Flower War Medals

[stevo4361]

Hey guys,

Just thought I would share my newly finished set of Flower War medals, just got the Memel in today's mail! Have cases for the Austrian and Czech, but still need the red Memel one. And I guess I should introduce myself too, I collect German Imperial and TK medals, pretty small but growing collection, and glad to be here.

Kind Regards,

Steve

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Edited September 23, 2005 by stevo4361

[stevo4361]

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(sorry for the poor scans)

[stevo4361]

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[stevo4361]

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[Paul R]

Welcome to the forum, Steve! Nice "Flower" Medal series!!

Best regards

Paul

Edited September 24, 2005 by Paul Reck

[George Stimson]

Yep, a very nice set!

[stevo4361]

Thanks guys!

Kind Regards,

Steve

[Paul R]

Does anyone know why the regulations only allow the wear of two... Surely there were people out there that could have qualified for all three?

Best regards

Paul

[stevo4361]

Not sure about why the regulation was in place, but believe I read somewhere that Herr Himmler was the only one to wear all three.

Kind Regards,

Steve

[George Stimson]

Here's a picture of Heinrich Himmler's medal bar, with all three Flower Wars medals.

[Paul R]

Nice!!!

Is this bar in private hands or does it reside in a museum?

[George Stimson]

I don't know. The picture is from John R. Angolia's For Fuhrer and Fatherland -- Political and Civil Awards of the Third Reich, second edition.

[Douglas Jr.]

Steve,

In first place, let congratlate you for this lovely set! They surely looks nice when put side by side. I have both Austrian and Sudeten Medals (the laer with the Prague Castle bar) but still miss the Memel one. But I think I?ll add one up to the end of the year...

I also read that regulation do not allow to wear all the three Flower War?s medal at the same time. I knew that Himmler wear them against this rule, but recently I found this picture of Dr. Theodor Morell (Hitler?s medic) where you can see the trio in his ribbon bar:

My question is: if there was such rule (that forbid the wear of the three medals at the same time) it was only for Medal bars or also for ribbon bars?

Douglas.

[Guest Rick Research]

The "only two" rule would have to be dug out of the Reichsgesetzbl?tter, presumably came up between the Prague bar and the "Westwall" Medal creations BUT

that applied ONLY to members of the Wehrmacht.

It did NOT apply to Nazi Party organizations.

I suppose the intention was to prevent people strutting around with four ribbons and a device for 18 months and not a shot fired, once the real war began. The military probably felt that with ONE award for all of 1914-18 (the Hindenburg Cross)... this trend was devaluaing "real" campaign medals. The Nazis, on the other hand, loved playing Dress Up and wore whatever they could.

So a ribbon bar like Dr. Morell's would be identifiable as NON-military, were it to turn up as an anonymous item.

[Paul R]

Steve,

In first place, let congratlate you for this lovely set! They surely looks nice when put side by side. I have both Austrian and Sudeten Medals (the laer with the Prague Castle bar) but still miss the Memel one. But I think I?ll add one up to the end of the year...

I also read that regulation do not allow to wear all the three Flower War?s medal at the same time. I knew that Himmler wear them against this rule, but recently I found this picture of Dr. Theodor Morell (Hitler?s medic) where you can see the trio in his ribbon bar:

My question is: if there was such rule (that forbid the wear of the three medals at the same time) it was only for Medal bars or also for ribbon bars?

Douglas.

Interesting uniform the good Doctor has! Are there any more pics of him in his uniform?

Sorry for getting

[Douglas Jr.]

Ricky,

Many thanks for your explanation!

Paul,

Here is the only other picture I have of Morell with this military-like medical tunic. It is in black & white, but check the Knight?s Cross to the War erit Cross withouth Swords at his neck. Nice, isn?t it?

Douglas.

[Paul R]

Definately interesting! I love his Kinght's Cross of the War Merit Cross!

Is his uniform part of an organization, or is it something he put together by himself?

I have never seen anything like it!

Thank you for posting the pic, Douglas!

Paul

[stevo4361]

Thanks for all the extra information guys, fascinating stuff and adds more depth to the 'Flower War' medals!

Thanks!

Kind Regards,

Steve

[TerryG]

Nice set STeve. Far from me to spoil your pleasure but having read a lot of comments on the Memel medals in another forum, I am still very confused about the curved shape of the letter "m" and "g". What do members of this forum think about these issues? Here's the back of mine.

Edited October 6, 2005 by TerryG

[TerryG]

and here's the one believed to be "incorrect" by the other forum:

[TerryG]

More info from Detlev Niemann.

[stevo4361]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for bringing it up, I hope a discussion comes out of it about the authenticity of my Memel medal. I think mine is OK, but am far from an expert and very willing to learn. The chocolate color, the outer ring being relatively the same size, (as opposed to Detlev's fake) the lack of the "coppery" color, the overall good detail, and some other characteristics lead me to believe it is a good one, along with who I purchased it from. (Evaluate the item, not the buyer; I know but I trust the seller who is not a dealer) It also matches a Memel from a collector who sent me scans of his Memel, and he got his directly from a family member who earned his. From the research I did (albeit still inexperienced), I was comfortable with it, but again am more than willing to learn if a more experienced collectors believe it is a dud. Hope some more experienced guys can chip in regarding the authenticity, and thanks Terry, and from what I gather you believe mine to be bad?

Kind Regards,

Steve

Edited October 6, 2005 by stevo4361

[TerryG]

I do not believe one way or the other. As you point out we, in these forums, tend to rely on other's opinions but how do they know? Where is the manufacturer's original catalogue? There are rather few examples of the Memel medal issued so it makes it even more difficult to get a concensus I guess. As I say, many members the WAF seemed to feel strongly against the curved "m".

[stevo4361]

Thanks Terry,

First off, I do not mean to offend you sir, my only intent is for a discussion on the Memel, which has been discussed at WAF quite a bit too. Haha interestingly enough I have the same scans on my computer of the same "bad" Memels you posted, and to be honest I don't think there will ever be a true "conclusion" to the debate on them. Hope you didn't take offence, and I sincerely value your opinion. If it is not too bold, I would really like to know what Mr. Stimson thinks on this one, as I know he has an extensive Flower War collection.

Kind Regards,

Steve

[TerryG]

Maybe I did not express myself very well. I also deplore the lack of proper official information on these medals and remain sceptical about people claiming that one medal is a fake simply because it does not correspond exactly with their own version...Like you I am not yet convinced about the authenticity of one version against another.