault Badge out of my collection. It is a really rare Hymmen badge, hollow and made of tombak.

Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen , Panzerkampfabzeichen Silber
Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen

It measures 59 mm in height and 41 mm width. It weighs about 15 Gramm. Shows a German tank on a grass filed (without flowers).

As you can see the swastika is polished and shines like a mirror. There are no signs of wear on the front side, the silver finish is extremely good and nearly untouched.

If you look on the backside you find a round wire catch which holds a long round pin with a sharp pin tip. The hinge is formed like a block hinge and attached on the backside of the eagle.

To the history of the Panzer Assault Badge:

Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen , Panzerkampfabzeichen Silber
Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen

The Panzer Assault Badge in silver was instituted by on December the 20th, 1939 by Walther von Brauchitsch who was a Generaloberst in the Wehrmacht.

It was instituted as an award to all ranks of tank personnel who served as a tank commander, driver, gunner or radio operator and had been involved in three different armored assaults on three different days. The institution order indicated the criteria for award of the badge was to be effective as of January 1st,  1940.

Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen , Panzerkampfabzeichen Silber
Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen

On June 1st, 1940 a Bronze version of the Panzer Assault Badge was introduced for award to Panzer-Grenadier, medical, and armored car personnel who participated in three different armored assaults on three different days.

Silver PAB given to the troops about 22.000

Bronze PAB given to the troops 12.500

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Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen , Panzerkampfabzeichen Silber
Panzer Assault Badge Silver hollow Hymmen
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Cuff title Geschwader General Wever

Hello Collectors,

today I like to show you a cuff title of the Luftwaffe. It came from a little grouping of a Luftwaffe soldier. He had the Iron Cross 2nd class, the wounded badge in black and a radio operator badge.

Cuff title Geschwader General Wever / Ärmelband Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever

No papers or pictures from his active duty.  I can`t remember when I bought that for my collection but that’s also years ago. You see the normal deep blue (sort of navy blue) wool construction with machine embroidered script in “Gothic” style.

Cuff title Geschwader General Wever / Ärmelband Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever

Threads are in white/grey and open back. Not hand made with silver/aluminum wire threads like the version for officers. They folded top and bottom over and stiched it with blue thread to the reverse. A textbook example without any doubt. Length 51 cm and 3,5 cm wide.

Cuff title Geschwader General Wever / Ärmelband Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever / Ärmelband Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever

This cuff title was never on a uniform.  Maybe the soldier got three of them for the uniform and put only two of them on his jacket.

To the history of the Geschwader General Wever:

The Geschwader General Wever, (General Wever Squadron), Commemorative Honor cuff title was one of a series of commemorative honor cuff titles introduced by the Luftwaffe to honor fallen comrades and heroic pilots of WWI.

Cuff title Geschwader General Wever / Ärmelband Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever

The Geschwader General Wever cuff title was introduced on June 4th, 1936 for wear by all personnel serving with Kampfgeschwader Gotha, (Bomber Wing Gotha). The cuff title was to be worn by all ranks on the lower right sleeve of the service tunic and officers were also authorized wear of the cuff title on the lower right sleeve of the flight blouse and the optional white summer tunic.

Cuff title Geschwader General Wever / Ärmelband Geschwader General Wever
Cuff title Geschwader General Wever backside

Officer’s cuff title were produced in hand embroidered silver/aluminum wire threads while EM/NCO’s were produced in machine embroidered silver/grey threads. During the war Kampfgeschwader Gotha was re-designated Kampfgeschwader 253, then Jagdgeschwader 131 and finally Kampfgeschwader 4, but personnel retained the right to wear the cuff title.

Wever died in an airplane crash on June 3rd 1936.

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Sascha

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Wounded Badge in Gold 1939 L/53 (Hymmen)

This Wounded Badge in Gold 2. Form 1939 is from the collection of „Kanne“ who has a big variety of wounded badges in his drawers. He supported us with pictures of this one, because it is a rare maker L / 53 (Hymmen & Co., Lüdenscheid) which is not found very often on the market. All badges made by the company Hymmen are in a higher price area, so if a Hymmen submerges, it is always sold quickly.

Wounded Badge Gold L 53 Hymmen (1) Verwundetenabzeichen Gold
Wounded Badge Gold L 53 Hymmen

On this wounded badge you can clearly see that it has been worn in the field. That tells us the owner had several wounds during combat and was still on duty. So we can assume he didn´t lose a leg or arm. The badge was made of tombak with along round needle pin. The catch is rectangular (in this case bent through hard wear.) A nice badge which “has seen some action on the frontline”.

History behind the wounded badges:

Established on March 3rd, 1918 by Kaiser Wilhelm II to recognize the sacrifice of those who were wounded during the War 1914 –1918. Three classes were instituted. There was black, silver and gold which were given to the soldiers. Reflecting the number or severity of the wounds received.

Wounded Badge Gold L 53 Hymmen (3) Verwundetenabzeichen Gold
Wounded Badge Gold L 53 Hymmen

On May 22nd, 1939 Adolf Hitler re-instituted a slightly modified version of the wound badge with the addition of a swastika to the WWI pattern badge for award to German volunteers who had been wounded supporting the Spanish Nationalist Falangist serving in the Legion Condor (July 1936-March 1939). With the outbreak of World War II, on September 1st 1939 with the attack on Poland, Hitler was again re-instituted another slightly modified version of the wound badge by altering the World War I pattern helmet on the badge to the newly designed M35 style helmet of the Wehrmacht. The badge was awarded to both military and uniformed non-military personnel and

Wounded Badge Gold L 53 Hymmen (2) Verwundetenabzeichen Gold
Wounded Badge Gold L 53 Hymmen

later, (March 1943), to civilian personnel who received wounds as a result of enemy actions.

 

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