Weimar Wierdness

[landsknechte]

Item by item, I am slowly working on taking over Stogierick's collection.

Anyhow, this odd duck is soon to be taking it's place in my collection. I know it had been discussed on another forum, in a galaxy far far away. That thread has since vanished, along with the attempts to make sense of the Weimar-era chaos of it. Anyhow, I'd like to repost this bar in the greener pastures of this forum for another go around.

--Chris

[landsknechte]

It's odd, but I can almost see the logic in this bar. (Perhaps I shouldn't admit that in public.) Finding out what #1 is might blow my idea to smithereens, but there does seem to be a reasonable precedence if the nationalities of the awards are completely ignored.

1. ????

2. Finland Cross of Liberty 2nd Class

3. DSWA

4. Dutch Order of Oranje-Nassau

5. Finland War of Independence Commemorative

6. Prussian War Merit Cross

7. Lippe-Detmold KVK2 for combatants

Edited November 1, 2005 by landsknechte

[Pete A]

Hi Chris,

IF the second ribbon is supposed to represent the Finnish CoL2, that would be a 1941 (combatant) version, 1918 had red stripes on yellow. Maybe it's something else?

Pete

Edited November 1, 2005 by Pete A

[landsknechte]

Hi Chris,

IF the second ribbon is supposed to represent the Finnish CoL2, that would be a 1941 (combatant) version, 1918 had red stripes on yellow. Maybe it's something else?

Pete

The Hessian Red Cross decoration is the only other thing that comes to mind, but perhaps someone else out there is seeing something that I've missed.

--Chris

[Bob Hunter]

How did Stogieman describe it---"anything goes!"

[landsknechte]

How did Stogieman describe it---"anything goes!"

Tis true... Perhaps I was trying too hard to bring order out of the chaos, even if it was a warped and twisted sense of order.

...any clue what the decoration in first place is?

[Bob Hunter]

Chris, I think it would be fun bar to own just for the chaos of the period. Now you need a photo of someone with a wheelbarrow full of DM on the way to the bakery for a loaf of bread. That's Weimar Republic.

[landsknechte]

Chris, I think it would be fun bar to own just for the chaos of the period. Now you need a photo of someone with a wheelbarrow full of DM on the way to the bakery for a loaf of bread. That's Weimar Republic.

My personal favorite is the image of the guy wallpapering his house with 100 Mark notes.

I've got a few of those 1000 Mark notes that have the 1,000,000 Mark overstamp. Very telling relic of the period.

--Chris

[landsknechte]

Holy flippin' cow...

THIS was just posted on another forum:

[Bob Hunter]

Except for the swords it's deja vu all over again!

[Stogieman]

Cripes, who's the owner of that one and did they post a back as well??

[HeikoGrusdat]

gentlemen, it`s mine.....

[Stogieman]

Hi Heiko! Interesting, can we see the back? I want to see if it matches Chris' bar. It has to be the same guy, I cannot imagine 2 different people mounting this weird!

[landsknechte]

Hi Heiko! Interesting, can we see the back? I want to see if it matches Chris' bar. It has to be the same guy, I cannot imagine 2 different people mounting this weird!

Two people even having these same decorations on a ribbon bar would seem to be a stretch, let alone two people putting them on in the same incoherent order.

Here's the back of mine, for reference:

My gut instinct tells me this may have been some high level medical type, but with a bar this odd, it's hard to say anything with any certainty.

--Chris

[Guest Rick Research]

OK you guys... where's the medal bar, now?

[landsknechte]

OK you guys... where's the medal bar, now?

It's probably stashed somewhere secure along with the original owner's gravity bong.

In all seriousness, I probably couldn't afford the medal bar, but I've give my eye teeth to see the damn thing.

[HeikoGrusdat]

here is my back....

[landsknechte]

Now, as if these bars aren't confusing enough already....

The first ribbon looks most like either a pre-1913 Prussian XXI DA, or an old Nassau house order. At first glance, the latter would seem to be discounted with the 1866 annexation of Nassau. However, apparently Duke Adolph of Nassau continued to make awards while in exile from 1866-1890, and from 1890 to the present, it's been a decoration of Luxemburg.

In addition to the Hessian Red Cross medal, there was also a Dutch Red Cross medal that had that same ribbon as #2. Heck, as odd as this bar is, it wouldn't completely shock me if it turned out to be a British SGM.

[webr55]

Hm... what about a very simple idea: Maybe the precedence is just "in order received"??

(provided no. 2 is not Finnish and he got the last two post-1918)

[landsknechte]

Hm... what about a very simple idea: Maybe the precedence is just "in order received"??

(provided no. 2 is not Finnish and he got the last two post-1918)

The same idea has crossed my mind as well. Does anyone know when the last DSWA awards were granted, and when the Hessian Red Cross awards started being awarded?

[HeikoGrusdat]

hehe.... no way guys - it is a great misunderstanding that the southwest medal was only for the years 04-06. This medal was also awarded for soldiers in DSWA during ww1 in 1914!!! It is unbelievable but I have seen it in military papers and on reservist documents.... I don`t know if these were official awards or some kind of "giveaways"...

[Guest Rick Research]

You mean the official "Elephant" badge, or the unofficial "Lion?"

[HeikoGrusdat]

no no, I mean the southwestafrika medal from our bar.... I have seen documents and passes, papers and pictures with it - all from soldiers who were 100% ONLY 1914 in DSWA and not during the normal award time 1904-1908... maybe they had some hundreds left somewere in Windhoek or Karibib and gave them to the soldiers in ww1 - I don`t know...

[Guest Rick Research]

That would be a good new thread--

since they were all rounded up in Prisoner Of War camps by the end of 1915, that sounds like something "on paper" done like the Oberleutnants handing out Knight's Crosses--on paper-- in the summer of 1945!

[HeikoGrusdat]

it is the same thing with the Iron Crosses for southwest in 1914 - they had no ec`s there and wanted to decorate their soldiers.... what to do? Give the women some work... they made iron crosses of cloth for sewing them on the uniform!!! Great and ultra rare pieces - I still need one for my own collection