NSDAP Medal bar

[Gary B]

Hi,

Here is a rare medal bar that came from an old collection. The bar belonged to a Gauleiter and came as part of a grouping. Unfortunately the grouping was split up in the sale and the name of the Gaulieter was fogotten. I hope to be able to ID the bar one day.

Gary B

Edited March 18, 2006 by Gary B

[Guest Rick Research]

Gary: I hope to God you can send this right back for a refund, because it is most assuredly no "Gauleiter's" bar and almost certainly is one of the VERY recent Frankenstein parts frauds now flooding the market. A good shot of the reverse will help, and note especially the metal of the inside of the bar itself and the pin and catch, as well as cloth backing. Flash those ribbons with a blacklight for electric blue glow from the white stripes.

The combination here makes literally no sense:

[attachmentid=31175]

#9 = the FORTY years civil service cross. Awards were halted 30 January 1943 "for the duration" which means that this supposed fellow can NOT have entered government service later than 1902:

he was supposedly a Bavarian

#2 the Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with Swords on frontline ribbon was given ONLY up to the rank of Unteroffizier, as an initial bravery award. The imperial army rank of Sergeant got it as a first award with a crown, and the lower ranks could get that crown as a second award. Our so-called civil servant MUST have had at least 12 years of service to the state in by 1914...

and yet was a very lowly junior NCO of the reserve at best and with no reserve/Landwehr long service award.

#3 the Ludwig Cross was given ONLY for rear area war merit, and when no other Bavarian WW1 award had been bestowed already. THIS green finished type was given out in 1917 ("15 years at least" into our wearer's career)... and which means he could only have received #2 AFTERWARDS-- in 1918!

#5 should be in 2nd place. It can often be found as here, but one would have supposed a Super Nazi-- even a geriatric one-- would have placed his loftiest WW2 award in its proper place

speaking of which

#10 the 1939+ Volkspflege Medal was given out by the status of the recipient, not the degree of "Red Cross" related merit. The medals were given to ranks and equivalents from ordinary private to First Lieutenant. THAT is the glass ceiling of the supposed wearer, after 40 years of government service.

#11 the Civil Defense Medal here makes SIX decorations: quite an awe inspiring record indeed for somebody who at 60-something was only at most an "Oberleutnant." A Hero Underachiever, perhaps? This just doesn't add up-- and is sadly typical of the very recent bars made up with bottom end enlisted decorations in mass bulk that would have rivalled the Red Baron's number of awards!

And then we have the grand sweep of all THREE Nazi Party long service crosses,

#s 6-8. THESE indicate that said very old, very low status person could somehow "double dip" not ONLY as a lifelong civil servant but ALSO as a uniformed NSDAP functionary able to claim (and they did indeed very often cheat and stretch the points, but!) with Party membership going back to the legendary 1925 days. These crosses were NOT given for simple dues paying membership-- that is what the Gold Party Badge was for (and many of those 22,000 or so GPB wearers got zero NSDAP awards otherwise). Granted, long Party service did not correlate with rank, so theoretically it might be possible to be a 1925 career Party functionary and only an NCO level in the SA or Political Leader Corps... but at age 60+?

Finally, our "lifetime" Bavarian civil servant, joined no LATER than 1902, does NOT have the 1911/12 Luitpold Jubilee Medal for the civil service.

It doesn't add up.

It can NOT be explained.

The story you were told by whoever sold it to you CAN be shown, above, to have been impossible.

I would send it right back wherever it came from. Better the bearer of bad news now than that you get stuck with what must certainly have been a very expensive parts (at best) bar and a total Frankenstein fraud bar at worst.

"Parts" aren't worth a real medal bar, only what the loose, ribbonless, real pieces are valued at.

Was this an eBay find or from a "Big Dealer" website?

[MattGibbs]

I appreciate that it is possible but if I was lucky enough to have had a grouping to a Gauleiter I doubt, since there was only 40 odd of them, that I would ever forget it! Never mind forget the name.

The nearest I have ever had is an item to a deputy gauleiter and I shall never forget that. In fact, even though I don't have it now I am still researching the guy! LOL

Regards

Matt Gibbs