The longest miniature chain I know

Utgardloki · June 5, 2019

I don't know if it has already been shared here, but I didn't find anything...

The following information is mostly from the magazine of the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde” Nr. 66. The article is also available online if you are fluent in German and further interested. The article contains information to every award on the chain.

This is one of the longest miniature chains I know. It was owned by Dr. Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach – a member of the well-known industrial family It is exhibited in the Villa Hügel, the Krupp – Mansion. It contains 48! Miniatures of the decorations he received. It was made by Godet around 1910 and updated till the end of the first world war. The full decorations are unfortunately gone since the end of the second world war, when the Villa Hügel was occupied and the archive confiscated by the Americans and English. (seems like some of the them took some souvenirs from there). He got the iron cross 2^nd class on the 17^th of January 1915, but not on the non-combatant ribbon but the normal Kämpferband, before it was started to award the EK with the Kämpferband for military merit in the homeland in March 1915 (in my opinion a stupid decision, dishonouring the brave man, who fought at the front). On the 17^th of April 1916 he also got the first class, when visiting the German HQ in France, another time rather unconventional for an industrial. The author of the article concluded that Krupp saw his decorations rather as an award for his business than himself. (so we can see the his EK1 as an award for his workers…)

Bildergebnis fÃ¼r gustav von bohlen und halbach leib garde husaren