Heer Help SB Entry - Hungarian Knights Cross+ H. Krone+ Dekoration

[AlecH]

Hello Gentlemen,

Been offered a soldbuch which belonged to a infantryman, it had the usual medal award entries - EK2, Infantry Assault, Wound Badges, plus this never seen (at least by me before) entry -" Ritterkreuz der Ungarn heilige Krone mit Dekoration" inside the jacket is a rather splendid soldbuch photo of him and the medal. Question, what would a German soldier need to have done, to be entitled to a Hungarian Knights Cross with Holy Crown and decorations - what exactly are decorations? I've included the soldbuch photo plus another of the medal. Any information about the medal would be appreciated.

Regards

[hucks216]

That is a great photo in the SB. I can't say I know much about Hungarian awards but I believe that the Order Of The Holy Crown Of Hungary was meant to be awarded to foreigners for meritorious service so maybe he served alongside Hungarian units in some capacity. He is obviously an officer so maybe he could of acted as a German liaison officer in the HQ of a Hungarian battalion or regiment etc that was under the control of a Wehrmacht unit. As for the decorations it might just refer to any additions to the basic award level such as the addition of swords etc. But that is just an educated guess I'm afraid.

[AlecH]

Kevin,

Thanks for the post. I was also thinking along the lines you wrote down, however for such a grandiose medal, awarded for liaison help, seems a little over-whelming. The two medals on the white background were offered at 6000 euro on a military website. Tomorrow, I'm going to the military collectors club, if the right members are there I may get some answers. I'll let you know, if anything turns up.

Regards

[Dave Danner]

The order in the lower picture on the white background looks like a Grand Cross set, so it should be pricier. It is also a rather rare decoration - the Hungarian Order of Merit was the more common award during the war, even for Germans.

The "Dekoration" is the wreath around the cross. It is the "war decoration", used to distinguish wartime awards from peacetime ones.

[AlecH]

Kevin, Dave,

Asked at the Military Collectors Club yesterday about the medal. They did surprisingly know about the medal, say a award, limited edition given only to foreign soldiers within the axis lands, had 8 classes, first four worn around the neck, the rest on the left breast. I did a search over google, came up with addition information, first five classes are enamelled given to the officers, the lower three are bronze given to the ranks. The Ritterkreuz medal, fifth in seniority was for junior officers, the war decorations as Dave points out are indicted by the green enamelled wreath. Still not sure how a rare piece it is ?

Regards

Edited November 27, 2011 by AlecH