Hauptmann

Hi all, Okay, the concensus seems to be to go with the one I have. Again please don't judge me on this one as at least I feel someone is going to nail this right off the bat. But, here goes, my holiday gift to one and all: What am I? Who did I belong to? Why was my owner famous? Name some awards my owner earned. I hope it's not super, super simple... but I do hope it is easy enough to give everyone a bit of a break during the holidays. Good luck to all! Dan

Dear Christian, Many thanks my friend. As far as my next question... although I've been off for two days I've still not had much time or brain power to come up with something I feel is really good. I have one in reserve but fear it may be too easy. So the question for now is should I hold off a few more days and do it right or should I go ahead with this one and hope for the best? Let me know and I'll go from there. Thanks! Dan

Hi Charles, Congratulations my friend! I'm soooooo happy for you! See... I told you that the good Lord would provide and so He did, in droves! Those are fantastic. And the first one just goes to prove that my age old expression often works... "It never hurts to ask.". I've done lost count of how many times I've asked in a conversation and the goodies start falling my way... out of thin air. One never knows from where the treasures will fall. Keep up the great work as there's tons more to be found before you head back home. Dan

Hi Rick, Many thanks for posting your examples. Wow... if that other award is about the size I think it is then these 50 year pins must be awfully tiny! As I say I've only seen pics... never one in the flesh so I'm really looking forward to getting mine and seeing what they actually look like. You'd sure think they'd have done something more impressive... but then again this is the same bunch who did those 25th Anniversary of the end of the GPW medals which compared to the rest of the series is a joke by comparison... I like them but still very tinny and small. Am I correct that the 50 year pins are silver which has been plated? Dan

Hi Rick, Sorry I'm so late in responding but have been up to my ears at work (3 jobs and may be heading into a 4th). I'm very glad you've enjoyed my posts. And I definitely agree that our fellow members here are life savers when it comes to keeping us safe and happy in this hobby. I'd also like to say welcome aboard! I look forward to seeing your posts as well and wish you much luck with your collection as well. Dan

Hi Christophe, Well, didn't expect that but many thanks my friend! I worked on this after finishing up two of my jobs last night and was not at the top of my form. Plus I simply could not find that last one... but sounds like it is indeed a bit obscure... at least nothing was mentioned on the web that I could find, or in any of my meagre supply of references. Definitely a good question! If it's okay I may need a little time to come up with something this time. I'm working again in just a few hours and still need to catch up on sleep. I'm only up to take Kim over to work. I'm only on till 9 p.m. (cst) tonight and then I'm off for two days from one of my jobs... the other two don't take up too much of my time so I'll have more time to figure out what the next question will be. If I can't come up with it at some point tomorrow then I'll be happy to pass it along to someone else. Again many thanks!!!! Dan

Hi Christophe, I've only been able to get this far: On February 6, 1989 Chris Gueffroy and his friend Christian Gaudian attempted to escape the DDR as they were under the mistaken impression that the border guards would no longer shoot those trying to escape. They were spotted by the DDR border guards who rushed in from both sides, shouted warnings, fired warning shots and finally took aimed shots killing Chris Gueffroy (who was the last person to be killed trying to escape the DDR) and his friend was wounded, taken into custody and sentenced on May 24, 1989 to three years in prison by the Pankow District Court for attempted illegal border crossing of the first degree. In September of 1989 he was freed on bail by the East German government and on October 17, 1989 was transferred to West Berlin. On April 8, 1989 the last escape attempt from the DDR was made at Checkpoint Chausseestrasse when the escape of two teenagers was prevented by the gunfire of the DDR border guards. Sadly I cannot find anything I can see connecting all this on April 16, 1989. Here is a picture of Chris Gueffory on a memorial at Checkpoint Charlie: From: http://www.lilano.de/catalog/product_info....products_id/139 And the monument set up in 2003 at the Britz District Canal in Berlin's Treptow-Kopenick Borough: Assuming this is all correct then I'll keep trying on April 16th and see what I can come up with... but someone else may beat me to it. Dan From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gueffroy

My understanding is these were silver (gold plated and enameled). Neat little badges. Can't wait till it arrives so I can see it in person as so far I've only seen pics of these. If anyone has any other examples of either the badge or document I'd love to see them. And of course if anyone has any additional info on these please feel free to add to the thread. I'd looked but could not find any of these so hoping this will be another good topic. Thanks, Dan

Hi all, Here's my latest... a gift from my Mrs. I've seen these badges by themselves on Ebay a few times as well as a few dealer sites... but I've only seen the document for one on a dealer site and that separate from the badge. I love this as it's a complete set: From what I understand it was awarded to an Armenian by the name of Ohajanian Hrachia Agasievich... a member of the Communist Party since 1931.

Many thanks! It keeps growing bit by bit but it's definitely a labor of love. Dan

Hi Gordon, No problem at all. Just glad it all worked out. And many thanks for the info on that one badge set. Just went by what Zsolt had it titled as on the original auction. Always great to learn more. And yes, Peter seems very nice and the magazine/book looks terrific. Can't wait till I can see/read it in person... hoping it arrives soon. Looks like it will also be a great reference for that period of Hungarian militaria, etc. Also many thanks to Jeff (Ulsterman) for his help re: the book. Hoping to post more soon. But for now I'm heading off to hit the sack. Mucho thanks! Dan

Hi all, Here's a nice medal set I picked up in the last month or so and this is the first chance I've had to post them: Wish I had a case for all the loose medals but hopefully I'll find some in time. Dan

Well, that's it for tonight. Need to hit the sack. But hoping to do more as soon as possible. Hope everyone enjoys and continues to do so. Special thanks to Gordon, Zsolt and very special thanks to Charles without whom I would not have been able to build up my Hungarian collection in anywhere close to the short period of time or in the quality of items that I've been able to obtain. Ya'll are simply the greatest! Dan

Although not an award or piece of militaria in and of itself I managed to find this neat reference book which I feel is a great addition to my collection: The pictures of the book as well as the medal immediately previous to this post are by Peter Czink (and used with his gracious permission) who was involved in the production of this publication. He does have more available for anyone that's interested. Send me a PM and I'll be happy to pass on the information.

Medal for Exemplary Service:

NCO Presentation set:

For Successful Work at MHSZ badge:

Excellent Border Guard Badge set (1950's):