webr55

Both have the same grey backing:

That was three years ago (I think I got it from you, Stogieman! )

But since last week, I have this:

I think this may have been the most expensive reunification since the German one.

In the beginning, there was this:

Well, Dybwad went flying in 1929:

---------

Lieber Dybwad !

Soeben erhalte ich Ihre Meldung ?ber Ihr Ausscheiden aus dem Regiment. Ich hoffe, da? Sie mit mir der gleichen Ansicht sind, da? dies nur eine durch die Verh?ltnisse bedingte Formsache ist. Da? Sie sich aber .... .... .... zum Regiment geh?rig betrachten, wie wir Sie auch k?nftig zu den Unseren z?hlen. Jedenfalls, wenn Sie einmal in schwieriger Lage sind, oder sonst nicht recht aus u. ein wissen, wie es immer einmal im Leben vorkommen kann, dann kommen Sie zu mir oder schreiben Sie mir. Ich werde stets bestrebt sein, Ihnen zu helfen, so gut es geht. Auch sonst hoffe ich, da? Sie ab und zu einmal von sich h?ren lassen werden.

F?r Ihre Fliegerzeit w?nsche ich Ihnen Hals u. Beinbruch, frohe Stunden und auch

Interessantes.

Mit herzlichem Gru? Ihr

Frhr. v. Fritsch

---------

Maybe he was forced to leave the Reichswehr due to the conditions of Versailles ("die Verh?ltnisse"), because no officer was allowed to fly?

Chris

Yes, I guess there was originally something else in place of the SS DA, like a Treudienst 25 or maybe an XV. Otherwise fine.

Nice... but no ones dares to comment on the SS bar... please show the back.

Chris

And on top of that: The two eagles both look gold to me. 25+ years of service, but where did he hide from WW1?

Oh my...

Wish I knew. I've been looking for a set of HaPag Kommodore straps from the Weimar era... and have no clue what they'd have looked like.

Is there any clue on the back of the buttons that would give some hint about a date pre-or post-1945?

No, nothing. They certainly look post-1945. But I have no idea whether these are Bundesmarine or merchant navy.

Georg Johannes Friedrich von Eppstein, raised to "Freiherr" in November 1918. An internet search confirms that he was Jewish and that the Nazi party apparently took issue with this late second ennoblement. It seems that he emigrated to the Netherlands after 1933, because he published something there on "Prins Bernhard" in Dutch in 1936. Or maybe it was just printed by a Dutch publisher.

The back. If this is the wrong forum, please move it to the correct one.

I have had these for many years. I suppose these are postwar items, but what branch and what time exactly?

Thanks

Chris

Why the wrong Volkspfleg medal? I have seen these on Gauleiters' bars.

Would love to see that!

The back looks very fresh and I might bet that the top bar is original and the lower bar was made to fit it.

That might be, I agree. But I bet the person who made the medal bar chose not only the wrong LS decoration but also the wrong grade of the Volkspflege decoration.

I couldn't find him as a General in the 1914 RL. Maybe he was zD already by then.

Not a diplomat. What you have here - RAO and Crown Order moved up to the neck - is a Prussian General. Question is whether this is a pre-WW1 bar, as there are no WW1 awards. A General would have had at least some war awards on his bar, I think.

More things are strange here: An XXV and in before 1897, but still - according to the Volkspflege medal - an Oberleutnant/Oberzahlmeister in 1940 - after 43+ years of service? An XXV AND a Treudienst 40?

The Kreuz des Allgemeinen Ehrenzeichens ribbon must be an error, since that was given only to very old NCOs. And maybe there was a Volkspflege 3rd cl in first place originally.

Please show us the back!

Chris

Hi

Have you got more papers from those men, like Kriegsranglisten etc. Nice group.

Regards

Christophe

Sadly, no. No documents survived WW2, especially the flight from East Prussia.

Thank you for your kind comments!

I think a) it depends and b) maybe it is possible going both ways.

Relying on print only has a number of disadvantages as well. Most important, you cannot add any new information easily, and you cannot correct mistakes - unless you keep doing new editions. Especially in case you want to add additional information on recipients - as it is coming in and not wait until you have all the stories together.

I agree that preservation of books by libraries is important, but I think this can be achieved by other mechanisms via the net as well. Information on the internet may vanish temporarily, but it can be copied more easily and brought up again later. Maybe it is possible to do a book with some stories, but an online site as well, which can be updated continously.

Regards

Chris

Many thanks, Glenn, as always!!

Chris

So, Glenn, please - any chance of finding their commission dates?

Chris

Emil did not get the EK1, but he survived WW1. He had however less luck in WW2: Emil Papendick is missing since the flight from East Prussia in 1945.

The only indication of what regiment Emil was in is this (sadly cut-off) postcard he got from his brother in (apparently) 1916. It is addressed to Lt u. Komp.fh. Emil Papendick in Inf. Regt. ... 451?

Another pic of him, however the resolution is not good enough to focus on the shoulder strap: