Arnim

I found the information I need.

One of my associates has come across the tunic which he believes to be that of Oberst Ernst Seifert. The probable date of the tunic is 1936 or 1937 and the loops indicate a seven-place ribbon bar. Unfortunately there is vertially no information about this officer other than photographs.

Can anyone tell me what awards he had? A photo of him as a general with his ribbon bar indicates the Iron Cross, the Albrechts-orden Knights Cruss 1st class with swords and 2nd class with swords, the Honor Cross and two Wehrmacht long service ribbons, probably the 1st and 3rd class.

Did Seifert serve in the Reichswehr? What did he do after the war?

Thanks for looking!

I have posted these questions on another forum. There seems to be no interest here.

Cheers

That is not true. There was no requirement for another Austrian award. Nor for the Bulgarian or Hungarian awards. Some applied for all three, some for only one, some for any combination of two.

For example:

Oberst Helmuth Abel received the Austrian War Commemorative Medal on 24.12.1936..

Oberstlt.(W) Paul Ahlfeld received the Austrian and Hungarian commemoratives.

Oberstlt. Arthur Ahrens received the Hungarian commemorative on 8.8.1939 and the Bulgarian commemorative on 11.10.1939.

Oberstlt. Dr. jur. Georg Aßmann received the Austrian (20.12.1934), Hungarian (20.11.1937) and Bulgarian (14.1.1938) commemoratives.

Each of these officers only received the EK2 in World War I.

My German friend's response regarding the requirements for an Austrian commemorative:

Das ist schon möglich, österreichisches Gesetz war allerdings man braucht eine Kriegsauszeichnung als

Grund für die Erinnerungsmedaille. für die Schwerter musste man eine Tapferkeitsauszeichnung oder eine Auszeichnung mit der Kriegsdekoration und / oder den Schwertern vorweisen können.

Thank you for that information. I have asked my friend for clarification.

On the issue of the first ribbons, here is a "blow up" which clearly shows three stripes on the second ribbon. Numbers three and four can also be seen more clearly.

Also, it was not uncommon for awards to be awarded much later. I am told that some WWI medals were in fact awarded after the war had ended. Given the confusion after the war and during the Weimar period, I am not sure whether later Ranglisten could be considered 100% accurate in every case.

I hate to keep replying to my own post, but the more I look at the close-up photo the more I am convinced that the second ribbon is not the East Front ribbon. It has a light colored center stripe and two light side stripes. The center stripe is not blurry, bor are the other light colored stripes. The adjacent EKII isn't blurred and the center stripe of the second ribbon is almost as wide as two white stripes of the EKII ribbon. The white center stipe of the East Front ribbon is very thin and it is bracketed by black stripes of the same width.

I was reminded by a German friend that in order to qialify for the Austrian WWI commemorative, Schopper would have had to have earned an Austrian war decoration, which he did not.

On second thought, I don't think foreign WWII awards are the answer. The general already had 9 or 10 ribbons on his sew-on bar by the middle of 1943. The last two are likely Austrian and Hungarian WWI commemoratives as you have suggested. Were these "applied for" like the Ehrenkreuz?

By the way, only my paternal grandfather applied for the medal. My great uncle and maternal grandfather did not. They were both disgusted with the "Great War" and they were both Social Democrats!

It is hard to say. Based on regulations, the Ostfrontmedaille would be in second place, but many "higher ups" placed the ribbon further down the line. Being a "sew-on," the ribbon bar moves up and down like a roller-coaster so the angle on the second ribbon is not "head-on." I am familiar with the photo you posted.

Yes, the other possibilities would include WWI commememoratives. If he had received other WWI combat / service awards, they woud have appeared on your Rangliste. The ribbons towards the end of his bar seem to be lighter colors, so the Austrian and Hungarian commemoratives would seem logical. His WWII service included Army Group Central and Army Group South, did it not? Perhaps he received a couple of Romanian awards like the Crown Order and/or the Crusade medal. Where would I look to research this possibility?

That was my first conclusion too, but as you can see from the attached photo, the second medal does not look like the Ostfront The center stripe is too wide.

Thanks, Dave. Yes, he was born in Zeulenroda which is now in Thüringen. I have seen a photo of him taken in 1943 with a rather long ribbon bar so he must have recived other WWI awards, possibly the Hamburg Hanseatenkreuz which appears to be the second ribbon on the bar. I am hoping that someone has the actual refernce book which might help to indentify the other awards.

I have been trying to find information about this officer. He was a lieutenant of artillery during WWI and served in the Reichswehr between the wars. By the end of WWII he had attained the rank of Generalleutnant. There seems to be very little information about this officer. I am trying to determine his WWI awards but I do not have access to a ranglist. I would also like to find out more about his Reichswehr service - my father was in the Reichswehr also.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Many thanks!

What is the significance of the swords / bayonets? Are these added if the award was for combat? Do they come in "colors?"

Did the bar ever arrive?

Who is the staff officer who earned these awards?

I have noticed that there are a number of different sizes to the 1939 Spange. It comes as a pin-on to be mounted above the EKI. It comes as a ribbon bar device to be mounted on top of the 1914 EKII ribbon. It comes as a larger device to be pinned to the buttonhole ribbon, and there seem to be at least two sizes for parade bars. Are there others?

How many 1939 Spangen versions are there and what are their dimensions?

Thank you very much!

I only have seen this, which I saved from a thread at militaryphotos.net :

Slovak officers.jpg

Would it be too much trouble for you to identify these officers (and their ribbon bar awards)?

Has anyone ever seen a multiple awards ribbon bar with 2, 3, or more Slovak ribbons? Why only singles?

A fellow in Slovakia helped me to identify these ribbon bars. He has a number of ribbon bars and devices in his collection, but only three Slovakian ribbon bars have multiple awards - one is a four-place, the other two are three-place bars.

I had not intended to buy any of these. The Pribina I found offered on eBay by a fellow in Bulgaria who was asking much more - I made him a small offer and he took it. The two others I found here in the US - part of a grouping.

Neither seller knew what these ribbon bars were or their true value. I took advantage of their ignorance! That is part of life! It is not really whom you know, it is what you know!

As a student of history, I look at these objects and wonder who the men were who received these awards and where these ribbon bars have been for 70 years! From now on they will be identified and appreciated!

What can you tell me about the Pribina award? Was this ribbon bar awarded to an officer? Was he a Slovak or German, perhaps a Romanian. How did it get to Bulgaria?

Perhaps a Bulgarian received this award.

Please help me.

More:

Bar with eagle device: Slowakischer Kriegs-Siegesorden - IV. Klasse

Bar with silver swords & wreath: Slowakischer Kriegs-Siegesorden - VI Klasse

Top bar: Slowakischer Fürst-Pribina-Orden - IV. Klasse

The Prince Pribina ribbon is for the lowest order of the award.

I just learned that the last ribbon is not Slovak but the Dutch Mussert Kreuz ribbon bar! That explains the size difference!

I recently had the good fortune to acquire four Slovakian ribbon bars issued during WWII. I believe them all to be genuine.

The rarest of the four is the Prince Pribina Order with wreath and swords

Two are version of the War Victory Cross with devices - state eagle and silver wreath and swords.

The last one is the Bravery Medal - 2nd Class - silver

Can someone explain the significance and grade of these ribbon bars and their rarity. Of course I would like to know if they are genuine!http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-5307-0-71217200-1370482883.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-5307-0-18641600-1370483062.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2013/post-5307-0-85211300-1370483146.jpg

I have four Slovakia ribbon bars recently acquired.

Here is the ribbon bar. Please may I have your comments.

I recently won an eBay auction for a ribbon bar for the 4th class version of the 1940-1944 Slowakischer Fürst-Pribina-Orden - red with narrow blue center stripe and a swords and wreath device with blue and red enamel. Does any have a list of those who were awarded this medal?