the medal bar of Konstantin Hierl

xxx · December 29, 2024

having some time between christmas and new year I was checking auction houses for interesting stuff. I stumble about something in the next auction from Czerny's in italy. under militaria there is a uniform and a medal bar, the medal bar is offerend under the name of Konstantin Hierl then the head of the Reich labour service.

his military career from the german wikipedia site "After attending the humanistic high school in Burghausen and Regensburg, Hierl joined the 11th Infantry Regiment "von der Tann" of the Bavarian Army in 1893 as an ensign. In 1895, he was promoted to lieutenant. From 1899 to 1902, Hierl attended the War Academy, which qualified him for the General Staff, the Higher Adjutantship and the teaching subject (tactics, military history).[1] In 1903, he was transferred to the General Staff's central office and in 1907, he was assigned to the Great General Staff in Berlin. A captain since 1908, Hierl was company commander in the 17th Infantry Regiment "Orff" from 1909 to 1911. He then worked as a teacher of military history and the history of the art of war at the War Academy until the start of the war. During the First World War, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel as a general staff officer in the Army Group "Crown Prince Rupprecht". His roles included that of chief of staff of the 1st Bavarian Reserve Corps and battalion commander in the 23rd Infantry Regiment "King Ferdinand of the Bulgarians". For his achievements, Hierl was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross, the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords and the Bavarian Military Merit Order, Third Class with Swords.[2] After the German defeat and the November Revolution of 1918, he organized a volunteer corps under his name, with which he participated in the suppression of the Bavarian Soviet Republic in Augsburg, Munich and the surrounding area. For a time, he was the city commander of Munich, where he met Adolf Hitler in 1919/20 and supported the German Workers' Party. He continued his military career initially in the Reichswehr Ministry and in the Reichswehr Group Command 1 and in the organization of the "Black Reichswehr". On September 30, 1924, however, Hierl was discharged from active service because he had supported Erich Ludendorff during the Hitler-Ludendorff putsch on November 9. However, it is still unclear today whether he was directly involved in the putsch. In addition, there were personal, professional and political differences between Hierl and General Hans von Seeckt that made further cooperation impossible. Hierl demanded that the Reichswehr become significantly more involved in the political events of the Weimar Republic, that paramilitary groups be given more support and that they adopt a more aggressive stance towards the victorious powers." https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Hierl

what I learned here : a lieutnant since 1895 = Centenar medal ?, the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords and the Bavarian Military Merit Order, Third Class with Swords

thats the way the medal bar is presentet in the auction https://www.czernys.com/a-146/?o=114675

they don't say its the medal bar of Konstantin Hierl but the arrangement makes it look like that. its no doubt the medal bar of a high ranking third reich official. the last three medals all together showing this because very few man were on all three events especially than also in memel. the backside of the medal bar is the braun of the labour service.

I was looking for pictures of Hierl and find two in 1934. He would have change his medal later, no doubt, but I can't imagine a medal bar without his high WW 1 decorations.

what do you think about this auction?

Edited December 29, 2024 by xxx

xxx · December 29, 2024

a better pic from 1936, interesting is the EK 2 only on third position

VtwinVince · December 29, 2024

I don't think that bar has anything to do with Hierl.

Paul C · December 31, 2024

Totally agree with the above

ChrisKelly · December 31, 2024

Hierl had a lot more medals than what's on that bar. He was dismissed from the Reichswehr in 1924 as a colonel. I found no evidence that he was awarded any of the "Flower Wars" commemorative medals, or any of the NSDAP long service crosses. I was unable to find any images of Hierl wearing any kind of medal bar after 1937, and only occasionally wearing a ribbon bar after 1939.

At first and second glances, all those medals look like reproductions, as do the ribbons. The Prague Castle Bar looks well-rendered but is also likely fake.