Gordon Craig

Watchdog, It is indeed interesting to watch the different states response to the new blue uniforms. I would have thought that all of the states would have been eager to go back to the traditional blue German police uniform. However, cost may be a factor here. I know that it was a major concern in Berlin of where to find the funds needed to convert to the new uniforms. I will continue to watch with interest where these new uniforms take them. Regards, Gordon

Watchdog, You are probably correct about the patch. I didn't say the policeman in the blue uniform was from Bavaria. I said he was wearing a different patch from the Bavarian one. Unfortunately, you are not about the uniform. The blue uniform pictured is the one adopted after the green uniform and in use today. Regards, Gordon

#8 and that is all of them

#7

#6

#5,

Ok, more photos. I didn't most more yesterday because I was in a small motel in West Vriginia and communications from the motel was poor. Took forever to load one picture. These next photos are from my second day at the MAX on Saturday. Nothing unusual that day but this was a day or slowly scanning the table to see what I had missed the day before. Regards, Gordon

Dan, I saw some large bundles of cash change hands. A friend sold a TR Political cap for $5,500.00. This solds like a lot but the hat was a rare one. To me, there was something for everyone at the MAX. That being said, you needed to have money to buy. It has always been "MAX prices" here which tend to be above what you might find elsewhere. I haven't been for many years so I wasn't up on the l;atest prices or what might be available. I'll be better prepared to buy the next time I go. Regards, Gordon

#4

#3

#2 All the pictures I took were in the first hall when you entered the convention centre. In this photo if you look right down the aisle the white board on the far wall is over the doorway to the second hall.

Gentlemen, The MAX has come and gone for another year but this year I was able to attend. Lots of changes since I last attended the MAX. The new location in the Monroeville Convention Centre works ok location wise because it is right next to the Double Tree hotel where the MAX used to be held. I was dimayed to see a number of empty tables on Friday morning. Considering dealers had all day Thursday to set up I don't see any excuse for that. There were also items with no militaria connection on some tables such as Russian nesting dolls, jewellery and one half row of table with geiger counters. Despite these small hickups I had two good days at the show and managed to add some DDR items to my collection. This came as a surprise because there is usually very little DDR militaria at the MAX. On Friday I bought a cream coloured navy gesellschaft jacket with naval third year student boards which probably do not belong on the jacket but since I don't have a set they will fit in quite nicely. On Saturday I went back to the same seller and bought a dark blue pair of wool breeches and a pair of woman's green with a darker green stripe down the outside of each leg. Both are MdI marked. We are still travelling so I haven't had time to go over them for markings. I'll post pictures etc once we get home around mid October. Now on to some photos of the MAX 2011.

Another page of the interior. I would appreciate it if someone could post pictures of an award document in Hungarian.

The interior.

The front cover of the document.

The badge in its open case.

Békéért jelvény; (For Peace badge) This badgel was instituted in October 1969 by the National Peace Council (Országos Béketanács) It was awarded to people who worked actively in Hungarian and international peace movements and made contributions for peace, socialism, solidarity and friendship between nations. It was awarded from 120 to 200 people a year on the 9th of May. The international peace movement probably refers to the World Peace Council which was, from the start, alleged to be a front organization of Communist Parties. I've posted pictures of this badge from my collection some time ago. Now, however, I would like to post pictures of one of these badges that was presented to an East German who occupied a senior position in that government. The name of the individual is not available for publication. The badge and document are not part of my collection but the current owner was kind enough to allow me to post them here. The document was of particular interest because it is an DDR FDJ (youth) document with a stamp of the Országos Béketanács on it. First up a picture of the entire group of medals and award documents. The Békéért jelvény is in the centre of the front row. Interestingly enough it is in a beige case. The badges in my collection, and those in other collections I have seen, were only in blue or grey. The blue cases had a plain top while the grey ones had a Peace Dove on them. This biege case is reported to have the Peace Dove on the exterior of the top as well. Regards, Gordon

Paul, Your welcome. Regards, Gordon

Bernie, Interesting EK. I have never seen this type of attachment before. Regards, Gordon

Paul, These are post war collar rank insignia for the Austrian police (Sicherheitswache) who came under the Ministry of the Interior. They ceased to exist in this form in 2005 when all of the police forces of Austria were combined into the Federal Police Force. The top one on the viewers right is for the rank of Gruppeninspektor/E2b (from reaching the salary level 15). It would be for the right collar as the eagle must face forward. The eagle device is missing from the other two collar tabs. The one on the lower left is for the rank of Aspirant and the one to the right of that is for the rank of Inspektor. The Corps insignia shows the wall of a city in the lower part and the eagle above it which signifies that the service protects the city and the people in it. Regards, Gordon

Erik, Interesting post war Military Sports badge. Typical badge of this time period. Regards, Gordon

Erik, Interesting pieces of paper. I am always interested in seeing documents from non military sources. They are often ignored although are more indicative of life in a country than the military documents. Regards, Gordon

Markgraf, Thanks for the photo from the mueums web site. I remember that exhibit now. The police museum is very interesting and well worth a visit. There is no charge for admission and it is easy to get to from Keleti on foot. Regards, Gordon

sabrigade, A very interesting area of collecting that we don't see many posts on. Thanks for taking the time to show them to us. Regards, Gordon

Markgraf, Interesting tableau of pictures of Communist era police uniform. I've been to the Military museum in Budapest many times but I don't remember the police mannequin you mentioned. I'll have to go through my photos of the museum and see if I can find any pictures of it. If memory serves me correctly, there is an authentic "Panama hat" in the Police Museum in Budapest. Are you a collector of Hungarian police uniforms? Regards, Gordon