DDR East German unknown medas

[Troy Tempest]

Hi gents, I bought these as they were cheap as chips, but I have no idea what they are, the seller couldn't speak English, I received the following description:

Biete

Top- Satz Med.

Kampfgruppe

B-S-G-Gold

DDR

Sorry about the photo, when I receive them I'll take a better one.

[Kev in Deva]

Hi gents, I bought these as they were cheap as chips, but I have no idea what they are, the seller couldn't speak English, I received the following description:

Biete

Top- Satz Med.

Kampfgruppe

B-S-G-Gold

DDR

Sorry about the photo, when I receive them I'll take a better one.

Hallo Troy,

they are all connected to the old D.D.R. (East Germany) some are already featured on the Forum.

Kevin in Deva.

[Paul R]

They are Kamfgruppen long service medals

[Troy Tempest]

Hi Paul, thanks for that. So I'm thinking the one on the left, the gold one, would be the higher grade, and the next three would go down in service depending on how many stripes are on the ribbon? What is a kampgruppe in the DDR? Not the same as a WWII German Kampgruppe?

[Paul R]

Hi Paul, thanks for that. So I'm thinking the one on the left, the gold one, would be the higher grade, and the next three would go down in service depending on how many stripes are on the ribbon? What is a kampgruppe in the DDR? Not the same as a WWII German Kampgruppe?

Hi Troy,

You are correct. I think that they are in five year increments.

The medals are for the DDR Period.

Regards

Paul

[speedytop]

Hi,

the "Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse" are a paramilitary organization, appr. 400,00 men.

An unofficial name was "Volkssturm" .

It was like the "National Guard" in the USA.

The medals from the right to the left are for 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service in the Kampfgruppen.

They are not rare .

Regards

Uwe

[Troy Tempest]

Hi Uwe, thanks for that! And at about 4 or 5 euros I didn't think they were rare! There must be loads of this DDR stuff lying around?

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Troy

while not RARE it can be hard to find some pieces, anyway its a good investment for the future

Kevin in Deva.

[Troy Tempest]

Hey, at these prices, I could acquire quite the (non-rare) extensive collection! Are there any books or guides to DDR militaria in English that you know of?

[Ed_Haynes]

Hey, at these prices, I could acquire quite the (non-rare) extensive collection! Are there any books or guides to DDR militaria in English that you know of?

"Militaria" or medals? If "medals", I don't know of anything in English, but with very basic (or no) German you can use:

Frank Bartel, DDR-Spezialkatalog, vol. 1, Staatliche Auszeichenungen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1949-1990, 3rd ed. ([berlin: Internationale Sammlerb?rse Berlin, 2003]; ISBN 3-937637-11-1)

Ingo G. Haarke and Andr? H?sken, Deutschland-Katalog: Orden, Ehrenzeichen and Auszeichnungen der Deutsche Demokratischen Republik, 1st ed. ([Hamburg: Ingo G. Haarke and Andr? H?sken], 1991/92; no ISBN)

See: http://www.omsa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=626

[Troy Tempest]

Hi Ed! Thanks for that mate, I'll check out Amazon.de first and see what's in stock.

[Paul R]

There are a few references listed here:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=7707&st=0

[Troy Tempest]

Wow Paul, I only wanted ONE book! Thanks for that link.

[Paul R]

Wow Paul, I only wanted ONE book! Thanks for that link.

Not a problem. They are most easily found on Ebay of Germany. www.ebay.de

You might have to execute a bit of patience, but one will show!