alan_g

Hi Peter, I am sad to hear you think this device is a fake, just because it is not commonly found... Here is another example of this spange from my own collection for you to see... This one is with a material backing cloth...

Thanks Paul and Dave for your input on these two bars. It's such a close combo of awards which makes them quite unusual, but these do crop up out if the blue. I'm sure I saw another similar one on weitzes site with a medal bar. Best regards Alan

Hi Uwe, The date mentioned in the bottom block of text says 15.02.1941. The RZM wasn't around 20 earlier, as it was a Third Reich board of quality approval. Best regards Alan.

Not one of these in the devices database that I can see. Just had a quick look through. Best Regards Alan

Here is an official Third Reich ribbon bar tailor shop board dated to 1941, which features an array of different styles of ribbon bar brackets. Which would have been priced according to metals used, lengths etc. The board (printed cardboard, lists and explains what each bracket is made from, the dimensions and how many awards can be displayed per bar. At the bottom of the board in the written paragraphs is a write up on guidelines set by the RZM for ribbon bar construction, specifying the use of sewing techniques and glue as acceptable forms of construction with backing cloths as optional. This piece is the Holy Grail of German ribbon bars and manufacture and is the only written form of proof I have seen regarding any specification of guidelines published in the Third Reich for ribbon bar production.

Thanks Stogieman. I think these half heighters were a way of reducing the feeling of being "cluttered" on a uniform. They are neater than their bigger brother bars, which were restricting enough, especially if you were wearing one all the time.

Here is a 10 place ribbon bar to a veteran of WWI. The bar is dated to 1939. With the none combatant KVK present. Field grey backing could support a Heer related role beamter or Reich war ministry position. Iron Cross 1914-18 KVK Brunswick Medal Hessen Bravery Medal Hamburg Hanseatic Cross Honour Cross 1934 Austrian Commemorative medal 1938 40 years Faithful Service Medal Hungarian Commemorative medal 1938 Bulgarian Commemorative medal 1938

He sure would have liked this one and it's unusual construction. It's a shame someone used sticky gunge tape to put it on a display. I cannot get it off.

Hi Paul there is a faded Prussian long service medal in there.

Here is another ribbon bar with an array of nice devices and medals. It is mounted on thick celluloid, the ribbons indicate someone from a Naval background. Iron Cross 1914/18 with 1939 repetition spange. War Merit Cross 1939 with X Friedrich August Medal with Vor Dem Feinde Clasp Brunswick Bravery Cross with Reliability Spange Bremen Hanseatic Cross Honour Cross 1934 with X Baltic Cross medal 40 years long service Oaks? Or Chilean award?? 12 years long service eagle Sudetenland Medal 1938.

Would like to share this 8 place ribbon bar with a nice array of "regular" awards, followed on by some interesting foreign awards. A Bavarian junior officer or NCO during WWI. Added "padding" to his rack with the addition of commemorative medals for WWI Hungary and Bulgaria. The piece is dated to around 1939 with the KVK X being present in 2nd place. The foreign awards are the Japanese order of the Sacred Treasure and possibly the Swedish Vasa Order. I think the owner of this bar could have been a foreign diplomat possibly.

Here are two ribbon bars with Slovakian awards for merit and bravery with the rare enamel minis. The smaller ribbon bar belonged to Oberstleutnant Vico Von Rieben. On the longer ribbon bar there are ribbons for Romania and Bulgaria (officer grade).

Here are two similar ribbon bars for two guys who possible fought along side one another. They both have 25 years service. The ribbon bar features: Iron Cross 2nd Class 1914-18, (Both) Honour Cross with Swords, Honour Cross without swords. Prussian war aid Medal.(both) Long service medals for 25 years. Schinkel form one bar. Order of the Red Eagle (both) Chinese Commemorative Medal (both) Kaiser Wilhelm Commemorative medal 1897 (both) And Eiserner Halbmund.

Haha, well, I picked this piece up from an Austrian dealer about a year ago. Reckon it got seperated from the tunic at some point in time, as lots tend to get broken up. It was by chance I noticed the bar in the film, and thought it looked familiar. Held it up to the screen and bingo... identical match. Interesting story though!!

Here is a ribbon bar from my collection which belonged to an Austrian, who retained ties to Germany through period 1934 - 1938. This ribbon bar was worn on the German Generals uniform in the film Escape to Victory with Michael Cain and Sylvester Stallone. A nice little piece. Not one for the film, but was amazed to see one of the pieces from my collection on the big screen!!

Here are more scans

Here are the full bars. The bar with the eagle on the Olympic games ribbon has the persons initials etched on the back "TK".

And the bars it came on...

The bars they came on...

Front and back scans of the whole piece.

Here are scans of a ribbon bar I have had for a while now. Comprised of German, Austrian, Turkish and possibly Italian or Hungarian awards. The bearer was a holder of the Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939. But there are no indications of KVK X, or Russian Front ribbons, which, could have been awarded and displayed through tunic button holes. This ribbon bar was possibly made around 1934. The wiederholungsspange could have been added post 1939, as there are no 1938 commemorative ribbons present, which indicate to me that this guy didn't see the need for additional honours. This I think is an officers ribbon bar, but does not have the usual wreath device on the Austrian bravery medal. There is no reliability clasp on the Brunswick medal, which could have meant he didn't have a very active front line service in WWI, yet was awarded the Prussian life saving medal. Award for the Eiserner Halbmund 2nd from the end. And what I think could be a Hungarian award on the end? Any comments on this one would be appreciated.

I would like to share this small miniature ribbon bar device for the Imperial Red Cross medal. It is highly detailed and not commonly found.

Here is a photo of a ribbon bar miniature for the social welfare decoration. Simple design, good detail to the wings.

Here are scans of two highly detailed devices which were added to the luftschutz ribbon bars. Not commonly found.

This variant of the Wiederholungsspange is not commonly found on German ribbon bars. I think the piece was designed by Junker. It is a very distinctive eagle, and does not share the usual shape "standard range" of 1939 clasps, making this one of the rarer devices to find. This example is not in the Rick Research articles, and is one of the devices I wanted to share with him.